Ok folks. The Dark Knight has arrived to rise. His rise is in the most adept hands of Christopher Nolan for the third time. Nolan has reinvented the super hero genre with his much acclaimed Batman reeboot franchise. The hopes are very high for Batman to flutter high for the third time in this franchise. After the massive acclaim and awards garnered by the second instalment in the series, Nolan had set himself standards that many of us felt, were impossible to emulate, even by Nolan himself. You will definitely walk to the theatre feeling that you might not savour a third helping of the same dish, especially when the second dish had an award winning menacing performance by Late Heath ledger. Yet, the fact remains that Nolan has never failed to impress both audience and critics alike with all the 7 films he has directed till date. One will thus definitely get into the theatre feeling that Nolan shall not fail to impress, but the third serving will be one that has oft been tasted and shall not be as savoured as the second one. Put all your inhibitions in the trash folks, because there is absolutely nothing new that I can write about the third instalment in Christoper Nolan's much famed Batman reboot series, that you might have not felt yourself before or heard before. No, that was not a statement laced with negativity, but the only way Nolan can be complimented, for he has succeeded in packing as powerful a punch as he did in The Dark Knight. Starring a bevy of Nolan regulars such as Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Morgan Freeman, The Dark Knight Rises soars to the heights that it promises to reach in it's title with typical Nolan flair.
Plot:
The plot picks up where The Dark Knight ended. It has been 7 years since Harvey Dent died. Gotham has become a city devoid of any crime. Bruce Wayne now lives the life of a recluse. One day, he is burgled by the mysterious cat burglar Selina Kyle, who actually burgles much more than his valuables. Bruce Wayne comes out of his self imposed house arrest only to find out that Gotham is slipping back into the chasms of darkness by a plan perpetrated this time by the masked villain, Bane. As he tries to wreck Bane's plans, he finds himself falling into the gorges of his past life of training under Rha's Al Gul. Will he be able to let go of his past? Will he rise to save Gotham from Bane and his sinister plans? Grab your tickets, go watch and find out for yourself.
Work behind the camera:
Now, let us get rid of the massive impression that Heath Ledger left in our minds for doing this film its due of justice. Nolan has crafted a pitch perfect superhero saga that does not sag on you, for the third time in a row. The impressive set pieces, visual effects, sound design, visuals and overall technical wizardry apart, The Dark Knight Rises packs in a wholesome fare for every ravenous cinematic appetite in town. In terms of plot, it is no more than your average superhero film with it's share of societal menaces and do gooders with a good wins over bad ending. As is usual, it is Nolan's treatment of the script that makes every difference. What the plot loses in it's routine proceedings, it more than makes up for with gripping sequences filled with such emotional depth, you feel that it is more than just an action movie. The ensemble cast is justified with clearly defined roles for everyone on board. Again, Nolan makes the viewers see the superhero as human with human idiosyncrasies. The director makes us look at the superhero with all his foibles. Though, what is most impressive is that the movie made even the villains look like humans rather than pure evil in the same flair as the previous instalment did. Where this instalment tops the previous one is in stronger conceptual content. The action sequences are at par with the usual Batman standard and so is the technical work. The script packs a more intelligent story which bears an uncanny resemblence to Inception i.e with a series of continuous snapshots of the past and a twist ending. In the second instalment, The Dark Knight was a hero all through. In this instalment, we get to see the real personality behind that hero. The events portrayed are so aptly meshed that the movie never goes out of sync with the viewer at any point of time in its 145 minute running time. The movie is not without its faults though. The twist ending is too predictable. It also has a little less of action and more of talk than the second instalment. Yet, unlike usual superhero yarn, this one does not insult your intelligence. It plays with your intelligence instead. Hats off for the 8th time to Nolan for that. Watch out for the sharp one liners laced with acidic wit.
Work Facing the Camera:
The performances by the ensemble cast is one of the most perfect ones ever. Everyone fits the role admirably. Nothing new can be said about the persons who were already involved in the franchise before i.e Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. They are as good as they were before. Anne Hathaway makes a far better Catwoman than Halle Berry(a Razzie award winning role). She is adquate as a feline burglar with a good side. Tom Hardy as Bane is pertinent to his role, if not passionate. He makes a far less menacing villain than the Joker, but that is in no way a derogatory statement. Marion Cotillard gets a role similar to the one she had in Inception and pulls it off with her typical grace. Joseph Gordon Levitt is perfect for his role. Overall, no major faults nor any major brilliances in the cast. They fit the bill perfectly.
Snapshot:
What Nolan has created here is possibly the greatest superhero trilogy of all time. The last instalment more than lives up to it's predecessors. It improves on some of the faults of them and completes a few open plot lines in them. The Dark Knight Rises is an emotionally charged, viscerally stimulating, intellectually sound and aesthetically significant film of the superhero genre. For hard core Nolan fans and for the normal viewer in general, the film provides an equal measure of entertainment and satisfaction. Please go watch it and do yourself the honour of savouring the intellect that is Nolan's. Please do not allow the Joker to be a block to your appreciativeness, because this film more than just deserves it. It earns it from you with the force of hulk.
Rating: 4.5 on 5 (Once again I am being forced into this generosity of rating purely because of one person whose name I needn't mention for I have already done so in a copious amount)
