The Dark Knight Rises
Released: July 20th (UK)
The Good: And I say againwhere to start? The Dark Knight Risesmarks the best film Ive seen so far in 2012, and to me it matches and equals The Dark Knightfor sheer scale, ambition and emotion. People will always lament the lack of the late and great Heath Ledger, but Tom Hardy more than compensates with the terrifyingly brutal and seemingly soulless antagonist Bane. The effect of the reprise of the Knightfall back-breaking sequence on fans cannot be understated for fans such as myself, yet for newcomers to the lore it represents the scale to which Christopher Nolan was prepared to go with his incredible finale. The effects, the soundtrack and the locals all provided wonderful aesthetics for the piece, the music in particular giving a harrowing and emotive edge throughout. Nolans team have never been shy in dedicating long lengths of time to the visuals and sounds of their motion picture trilogy, and their dedication truly pays off here, as the promotional campaigns visual teases were just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. I could go on and on about TDKRs breathtaking narrative, sublime script and incredible direction, but above all it is the cast I must finish on in my review analysis. Stars including (deep breath!) Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, Morgan Freeman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt give Oscar-worthy performances here without a doubt. And speaking of the Academy Awards, I would wager that the final scenes- which to me stand as prove that Nolan can make every shot of the flick count- could well be the part of the film that may help to seal its fate as a Best Picture nominee if the 2012 judging panel are open to actually accepting a genre that isnt paying homage to a dead style of cinema or creating drama so realistic that you wonder why the movies need to show it. Im being pedantic, but to me nothing can represent modern cinemas effect better than the sheer silence of fear and disbelief amongst the audience as the Dark Knight seemed to fly to his doom, and the elation at the reveal of his survival and Gordon-Levitts first steps into the Batcave as Robin. In my opinion, the sheer reaction of the audiences whove been seeing this worldwide is something that the Oscar panel have too heavy a tendency to overlook, so this is the chance to correct their mistake.
The Bad: As with AvengersAssemble, I can barely name any real flaws with this movie. I am, however, open to at least hear the criticisms some have levelled at it. Firstly, perhaps a heightened focus on the citizens of Gotham could have been achieved a la The Dark Knight, but I would wager that this would have been lamented as déjà vu by the critics who never seem to be completely happen. The other criticism some seem to level at TDKR is that the opening is slower, yet again I would say that so many shots of the film are made to count and satisfy us later on that such a qualm is irrelevant.
The Verdict: The Dark Knight Rises represents a landmark achievement for the superhero movie genre, just as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight did before it. What is most impressive about the piece, though, is its breakthrough for the genre is so vastly in contrast with its predecessors- where they merely expanded the boundaries of superhero thrillers, this film branches across a variety of genres and masters each and every place it steps into in its masterful narrative. When Nolan wants TDKR to have us laughing, screaming in terror or bawling our eyes out, he manipulates the plot to do so with ease and directs his innovative new action sequences with a perfect eye for scale and confidence. Batmans legend may have ended, but thanks to this sublime finale, his twenty-first century incarnation will never be forgotten. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Nolan has given us one of the best motion picture trilogies of all time. Let the speculation of where Warner Bros will go next with the Caped Crusader begin
5 Stars