Review: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

'Nobody cared who I was until I put on the mask.'

★★★★

There has never been a better Batman trilogy than Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy and this was the film to wrap it all up, with the most satisfying experience of all time. Other than the animated films, I haven't been too fully impressed with the live-action Batman films, but when Nolan came around to change things around, I can finally say that these are my go-to Batman movies. Tim Burton mave been able to provide us with great villains and an excellent look of Gotham City, but Nolan was able to get everything right, even though Christian Bale isn't my favorite Batman actor.

With each Nolan Batman film, they feature a new situation for Batman that allows the audience to see his development throughout the movie. As urban terrorism and class conflict engulf Gotham, tearing its infrastructure apart, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) comes reluctantly from years of seclusion in Wayne Manor to face a soulless enemy as powerful as himself. The film starts slowly, with a muddled plot and too many new characters, but it builds to a a sensational climax.

These films are also known for their villains. Batman Begins, features Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow, who makes a surprise cameo in this film, and The Dark Knight, features the perfectly cast Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger. All of those brough depth, emotion, excitement, and grace to their roles. This film features Bane (Tom Hardy) as a villain as tough as Batman himself. The opening scene is one of the best parts of the movie. In addition to that, it did a great job of showing what a threat Bane in terms of his resources and intelligence.

Bane's portrayal, which evokes a homicidal pro wrestler, is a mystery since it's difficult to determine what motivates him. He frees thousands of Gotham's criminals in a situation reminiscent of the storming of the Bastille. Bane appears to want to overthrow the ruling classes as they engage in street warfare against the majority of the city police force. However, if his second plan (nuclear annihilation of the city) is successful, this will mean little.

Though he has less charisma than Bruce Wayne and Batman, Bane shares almost the same amount of screen time as them. The movie also features two possible love interests for Wayne, one of them being Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), a valiant young police officer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and plenty of screen time for series regulars Alfred the Butler (Michael Caine, who is remarkably effective in several tense scenes), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), and the brilliant inventor Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman).

Nolan was able to make comicbook films more serious than they originally were. These films don't feel like they're based on comic books, they feel like real life and that's the genius of these films. Nolan himself is a Batman fan before taking directing "Batman Begins." He was a fan of The Adam West TV show, which ran from 1966 to 1968, The Batman comics by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, The Frank Miller graphic novel. I found him being a fan a big reason why these movies are amazing. It's a similar why Richard Donner's Superman film worked, because Donner was a fan of the character himself before taking the job. Nolan's love for the character really shows and he didn't lack any knowledge when adapting the comics.

A dramatic conclusion is reached after a plodding start with an overabundance of new characters and a bit of a slow plot. But over all, the greatest trilogy in film history is concluded with The Dark Knight Rises. It's a shame we'll never get to explore this universe again, but for times we've spent here, it was a great adventure.