**WARNING**
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD. READ ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE WATCHED THE MOVIE
So finally. I have watched The Dark Knight Rises. The movie that millions of Batman fans had been fervently waiting for, expectations sky-high (especially after the brilliance of The Dark Knight) and anticipating nothing less than a cinematic marvel that would blow them off their feet, a monumental piece of cinema with great acting, incredible action, the right dose of suspense and humour and an ending that would leave Batmaniacs gasping for breath.
Unfortunately, it falls flat on many counts and despite the superbtastic soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and some really impressive action sequences, The Dark Knight Rises fails to live upto the hype created ever since the name of the movie was announced.
What are the positives here? Well, only a few. One of them is surely Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, a crafty, unapologetic burglar with a love-hate relation with Bruce Wayne and Batman. The latest toy of Batman- the flying contraption or the Batwing is another positive which induces a feeling of awe during the action scenes, which are very well-executed.
But there are flaws aplenty. For instance:
1. Cliched, done to death plot- Consider most of the action movies in Hollywood, Bollywood or any other movie industry- most involve spies or some retired special agent who is ‘called back for duty’ to take on a villain who threatens up to blow up a city with a nuclear bomb. Exactly the same happens in The Dark Knight Rises. The aura of suspense is missed throughout the movie. Also, Batman’s initial encounter with Bane doesn’t evoke any feeling of dread and gloom.
2. & 3. Bane and the Bane-Talia romantic angle- Undeniably the weakest link in the movie. Bane is a loser, wussy villain who sounds like an 80-year-old- granddad. The voice of Bane has definitely been altered, because you can notice in the prologue his deeper, more sinister vocalism. Damn you Christopher Nolan :-/ I felt like guffawing whenever Bane opened his mouth. Also, when Miranda Tate is revealed to be Talia Al Ghul, the pathetic Bane actually becomes emotional. Boy, what an embarassment. Nolan’s Joker would roast him alive if he ever crossed his path.
One more thing, what in the bejabbers was that Talia-Bane romance? It reduced Bane to nothing more than a henchman of Talia who was ‘fulfilling her father’s wishes’. And if the ages of Bane and Talia in the flashback are as shown- an adult and a kid, then clearly Bane is a paedophile. He was what…boning the child Talia? PAEDO!
4. The ludicrous ending- First of all, Christopher Nolan had said there would be no Robin in the movie. Then why in the name of all that is holy was the reference to Robin regarding Gordon-Lewitt’s character- John Blake even made, eh? And the ending, oh wow, Batman flew away with the nuke in his batwing and its shown that 5 seconds before detonation, he is still sitting in his uran khatola. No way he could have escaped and cleared 6+ miles to survive that blast. Batman is NOT SUPERMAN!
Nolan also said ‘we want to end it in the biggest way possible’. This was the epic end? A cheesy nuclear blast and the hero saves the entire city? Pah! Get more innovative, Mr. Nolan.
5. Too many characters- In a superhero movie, the focus should remain on the superhero vs supervillain battle. In The Dark Knight Rises, its a complete clutter with many unnecessary characters. Its all about Gotham city, in fact. I was wondering if Bane was really required in the movie… because his role is nothing more than of a thug doing the bidding of his masters.
All in all, for me, someone who had spammed the timelines of people on Twitter and Facebook, assuring them that this would be the biggest superhero movie ever made, The Dark Knight Rises was a big disappointment.
Final review of the Batman trilogy:
Batman Begins- 4/5 stars
The Dark Knight- 5/5 stars
The Dark Knight Rises- 3/5 stars. 3.8/5 stars
* After reading this review–> http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2012/07/26/the-meaning-of-joseph-gordon-levitts-fate-in-the-dark-knight-rises-spoilers/ the rating for TDKR has been increased to 3.8
For additional reading:
1. How much would it cost to be Batman in real life? http://mashable.com/2012/07/30/how-much-would-it-cost-to-be-batman/
2. Hero worship: Why Nolan’s Batman is the king of movie superheroes http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/28/hero-worship-why-nolans-batman-is-the-king-of-movie-superheroes
3. Five Leadership Lessons From Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/07/30/five-leadership-lessons-from-christopher-nolans-batman-trilogy/
4. A look at every single bat-tool Batman has utilized! http://www.ign.com/wikis/the-dark-knight-rises/Bat-Gadgets
5. How The Dark Knight Rises reveals Batman’s conservative soul http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9405999/How-the-Dark-Knight-Rises-reveals-Batmans-Conservative-soul.html
