Good, but not as great as some would have you believe

Rating: 6/10 (9 August 2012)

I'm not entirely sure what to make of The Dark Knight Rises. I saw it last night and while I DID enjoy it, I still feel that it certainly lacked something compared to the previous two Chris Nolan Batman movies. To be calling it the "Best Movie Ever" is pure absurdity! If was to sum up the problems in a few points I'd say -
1. The story. I just found it rather weak, and with too many holes. For example, why would Bane, Miranda, and all the other mercenaries gladly decide to kill themselves along with the rest of Gotham's inhabitants? We're not talking about religious fanatics here, we're talking about hardened mercenaries. To me, the destruction of one single city doesn't seem like reason enough for them all (including the leaders) to give their lives for. That just didn't make sense to me. Secondly, there just wasn't enough Batman in this Batman movie. His costumed screen-time was tiny, and when he was there he was essentially nothing more than a costumed boxer. I also thought characters (like Blake, sorry, I mean Robin *snigger*) and plot devices (e.g. the entire Wayne fortune being used to fund a fusion reactor, etc) were introduced far too quickly, especially given the slow pacing given to all the angst.
2. Bane. I actually thought Tom Hardy did a great job with the character, showing both his intelligence (at least early on), and also his strength and ruthlessness. Apart from having trouble understanding his speech at times, I thought he looked and acted the part superbly, and I really thought he was going to be a brilliant villain for the first hour or so. However, the back-story about him helping Miranda escape from the "Pit Prison" neutered him somewhat to my mind, as it turns out he didn't manage to escape himself, but stayed put and took a serious pasting from the other prisoners. And then when it turns out he was only playing second fiddle to Miranda anyway, and only doing what he's doing because he cares/loves her(?), he was neutered completely in my eyes. (In many ways it reminded me of the end of The World Is Not Enough, where the main villain (Renard) turned out to NOT be the main villain, and gladly killing himself for "a woman's love"). Plus Bane's death wasn't really a fitting end to a great character.... although I'm guessing that was a sop to the 12a certificate this movie's rated as. I also think the film-makers should've stuck with the concept that Bane's mask is pumping him with the Venom drug to increase his strength, etc, rather than making it some kind of Vader-esque, pseudo-life-support/anaesthetic delivery system. He was something of a missed opportunity in my opinion.
3. The Pit Prison. What the heck is that all about?!? Who's prison is it? Where is it? Why are people put in there as opposed to a normal prison? Why on the surface is it basically just a well-shaft with no guards, or buildings, or perimeter fence, or indeed ANYTHING above ground? Why, when it's so close to a city (as seen when Wayne escapes), does no-one just wander over and gawp down at the prisoners, or help them escape? Why was there a rope conveniently left near the top for Wayne to throw down to the prisoners below? The list goes on and on. For a film series that purports to be (and for the most part actually is) a realistic take on the superhero genre, the whole Pit concept was nonsensical. Also, when Wayne is put in the prison, Bane comes along with him for the ride. Considering the prison looks like it's in the middle/far east, it makes no sense at all for Bane to go all the way there, have a less than 5 minute conversation with Wayne about "torturing his soul", and then head all the way back to Gotham...... Errr, right. Lastly, how does Wayne get out of the country and back into the States, and then into the totally locked down Gotham, with no passport, or money, or gadgets? That kind of thing is just lazy story-telling.
4. The ending. Bit of a cop-out in my opinion to have Batman survive. This is the last of Nolan's Batman movies, so why not take the ballsy step of having him dying for the people? To do the old "hey look, the autopilot was engaged after-all" trick, and then see Wayne sipping a coffee in Italy with Selina Kyle just smacked of trying to tie a nice big bow in everything so the audience can go home feeling all warm and fuzzy. Oh and the less said about the whole "Robin-thing" the better!
That said, there was still a lot that I enjoyed. The visuals are all top-notch, Bale gives another great performance (within the confines of the story), and Michael Caine gives one of his best acting performances I've seen. I also thought Anne Hathaway was great as Selina Kyle and I liked the little touches like the way her "cat's ears" are actually here goggles, rather than a specific cat outfit, and I was pleased we didn't have to suffer any "puuurrfect" style puns at any point! Plus I think Tom Hardy puts in a brilliant performance (even if his character is neutered by the story in the second half). I also like the dark/adult edge to all Nolan's Batman films, and in lots of ways this is the darkest one yet, with Wayne and Batman taking more punishment than ever. Lastly, it certainly has a grandiose, epic feel to it, and I generally didn't feel that the 2 hours 45 min running time felt too long : it's just a shame the story wasn't quite up to spec.
I'd give this movie a solid 6 out of 10. Epic and predominantly enjoyable, but let down by a weak story, and at times, poor storytelling.