Fantastic Entertainment, But Not The Masterpiece It Could Have Been

Rating: 8/10 (21 July 2012)

Christopher Nolan pulled off what seemed like the impossible at the time. When he not only rebooted the batman franchise that no one wanted to touch, but rebooted it with a new take on the dark knight story, which reminded audiences and critics everywhere why Batman is the most interesting superhero to be put on the big screen. 'Batman Begins' was undoubtedly epic and many thought that 'The Dark Knight' surpassed the original. Now we have possibly the most anticipated film of the year. We have had to wait 4 years for 'The Dark Knight Rises' and I was praying it wouldn't be 'Spider-Man 3' or 'The Godfather Part 3'.
Christopher Nolan takes us to a Gotham City that is based 8 years since the last film. Batman is still outlawed and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has hung up the cape. The film spends its first hour without Batman and let's us catch up with characters from the previous films along with new characters as well. However, a terrorist known as Bane (Tom Hardy) arrives in Gotham and his presence means that Batman must step back onto the streets Gotham to defend his city once more.
First the good news, just as you would expect, the cast are all terrific and each character felt relevant. Michael cane and Morgan Freeman reprise their roles and are great to watch. Gary Oldman is great as he usually is and Christian Bale is a wonderful Bruce Wayne and a fantastic Batman. Anne Hathaway does a great job and brings us one of the best interpretations of Catwoman I have seen since Michelle Pfeiffer is the Tim Burton film 'Batman Returns'. Joseph Gorden-Levitt holds a great screen presence as police office Blake and so does Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate.
Many fans have had concerns over Bane being the new villain. Some people have thought he may not be as deep or as interesting as the Joker. My argument would be that we have had the Joker already and Batman has concurred that villain. Whilst the Joker threatened Batman on a intellectual level, Bane can physically brake Batman shows us a weaker side to the hero that we haven't seen yet. Also, Tom Hardy is perfect in this role. His physical presence and his calm yet sinister voice really gave a more fearsome factor to the villain, which is something that was never threatened by the Scarecrow or the Joker, fear.
Who is the real star of the film? The film would not be what it is without the direction by Christopher Nolan or the outstanding cinematography by Wally Pfister. Just like the first two films, we admire what Pfister can do with the Gotham City and how he presents the CGI and stunts in the film, without too much of the shaky cam.
Nolan is a director who clearly loves this character and wants to explore each aspect of his personality to let the audience make up their own minds. We hear a wonderful speech by Alfred , as he explains that he wished Bruce Wayne would never have put on the mask again and at the same time, we see Blake explain to Bruce Wayne how Gotham needs Batman back. Nolan let's each character share their point of view instead of just having the good guys and the bad guys. He gives the superhero genre a brain and doesn't make it to smart for audiences, but makes it intelligent so that the audience can move along with the film instead of feeling left behind.
I think the reason why this series of Batman films have been so successful is because of the themes and problems of real life being used in the film. We saw a menacing terrorist called the Joker try to cause chaos in Gotham and nobody could reason with him. This was only 7 years after the attacks on America on 11th September. Now, as the world is in a crisis with money and stock markets are loosing, we see Bane raiding the stock market and sending his thugs to attack the rich as all their wealth collapses around them.
Now onto the bad news, the film is too long. The first hour really dragged and whilst I understand that Batman isn't just going to jump back into action, I did find my self feeling slightly bored and that the lead up to the second act of the film was overblown. The characters kept my interest, but the last thing I was expecting was to feel bored in a film that should be so epic. The last two thirds of the film are just what I wanted and the finale left me on the edge of my seat. Nolan truly did deliver for the last hour and a half, but I felt he had to after the first hour.
The last 90 minutes of 'The Dark Knight Rises' are incredible and just how you would want the series to end. Maybe the reason I fell a little disappointed is because my expectations were too high. I left the film feeling satisfied, but not blown away. The film is overblown but at the same time smart and very entertaining. It still however isn't he masterpiece it should have been.