Return Of The Bat - The Dark Knight Rises Review

Hype . . . a word I fear, and a number of you reading this will too. 2012 has become one of those years in cinema that have been littered with hype, and if you think it stops with The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit or the let down that was Prometheus (read my review), then you'd be wrong. PT Anderson, John Hillcoat and Rian Johnson are all releasing films this year and if you don't know who they are, you'll certainly know what they are responsible for. In my eyes these are Directors that have set some serious standards in their careers. But non come close to the weight of expectation laid on Chris Nolans shoulders as he sought to put an end to his Dark Knight saga.

Nolan does not dissapoint, he just seems unable to make a bad film. If you only know him for reinvigorating Batman movies and making Inception, check his roster, he's a power house of film making talent. There are feelings I get when I leave cinemas, and nothing beats the feeling when you've seen a film that has impacted on you and in a bombastic and positive fashion. Take your expectations in with you, especially if you saw the Dark Knight and enjoyed every convoluted but cinematically excellent second of it. The Dark Knight Rises promises bigger and better, and it delivers with a heavy physical blow to Batman, as apposed to mentally.

In carrying tone from it's 2008 predecessor, the film casts that familiar atmosphere instantly, from scenes that will cast your mind to the events of the Dark Knight, to the frankly mental action scene that introduces Bane; the roaring engine of the plot line. There's an old problem that may catch some viewers off guard as characters are swiftly introduced and referred to later without visual reference, this leads to confusion as to who's who in dialogue heavy scenes. A problem I saw in The Dark Night; lot's of plot to cram in. A lot of people have complained about the lack of clarity with Banes dialogue scenes, I didn't have too much of an issue, but I can see why people would, it's not exactly phonetically accessible. However Tom Hardys portrayal of the character and his ability to act with his eyes and body language is a revelation. A number of people believe the mask to be a hindrance to his performance, I see it as nothing short of terrifying.

For the initiated, the film runs perfectly in line with it's predecessors, holding ideals, themes and metaphors that go right back to the roots of Batman Begins; 'Why do we fall? So we can pick ourselves back up again'. In the case of TDKR, Batman literally has to break himself out of his physiological and psychological prison in order to combat this unrelenting foe. There's new characters to help him along and once again the handling of these characters, that have led to cinematic grimaces in the past, feel like they belong in Nolans Gotham.

In the first two films the antagonists (Ra's Al Ghul and The Joker) wanted to see the city tear itself apart, however for the final installment Bane seeks to literally tear it to the ground. Which I think is why some people found a sense of disconnection with the film, it is massive, so large in it's scope and yet so centrally fixed on Bruce Wayne over Bane. I for one applaud Nolan for bringing Bruce Wayne back into focus adding yet more layers to this rich and interesting character. However you think Bane gets sidelined, his impact on the scenes he appears in are great and terrifying, the hallmark of any monstrous character.

I do have one big criticism, however much I enjoy the soundtrack there are scenes where the music is obnoxiously loud and I found myself reeling at this very problem, music is a trick to impact a scene, but over milking it makes you remember how loud it was rather than how great the scene looked. However the film makers seem sarcastically aware of this and one scene does let the punches fly unaccompanied which had refreshing impact. The action is furious when it hits but it does take a while to deliver. However the inclusion of much of the exposition gives a greater impact and realism to scenes that could come off as overly ridiculous or just a damp squib. There are nit picks within the dialogue and the choices made in plot direction, however these are a mild annoyances in what is overall a superb piece of action cinema that fully realises a grown up and realistic Batman universe, and puts a pretty solid end to the best comic book trilogies ever filmed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★