Movie Review- "The Dark Knight Rises"

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2012)

"The Dark Knight Rises": new villain, new gadgets, new love interest, and a whole new attitude. The most intense of the three films, it was thrilling, captivating, gritty, nerve-racking, funny at times, and overall mind-blowing. I have rated this film a nine out of ten, and here is why:
*Effects/Design: One Star* All the "Batman" films done by Christopher Nolan have included amazing gadgets, and T.D.K.R. does not disappoint. Lucius Fox's newest toy for Bruce Wayne is The Bat, an aircraft, flying high in the sky through use of realistic special effects. Speaking of effects, honestly, I can't say when or where they were used, save for The Bat; yes, they're that good. Costumes, makeup, settings, and every bit of the art department was top-notch.
*Acting: Two Stars* Amazing performances as always by Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman. I was very impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whom we seem to be seeing more and more of. He's very promising, in my opinion. Marion Cotillard did a nice job, but she seems to play the same character in everything. She was easily topped by Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle. Hathaway is usually seen in funnier roles, but she was excellent as the clever, sexy, and dangerous Catwoman. Her role still incorporated a lot of her "funny ability", giving a little humor to the intensity with dry, dark jokes. I was very pleased to see her do so well as Selina, and she is the best Catwoman I have seen. Tom Hardy (Bane) was extremely impressive. His whole performance was given by his eyes, his body, and his voice. He expressed so much emotion solely through his blue eyes. The Best Actor Award in this film certainly goes to Christian Bale. In T.D.K.R., the character of Bruce Wayne is so complex emotionally, and Bale did a fantastic job at showing all of Wayne's colors.
*Cinematography: One Star* The cinematography of the film was well-done, also. Excellent lighting choices were made to display Christian Bale's face: when Bruce was beaten down, the lighting displayed how worn and battered he looked, and it almost gave him a skeletal look. When things got better, the lighting and angles gave him a younger, healthier appearance. Fight scenes were shot so that the camera wasn't shaking, which was refreshing.
*Music: One Star* Music was done by Hans Zimmer, whom I've never been let down by. The music created tension, happiness, pain, anger, fear, and overwhelming joy at points. The music would've done a better job at conveying the story than the actors if this film had not been so perfectly cast!
*Characters: Two Stars* The characters in this movie were amazing. Bruce Wayne was a very deep and complex character, and each of his layers were subtly peeled back and examined. Bane was sort of like this, although he was left more in the dark until the end. This added the the character and the plot; you think you have the villain figured, and then you realize you are completely wrong. I really enjoyed the take on Catwoman this time around; she's less crazy and has better motives. Miranda Tate was an interesting character. She was designed in a way that she seems like just loose plot thread, and then all of a sudden, she's incredibly important. I like how Alfred plays a larger role in this film. Also, Jim Gordon's character develops more in T.D.K.R. Lastly, Officer Blake was a wonderful addition to the story. He's a strong, driven character, much like Bruce Wayne, his role model.
*Plot: Two Stars* The plot for T.D.K.R. was absolutely awesome. There is no hope, no chance, no way, unless Batman returns to Gotham City. Bruce Wayne is battling with the pain of losing Rachel, while also while also coping with the shame that has been brought upon Batman. Commissioner Gordon is guilt-ridden and under pressure for living out the lie about Harvey Dent. The city of Gotham is weak and is Bane's for the taking. The story is a thousand piece puzzle, and the writers challenge the viewers to put it together correctly in two hours and forty-five minutes. It's full of amazing dialog, strong emotions, great tension, and highly-developed characters. There's an incredible, mind-blowing ending that leaves the viewer satisfied. The plot is intense, clever, well-designed, and just simply beautiful.
Well, that's my nine stars, but there's a few more points I'd like to make. The action scenes were well-laid out and intense. I liked how Bane's personality is displayed in his fighting style; this was a nice and creative touch. The direction by Christopher Nolan was fantastic as usual; I haven't seen a bad film by him yet. The only qualm I have is that Nolan uses the same actors in practically everything, which I fear may become a bad habit. Overall, "The Dark Knight Rises" was stunning in every sense of the word, and every minute of the nearly three hours grips the viewer. The absolute, hands-down best action film of the summer.
...A fire did rise, and it will be burning bright for years to come.