A satisfying conclusion to a classic trilogy

Rating: 9/10 (9 August 2012)

What is fundamentally the most impressive thing about The Dark Knight Rises is that director Christopher Nolan approached the project with the intention of creating a satisfying conclusion to the story built up in the previous two films, and that is exactly what this film is. The film fulfils its very goal, and is an incredibly satisfying ending to the story. If you are unwilling to accept this before seeing the film, you probably won't enjoy the film as much as I did.
Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight Gotham is enjoying a period of peace built on the lie which is 'The Harvey Dent Act', a lie which has eaten away at Bruce and Gordon for the last eight years. Gordon has been left to clean up Gotham without Batman's help, and Bruce has become a physically and mentally traumatised hermit living within the rebuilt Wayne Manor, confined to using a cane as a result of doing nothing for all that time. What is an instantly recognisable change from the film's predecessors is the speed in pacing, the film beginning with a brief speech by Gordon, moving on to an impressively visual and ambitious prologue sequence, then swiftly moving to a celebration at Wayne Manor in which the film introduces a number of new characters. Despite this fast-pacing and new-cast onslaught, the story felt like it was moving far too slowly, and I wondered when something was actually going to happen. Fortunately, both of these flaws can be explained, my instantly negative reaction to the fast-pacing being a negative in human nature as opposes to the film- this unforeseen change actually serves the movie well, allowing Christopher Nolan to make three hours fly-by. The slow-start soon picks up, and I understand it was a good, realistic decision to hold off on putting Bruce back into the bat-suit too early in the film, as the film's premise is questioning whether Batman should return, and what consequences this action will have. The onslaught of new characters does feel like they have been forced down the audience's throat, and non are given any real affective role to play, however the final resolve reveals all characters are fundamental to the plot. In other words, patience whilst watching this movie will pay off.
My personal enjoyment of the film was not derived by the film itself so much as certain aspects of the film, namely Tom Hardy's outstanding portrayal as the villain Bane and the character in general. I had high hopes for Bane, being a fan of Hardy's work prior to watching the film, but being confident the character would not be as successful as Heath Ledger's untouchable performance as The Joker. Having watched the film I found Bane to be far more intriguing than I previously predicted as well as being just as quotable and thrilling to watch as The Joker, though Bane is a completely different kind of villain, the focus being on physical intimidation, sheer intelligence and his level of control over people. Though Hardy's performance is not at the same level as Ledger's and his performance is restricted by a mask covering half of his face, but his performance is anything but restrictive, an emphasis on physicality, conveying intimidation through body movements and emotion through his eyes, as well as a wonderfully memorable and unnerving voice, which has unfortunately been over-edited in post production. As well as the performance, Bane's origin story, or at least what little we learn from the film, is very intriguing; however I would have liked more emphasis on the character's origin , as Bane is, like all Batman's villains, a version of Batman himself. Anne Hathaway's performance as Selina Kyle can also not be commended enough, giving the best Selina Kyle/ Catwoman to date, her performance perfectly fitting in with Nolan's realistic vision of the character, her feisty yet sexy performance stealing each scene with elegance as Hardy steals it with intimidation.
Previous speculation and hype have given great expectation to the film being a revelatory masterpiece in terms of storyline. I always felt this sounded like a risky approach, and whilst there are moments of plot revelation, the film is never pretentious of itself, Nolan keeping true to his word of creating a story-based final instalment. Like the previous two, The Dark Knight Rises is an art-house movie posing as a summer blockbuster, the real focus being on the script and story, the action aiding the storyline- the exact opposite of a Michael Bay film. The film never insults the intelligence of the audience and, like Inception, expects the audience to keep up. In other words, Nolan has so much respect for his audience that he created this film with the idea that the audience is as his intelligent as himself. It is a wonderful story-based film, not overly-pretentious of itself whilst keeping viewers on edge the entire 2 hours and 45 minute run-time. Personally, I found this flew by, and would have gladly sat through at least another hour.
It has its flaws, and though I hate to say it, is not above criticism, but when truly appreciated for what it is, The Dark Knight Rises is a great film, and a poetic but satisfying conclusion to a classic trilogy, an emphasis on story as opposed to a revelatory-filled epic. Nolan has created not only the best 'Batman' movies ever made, but a classic trilogy that should be viewed first and foremost as art-house movies, secondly as Batman movies. The final chapter will leave you emotionally drained, but satisfied by the conclusion, as opposed to feeling exhausted by an overly-pretentious epic finale.