An Ambitious and Very Different Batman Film

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2012)

** Minor Spoilers, nothing you haven't seen in the trailers **
Ambitious is an adjective often used to describe director Christopher Nolan, who's films have lead us through a heist in a dreamer's mind and put us in the shoes of a man with memory loss by presenting the film in reverse-chronological order. The Dark Knight Rises, however, is easily his biggest, most ambitious film yet, as terrorist leader Bane unleashes a plan to practically kidnap all of Gotham City, including Batman, only so they can watch in horror as it is all brought to ashes. Not only is this Nolan's biggest film, but this may be one of the biggest movies in terms of scale that I have ever seen. The Dark Knight Rises hardly ever slows down when things get rolling and promises to surprise you at least a couple times. While you may find yourself scratching your head at plot holes along the way, if you're a fan of the two previous films and you've bought into the world Nolan has created then it shouldn't be a problem for you. (And let's not pretend that The Dark Knight and Batman Begins didn't have it's fair share of plot holes too.)
With that said, while the Joker looked to cause chaos in The Dark Knight, Bane looks to simply destroy. He's a frightening and often menacing character and is easily Batman's most powerful opponent. Bane doesn't just test Batman's limits, he breaks them. Fans, including myself, were unsure if Tom Hardy was the right choice for Bane and I'm happy to tell you that he was. It is hard to understand him at times, but as long as you're listening closely this shouldn't be a problem. Hardy deserves a lot of praise for this character, for he is truly terrifying, whether he's squeezing a man's throat as if it's only a minor inconvenience or he's just standing there. It does help that Nolan is always filming Hardy from a low perspective, so it always looks like we're looking up at him. It seems like a minor touch, but it means everything to making Hardy look as powerful and unstoppable as the character demands him to be. Bane is a truly terrifying villain and you want to see Batman defeat him so badly as the film comes roaring to an end.
If we're talking great performances, however, we have to highlight Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Hathaway has come a long way from the Disney star she once was and although I haven't seen a lot of her work, I feel safe saying that this was her best performance so far. Hathaway is constantly entertaining and is a stark contrast to Christian Bale's dark and rather moody performance as Batman. Don't get me wrong though, Bale's performance in The Dark Knight Rises is easily one of his best and veteran actors Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine all deliver the top notch performances you expect from them with every film they appear in. Inception stars Marion Coltillard and Joseph Gordon- Levitt also give strong performances in their important, respective roles.
Hans Zimmer, who did a wonderful job on the score for the last two Batman films returns with a different, but still powerful score. At times, it can be downright thrilling, terrifying even. At other times, however, it can be a bit intrusive. There's some scenes in The Dark Knight Rises that I think could go without music at all. It seems like there's always a violin playing in background, or drums being pounded on, regardless of what's going on in the film. In fact, the one scene I can remember that went completely without music was one of the most powerful in the entire movie, but I'll let you see that for yourself.
The Dark Knight Rises is definitely a different film then I expected personally, but in the end I can't complain. Nolan's goal was to go as big as possible and he did that in just about every way. The film is everything it claimed to be: An epic, ambitious, and fitting end to one of the greatest series of all time. If you expected a masterpiece, then tone down your expectations a little bit. The Dark Knight Rises, in my opinion, is the best film of the summer. It's not the best in the series, but it's damn good and I recommend it to all movie goers everywhere.
*** / ****