The End Is The Beginning Is The End

Rating: 8/10 (11 August 2013)

While Christopher Nolan's series of Batman flicks could likely have gone on forever -- earning fistfuls of cash for its producers while forever cluttering shelves with an endless barrage of merchandise -- the director does what any visionary worth his salt would do: He returns to his franchise to put it to rest, effectively quitting while he's ahead. No doubt, Warner Bros. will re-team with DC in a not-too-distant future, inevitably re-booting the series yet again for a new audience and a new profit margin, but in the meantime Nolan's closing chapter, "The Dark Knight Rises," provides satisfying closure to a series that has been as brief as it has been remarkable.
Re-teaming with his screenwriter/brother Jonathan as well as mythology-maestro David S. Goyer, Nolan laces his final Bat saga with enough character torment, thinly-veiled political musings and crowd-pleasing, fist-pumping action to flood the Bat Cave. In the eight years since the events of "The Dark Knight," Gotham City is a little safer, even if its protectors are a little bitter. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) lives with a dirty little secret that stands between a peaceful city and total anarchy. Meanwhile, on the other side of the town and taking it harder than anyone else is Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who limps around the shadows of his mansion while his alter-ego lays dormant. It's only when a mercenary hell-bent on bringing Gotham to its knees (isn't that always the case with these guys?) emerges that The Dark Knight snaps out of his funk and busts out some new gadgets to once again save his broken city from itself. This new threat to Gotham, known only as Bane (Tom Hardy), literally pushes Batman to his breaking point, leaving a rookie detective (Joseph Gordon Levitt) to defend his hero and manipulative jewel-thief Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) to claw away at whatever is left.
While the film admittedly lacks the magnetism of Heath Ledger's performance of The Joker in the previous film, Tom Hardy's formidable Bane does his best to compensate. From the opening scene, Bane's presence is a force to be reckoned with and a far-cry from the hulking, dumb-as-a-brick, WWE-rejected (WWF in those days) mutant he was presented as in 1997's franchise-killing "Batman & Robin." Hardy's physical presence as well as his deliciously creepy voice leave a similar impression to Ledger, lending credence to the school of thought that says Batman's villains are just as interesting as the title character himself. Hathaway's take on Catwoman is smart and sleek and true to form, if a bit underdeveloped. Thankfully her presence is a plus, providing a bit of sweetness to Bane's saltiness. Joseph Gordon Levitt, meanwhile, emerges as a new kind of hero who has Bruce Wayne pegged from the get-go and who insists on doing the right thing even as the world crumbles around him. Levitt, who himself has emerged as one of his generations greatest talents in recent years, is another asset to a film that threatens to be over-crowded but thankfully makes room for just about everyone. It's not surprising then that Michael Caine's Alfred and Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox are pushed into the background a bit.
Not only is this the longest of Nolan's Bat flicks, it is also perhaps the most dense and ambitious of them all. With so many subplots and so much subtext to juggle, it's a wonder Nolan doesn't drop the ball. It's a testament to the director's vision, as well as that of his collaborators, that the film doesn't falter. Tension escalates from the opening frames and doesn't let up until the film's mind-blowing and thoroughly satisfying conclusion. In many ways, the film will leave you wanting more and more and that's what makes it work so well. While another reboot and perhaps a spin off (or two) will likely be in order, the fact of the matter is that what Nolan set out to say and do has been effectively said and done by the time the credits roll. The Dark Knight truly rises above and beyond the average superhero fodder, and when all is said and done, Nolan's legacy will stand in limited company. All hype and heroics aside, "The Dark Knight Rises" is a film that lives up to its own promise.