too superficial

Rating: 7/10 (27 July 2012)

Batman Rises is a film with nice action and spectacle, but has a too superficial storytelling and is too bombastic. It seems as if Nolan included excessively lots of action scenes and mini stories in the film. Story lines aren't worked out in depth enough. Take as example the departing of Alfred. In a scene of just a minute or so he cries for the very first time and leaves Bruce after decades of service to the Wayne family. As viewers we have to process this so quickly! Because right after this scene another ministory starts. Take Miranda, she becomes out of nowhere at the end of the film as the new and mastermind bad guy! The reason for this she tells in a couple of sentences. Sure there are the other story lines which are glued together, but this is too forced. All the more because she as a bad guy and also Bane lean on the Badguystory of Batman Begins. This is too easily chosen. Because of the fast completed film elements the film lacks emotional depth. Yeah, Nolan tries to suggest emotion with for example Bruce as an old man, or Alfred who cries or a Bane who is sentenced to death in prison on a younger age, but because of the rapid completion of these emotional stories (it should arouse emotion), you as a viewer can't feel sympathy for the characters. And that's a shame. Because of this the film becomes mostly over-imposed and deafening spectacle. Moreover because of the implausible scenes. Take for example the policemen who en mass enter the sewers like a flock of sheep, Batman who survives the nuclear bomb or police inspector Foley who stops chasing Bane (while Bane just hit the one of the most important buildings, the stock exchange) and sends all policemen in pursuit of Batman. Nevertheless it is a nice movie, but to earn a 9.1 it just needs to stick together a whole lot better.