Movie Reviews and Ratings

The Dark Knight Rises

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is by far the best action movie of summer 2012, while it does have some flows they are easily overseen. For those of you that have been waiting for the final chapter of the trilogy I suggest you do it right and watch it in IMAX, because it truly takes the film to an unbelievable level. Director Christopher Nolan really completed the task of the Batman trilogy on a high note, this was such a delicate project that could have easily gone wrong, but now that it is complete we can be happy to say that Nolan didn’t harm it but enhanced it. The beauty of the trilogy is that they complement each other, as some offer better things than others so there’s not really a point in comparing them; but I can say this one offers the most action out of the three.  

The story picks up eight years after the Dark Knight (Christian Bale) damaged his reputation in order to give the city of Gotham a more appropriate hero in his opinion. Bruce Wayne is urged to come out of retirement when Selina Kyle aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), a young police officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and entrepreneur Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) show up at his doorstep. The final push come when him and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) quickly realize that they merely put a lid on crime when Bane (Tom Hardy) the ultimate villain arrives to Gotham with catastrophic plans.     

Villain wise there’s no comparison to the Joker (Heath Ledger), he was such a well-rounded and unforgettable character that is hard for any of the new villains to match up to him. Nonetheless, Bane is a different type of character because what he may lack in wit he makes up for in strength, and his plans in large scale are what makes him the ultimate villain when at times even Batman doesn’t seem like a fair adversary. Hardy certainly became the monster behind the mask with his brute strength and cold heart, something he gave us a glimpse of in one of the best movies of 2011 ‘Warrior’. Hathaway is one of the best actresses in Hollywood because of her versatility and she proves that once more as Catwoman, she obviously dazzles in the cat suit but also gives depth to a character that we are not told much about, I won’t give much away about her performance except that she steals every scene she’s in, even some of the ones where Batman is present.

The best thing about ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ are all the surprises it delivers, it is so engaging that once it’s over you won’t feel like you spent almost 3 hours of your day in a dark movie theater. With all its up an downs it is a bit draining but quite fulfilling. Some scenes are painful to watch but the ones where there’s redemption and action truly make up for it. There are also some emotional moments that give the film a more rounded feeling. The new ride “The Bat” is quite awesome to see in action, as well as “the Batpod” showing off a couple of new tricks. The nicest thing about this film is that although Batman is the main character, and Bale was born to play the role as he shows endlessly time and time again it is not all about him. Some of the new characters such as Blake easily get our attention and that surely was done on purpose. Gordon-Levitt was the perfect choice for the role as he’s shown aptitude for these types of films like he did in ‘Inception’.

Although Bane is an excellent bad guy especially because of his look he is very hard to understand when he speaks, his speech is supposed to be sophisticated and intelligent and there were various angry comments about it when the prologue was shown last year; they went back to the studio to change it and it makes a huge difference but at times it’s still he’s hard to understand in a theater surround sound and all. Some scenes might disappointing the comic book fans, but honestly some of the changes help make the movie uplifting, relevant and even humorous. This is not a PG-13 type of movie like ‘The Avengers’ in every sense is more dark and needs every moment of comedic release it can get; this is definitely for a more adult audience. By Now Nolan has created his own world of Batman that can stand on its own, but here the complicated parts of the story come from the interaction between some of the new characters and the old ones as some seem forced, also some parts of Bain’s sinister plan get too convoluted. Finally, reality is forgotten at times which can be annoying but this is a movie after all.

Batman’s greatest appeal is that he’s a superhero without superpowers and that’s exactly what makes this last chapter the more appealing, because everyone that comes in to complement the story such as Catwoman, Bain and Blake are humans with different gadgets and abilities that cater to the audience. Nolan is a cinematic genius and he proves it once more by giving the viewers chills in some of the scenes, you get so invested in the story that there’s a connection with what happens in it; also because of the familiar landmarks shown that makes it the more real, although it takes away the whole “Gotham” myth which may bother some. To me this last part of the trilogy fulfilled all my expectations and the fact that a movie can keep you entertained for so long says a lot. Get ready to enjoy the most anticipated movie of the summer and the last chapter of a trilogy that many will cherish and already do.