Final Batman flick has summer appeal and is nearly as strong as it’s predecessor
Valerie Ettenhofer
Staff Writer
The Dark Knight Rises may be the most jam-packed movie of the summer. At its start, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has returned from hiding to find a threat around every corner.
The film leaves behind the cut-and-dry politics of organized crime in exchange for a more topical examination of the 1%, and what it looks like when they are brought down.
The most obvious representation of American discontent comes in the form of Selina Kyle, who steals from the rich with a smirk and sincerity of purpose. Anne Hathaway slips perfectly into the role, transforming Catwoman from a cheesy sexual object into Batman’s fierce and clever equal. In a story that juggles many characters, she stands out as the MVP.
Any Batman fan knows that when it comes to director Christopher Nolan’s franchise, the movie is only as good as the villain that commands the screen. In this trilogy’s final installment, the agent of chaos is Bane (Tom Hardy, one of many cast members recycled from Nolan’s other recent project, Inception), a hulking, masked villain with a murky origin story.
Although he possesses neither the sinister wit nor the chilling lack of control of Heath Ledger’s indelible Joker, Bane’s stakes are higher. He intends to leave the people of Gotham on unsteady ground–literally. One of the most memorable sequences of the film involves explosive-laced cement that brings the city crumbling down beneath its citizens.
At their best, these films juxtapose an idea against a reality. They deconstruct concepts of justice, control, and family. In part, this last chapter is no exception.
Wayne is determined to help a city that thinks it doesn’t need him, and father-like butler Alfred (Michael Caine) warns him to give up the fight. Soon enough, his own technology is turned against him, as a Wayne Enterprises energy source is turned into a nuclear bomb in the hands of Bane.
Too often, the plot devolves from idealism versus realism into something more akin to money versus muscle. It gets bogged down by fight scenes and philosophizing that lacks the crazed conviction that made The Dark Knight shine.
Despite its rough edges, Rises eventually weaves together a distinct ending that makes all of its characters, from a love interest (Marion Cotillard) to a gung-ho rookie cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) vital to the Gotham’s future.
Die-hard comic fans will welcome a return to Batman’s roots, while students simply looking for any adventure in theaters might be blindsided by an eleventh-hour twist. Ultimately, this movie borrows one more thing from Inception: those last five minutes will likely leave you breathless.
