THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises is the undoubtedly the most anticipated superhero film of the year, following up the humungous blockbusters, The Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). Said to be the final instalment of Nolan’s Batman series, The Dark Knight fetched much expectations and questions popped up on how the maker going to surpass the top standards of the predecessors.

Firstly, comparing The Dark Knight Rises with the predecessor is irrelevant as it stands out on his own with its own prospect and meaning. The final installment is not only the conclusion of the batman saga but also comes up with a punch that everyone who voice out for justice can be a hero. I would say that The Dark Knight Rises is the most meaningful finale achieved for a superhero franchise till date.

The film sets after 8 years from the demise of Joker and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) gets caught up with the new villain Bane (Tom Hardy) who rise up as a threat to the Gotham City. He also gets tangled in an emotional circle with Alfred (Michael Caine), Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman).  As things cut deep, Batman rises to stop Bane, who is the strongest villain physically, the Dark Knight have ever faced.

The portrayal of Bane in this film is innovated in the appearance compared to the comic version. Tom Hardy excels greatly with the menacing posture and with aggressive eyes. However his indistinct voice rendition does distract but only to a small extent. He does look weaker and less relatable than the emotionally threatening Joker, mainly due to his mask which covers most of his face.

To compensate those, Nolan has set interestingly raw choreography of action sequences which raises the heartbeat, each time. The sound editing and mixing thoroughly elevates these set pieces greatly. Even though the action sequences are individually lesser, each of them is huge and loud. The burden for the visual effects of The Dark Knight Rises is rather huge but is crafted with much realism.   With these interestingly shot chase scenes, Nolan stamps his authority and his profundity in crime action set pieces.

Hans Zimmer music sets like an icing in the cake with the score boasts with flamboyance, pulling the intended moods of scenes, few steps higher.

The technical brilliance of this final installment is further highlighted with most number of scenes shot in IMAX. Nolan’s bravery and bold decision is noteworthy.

Screenplay is the major strength of Nolan brothers and they have retained it again with this final installment for the franchise. There are touches of Inception at certain scenes as it is evident in the way the dreams and flashback are cut. The degree of surrealism can be felt and it does give another colour to the franchise. The film’s length nearly touches the three hour mark but surprisingly feels like a 2 hour feature due to rapid pacing of writing. However it does get indistinct at the middle but it will rarely sit on your mind with the last 30 minutes ready to blow you away.  

The Dark Knight Rises, surprisingly has a strong sense of emotion and heart. It does appear to be a sweet shock as it comes from a director who focuses more of the intellectual strength of a story. The film is packed with lots of characters but Nolan takes some time to make sure none is diluted. The dialogues are sharp, deep and witty at times.

In overall, The Dark Knight Rises is undeniably the most apt finale for the epic superhero franchise one could ever ask for.

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