Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Prometheus was supposedly "the most anticipated film of the year", but The Dark Knight Rises has certainly become the most hyped.

Eight years after the events of 2008's The Dark Knight, we find Gotham City in a peaceful state after the sacrifices that had been made. Bruce Wayne has however become a total recluse, and Batman is no more. But the peace is fragile, and a brutal mercenary known only as Bane is arriving in Gotham to fulfil a devastating agenda.


To follow The Dark Knight is a task few could ever stomach, and now I have to admit, perhaps impossible?
I will say straight off the bat, Rises is an excellent film, and continues to prove that director Christopher Nolan can bring intelligence to a massive blockbuster epic. It is still wonderfully photographed, the cast look right at home and newcomers are superb in their roles; Tom Hardy as Bane is awesome, while Anne Hathaway brings some sparks and light humour as Catwoman.


For me, it is all about the characters and how they mature, and most key in Rises is the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his loyal butler Alfred. Their scenes are dynamos of emotion as Wayne finds himself lost and without purpose, and Alfred struggles with an ever bleaker future. The sort of hard questions that should be addressed in such a scenario.
There is also a great subtext designed to hit our nerves within this financial crisis we are facing today, it isn't forced, but it is very much there.


Now my main problem with the film is an ever fading sense of theatricality... While Nolan's trilogy was always meant to be "realistic" there was always a shadowy Gothic feel remaining in Batman Begins, and the Joker's mere presence in The Dark Knight was mesmerising, while they both had vast, shadowy shots of buildings and cityscapes, Batman swooping down at his prey from the dark. Here, Nolan's turned Batman into urban warfare, quite literally by the end. Most of the film is shot in daylight and revolve around the secondary characters coping with the disasters around them. (Perhaps the daylight is symbolic over the three films, this being the "dawn"?) I hate to say it though, but this is probably the least "Batman" feeling Batman film so far.
Another issue, after some consideration, is Catwoman. Now she is excellently portrayed, and I like the character in general, but I didn't see a lot of point for her being there. Unlike the other films where characters are used to their full potential.


The plot harks back to Begins and TDK nicely though, making it feel like an ending, but it has none of the second film's chilling dread, and if it weren't for Alfred and Wayne's scenes, I may not have felt as emotionally connected to any of the characters either.
It sounds like I didn't like it... which isn't true, but it felt long, and that isn't good. I had my issues with TDK initially and they have faded completely, so perhaps Rises will do the same in time?