Film review: The Dark Knight Rises (12A)

Alexandra Gregg • Published 27 Jul 2012 12:30 4 Comments

THE Batman must come back. These are the words uttered by Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) as he lies in a hospital bed in The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR) - the final instalment in a so-far flawless trilogy.

Bruce Wayne's response? "What if he doesn't exist any more?" Well, director, screen writer, and cinematic genius, Christopher Nolan, has proven that he surely does.

Set eight years after The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises hones in on the gloomy and brooding Gotham City, which is just as sinful, broken and misguided as it has ever been.

After taking the fall for the crimes of Two Face, a.k.a. "hero" Harvey Dent, philanthropic billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has hung up his cape, trading his crusader days for those of a reclusive cripple. Isolated in the east wing of Wayne Manor, Bruce is devastated after the death of his one true love, Rachel, and at being abandoned by a city he risked his life for.

But heroes cannot stay hidden for long and when the future of Bruce's beloved Wayne Enterprises is threatened, he is forced to make his return to society. Enter Bane (Tom Hardy), a mercenary villain whose only agenda is to ensure the downfall of Gotham. As his uprising gains momentum and the city's police force is disabled, Bruce braves his Batman suit once again, pitting himself against an adversary who pushes his physical boundaries to breaking point - and then some.

While the city's fate hangs in the balance, he finds himself in the middle of a two-pronged attack, the first from the "pure evil" that is Bane, and the second from his inner demons.

TDKR is a pure behemoth, as dark and grandiose as anticipated and five times as intense. I thought Nolan's tour de force was Inception until I clapped eyes on this satisfying conclusion to the DC Comics trilogy. It fires at a relentlessly rapid pace, introducing fantastic new characters along the way - in particular the sexy and ruthless Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), hothead rookie cop Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Bruce's romantic interest, Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).

As Nolan so loves to do, every character is put through the emotional wringer. Gordon is engulfed by the guilt of his lie about Dent, while the faithful Alfred (Michael Caine) feels the sting of seeing Bruce throw his life away. Bruce is isolated, yearning for death but instead forced to re-build himself, rising from the ashes like a Phoenix, with Gotham mirroring his highs and lows. The audience is forced to feel every tiny bit of this pain and but a climactic, yet giddily uplifting ending gives closure on the trilogy, while leaving the door open for the next chapter.

An epic finale that marks a fitting end to Nolan's Batman tenure, TDKR is unsurprisingly action-packed, offering pulse-racing car chases and breathtakingly orchestrated CGI sequences, while delivering heartfelt dialogues and a masterful script.

Tweet

This article appeared in Slough Observer 26 Jul 12

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

• 

  C8H10N4O2
  Unregistered User
  Jul 27, 16:40
  Report comment

  That picture always reminds me of Gareth Epps outside the Civic Centre. Smirk.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 5     No 0

• 

  UNISON Matthew
  Unregistered User
  Jul 29, 14:53
  Report comment

  I'll be there; fat bald head and obese belly giving it the shabba public sector ranks. Move any mountain!
  
  Recommend?   Yes 4     No 0

• 

  croydonpeer
  Unregistered User
  Aug 2, 09:42
  Report comment

  Gareth Epps isn't as exciting as Bruce Wayne. He makes Unison members look interesting. Fat, obese ones.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 2     No 0

• 

  ANGEL
  Unregistered User
  Aug 13, 19:04
  Report comment

  Immortality is for everyone, not just the illuminati and the elite, we shall all live forever as we are all spirits contained in human flesh.when our earthly body dies and leaves this world our spirits will live forever eternally, where that is depends on the choice you make here on earth. If you want to live in heaven believe on JESUS CHRIST, believe he died for you so that you could live, believe he loves you and took everything you ever did wrong and paid the price. There are not many ways to God JESUS SAID I AM THE WAYAND THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.The illuminati are not special they are deluded just like the master they serve Satan himself who is a mere created being just like us.The theme in all these films is immortality IT IS NOT A SECRET so everyone can stop putting their fingers to their lips as if it is was.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 0     No 1

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our archives.

Follow @sloughobserver