A Near Masterwork from Christopher Nolan

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2012)

The Dark Knight Rises has an epic scale and grandeur unlike any other modern film and rivals the scope of such classic films as The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, and Lawrence of Arabia. What Christopher Nolan has done here is achieve a rare feat matched only by Peter Jackson, Sergio Leone, and Ingmar Bergman. He has crafted a near perfect film trilogy, where each film can stand on its own as well as against its counterparts, and the Nolan Batman trilogy is, beyond a doubt, the greatest comic book trilogy in film history.
That being said, The Dark Knight Rises is not without flaws. The main issue lies within the first 30 minutes of the film, which jumps around quite a bit and reveals a couple of the logical fallacies that prevent the film from being Nolan's masterpiece, a title I would still give to Inception. These fallacies are small enough that they in no way inhibit the enjoyment of the picture (with one exception, which doesn't inhibit enjoyment so much as it puts into question a critical plot point of the film), and, due to the volume of fresh characters we are introduced to, a certain jumpiness is necessary in order to get the plot moving. However, there is a moment about an hour and a half into the film, that propels the film onto another level, where all previous issues are cast aside and you are swept up in the sheer scale of what is occurring on screen, and from this point on I have no hesitation in calling the final half of this film a masterwork.
From top to bottom the cast of The Dark Knight Rises excels. Michael Caine in particular shines in just a few scenes, providing the emotional backbone needed for a film of this nature, and Christian Bale continues to be great in his underrated performance as Bruce Wayne. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also excels in a more reserved performance as Officer John Blake, and Anne Hathaway is better than anyone could have imagined as Selina Kyle. While Tom Hardy wasn't given much opportunity to flex his acting skills, his performance did provide the necessary physicality to buy Bane as a very potent opponent of Batman. Not Tom Hardy's fault, but I should note that Bane's voice may be difficult to discern initially, creating more confusion in the opening sequence than need be, but after a couple scenes his dialogue is much more easily discernible. If there is one complaint to have with the cast it's that Marion Cotillard, perhaps the greatest actress of her generation, is underused in her supporting role as Miranda Tate.
I would like to make one note on the cinematography of the film. Christopher Nolan is perhaps second only to Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson in his use of the camera as a storytelling tool, and this skill becomes clear during the spectacularly shot action sequences, almost all of which were shot on 70mm IMAX film. If you can see this film on an IMAX screen, and not an AMC IMAX screen but a real IMAX screen, this is the one film that positively begs to be viewed on a screen as large as possible.
In the end, the sheer scale of The Dark Knight Rises blows away the logical fallacies that inevitably accompany a film of this nature. It takes the best elements of its predecessors, the epic scale of The Dark Knight combined with the psychology of Batman Begins (which must be viewed before watching TDKR), to craft one of the most satisfying third acts in motion picture history. If there is one last complement to be given to Christopher Nolan, it is that he has created the end all Batman trilogy. There will inevitably be more Batman films made in the future, but nothing will ever come close to what Nolan has accomplished with his three films. He revolutionized the industry, brought a sense of realism back to both Batman and the superhero genre as a whole, and forever raised the standard to which blockbuster films must be held.
Grade: 8.5/10 (A-)