The Dark Knight Rises

It is with bittersweet emotions that I write this today. With the tragic events in Colorado, it is difficult to fully celebrate the magnitude of cinematic achievement that Chris Nolan has reached.

I remember in the summer of 2008 when The Dark Knight came out and blew everyone out of the water. From the opening scene. The aerial panning shot above the Gotham skyline with the resounding Hans Zimmer score beginning. We were introduced to one of the greatest villains in movie history, and his personal tragedy sullied the inevitable Oscar win. Four years later, and we are again experiencing an eerily familiar, yet utterly senseless tragedy around this film franchise.

The expectations could not be higher for this film. From the public, from the critics, and frankly, from the whole Hollywood community. This is the film that is supposed to tank the Avengers, and if early buzz and my personal opinion carry any weight, it will. The advantage that the Avengers has is that it was released in 3D, which will account for a couple hundred extra million dollars grossed worldwide. Not to be cliche, but the people are looking for a hero this summer at the box office, and Spiderman is great and everything, but Batman fills the void.

At a budget of over $250 million, the film will turn a profit by Monday. It's the conclusion to the trilogy that the Wachowski brothers wish they had filmed. It's the conclusion that will make Peter Jackson thankful that the Academy gave him all those awards back in 2003 as a tribute for his years of work on the ten hour Lord of the Rings saga.

No, The Dark Knight Rises will stand as a fitting end to the darkest superhero vision of all time. Appropriate given the character and the city.

Gotham City, eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. There is no mention of the Joker, but otherwise, we pick up where we left off with Batman public enemy number one and Harvey Dent a celebrated icon to an otherwise deplorable city. It's what makes a hero so much more endearing, if he fights for everyone, even the undeserving. Bruce Wayne is an older and more brittle recluse, and we are quickly and in fun fashions introduced to both Bane (Tom Hardy), the terror inducing brute, and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), the unassuming cat burglar who uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants. We are also given quick updates on the other regulars: Alfred (Michael Caine), Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), and newcomers John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).

The specter that is Batman is more an old wives tale now, but suddenly he is needed once again, this time in the midst of economic terrorism and an Occupy movement within his beloved city that has a threat that has something to do with clean, nuclear powered renewable energy.

The fight scenes are expertly set up, and Nolan has his characters doing great choreography. Hathaway was particularly impressive to me. I admit, when I heard she was cast in the role, I was convinced that the film was destined for ruin. But, she pulled it off. A few lines are a bit too cheesy, but nitpicking a film like this is easy, because so much of the technical work is flawless. There has to be something to complain about, right?

I wish that Bane had a bit more screen time, although I was impressed with how well they pulled him off. He is not, and never will be in the same stratosphere as Heath Ledger's Joker, so if you're expecting that, don't see the movie. What he is however, is something more menacing, albeit predictable. A blunt instrument of terror and anarchy. After seeing the previews, it is clear that there was much work done on his voice, and I hate to say I was a bit disappointed that they came back around to his normal voice more than the Darth Vader inspired growl that may have been undiscernable, but was damn cool and frightening.

The rest of the cast does well. Christian Bale carries the film's namesake with valor, but he's not why anyone shows up to the movies (no offense to Bale). Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard both seemed to be odd choices to me to add to an already all-star cast. It seemed a bit too much like an Inception reunion, but Nolan knows what he's doing, and he gets the job done. Cotillard's character is pivotal, but does not add enough depth to the story to justify her existence. Personally, I could have been happy had she not been included at all. Gordon-Levitt is a young, idealistic cop who plays understudy to both Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne. He's an inspiring young actor who will start headlining films soon enough (This fall's Premium Rush and Looper).

Michael Caine was terrific as usual, as was Gary Oldman. An odd choice to fill in as police chief was Matthew Modine, who just gave me too many 1980's and 1990's movie memories. I suppose they needed someone with a little star power, but I really wish it had been someone else.

As the story progresses, the role of government is juxtaposed with the people, but there is an underlying tone of deep sarcasm by the writers, almost toying with the viewer's sense of justice. Is this city even worth saving? The people have turned their ignorant backs on their savior, yet when they need him most, they call for him. It's a great setting established by Nolan. Most of the laypeople in the city are simpletons. Even the cops or the politicians. The whole thing is reduced to high class versus low class, and every character not on the posters is a bit of an idiot. This sounds ridiculous, but it adds to the value of the main characters, be they good or evil. The good is even better, and the evil is significantly worse. It's really genius if you think about it.

The story once again hinges on Batman's ability to selflessly sacrifice his body, his fortune, his reputation, and his life for the city that he so desperately wants to call his own. He's the image of a true patriot.

I predicted elements of the ending, and thought that the fighting with Bane ended a bit abruptly. I also thought that it became pretty obvious what was going to happen as the "clock was ticking". I will say however, that the epilogue was nicely done. All of the possible ends were wrapped up nicely, and although there still exists a universe of potential heroes and villains in Gotham City, we can sleep easy knowing that this trilogy is finished.

Chris Nolan has said adamantly that he is done with this franchise, but is he done with Gotham? Only time will tell. Exceptional storytelling. Flawless execution. Incredibly interesting characters. Superb cast. 10/10.