Words spoken about Bane and his emergence from the pit but which have so much meaning for Bruce Wayne himself, 30 years spent angry and in pain seeking and clinging on to an outlet for the rage which brewed deep within. The Dark Knight Rises shows how a person can move on from the burdens they've laden on themselves, as well as being the conclusion to an inspiring story of how one man can make a change and how a life dedicated to others can make a difference. Anyone can be a hero.
Rises is a wonderfully crafted story. Everything works for me. My initial reaction on first viewing was one of intense emotion. Bruce is taken to some incredibly low moments during the course of this film; from the figuratively broken man we see at the start, secluding himself from the world when the Batman persona he created and so needed was itself no longer needed, to the literally broken man when ego takes him in to a battle he can not win and which costs him dearly. The pit sequence epitomises why I - and I'm sure a lot of us - love this character; his will, his determination, his refusing to quit and be beaten. His back broken and thrown to the bottom of a seemingly inescapable pit to wallow in self pity at his failure to save Gotham, he doesn't, he throws himself to the floor and attempts to re-build himself. Refusing to be beaten. But he must first learn to again cherish his own life as well as those he tries to save. The sequence culminates with what is my favourite scene of the trilogy and one of the greatest scenes to ever affect me in such a profound way. The climb out of the pit accompanied by that pulsing score and rhythmic chanting is just an exhilarating experience, each and every time. It's also a wonderful moment when the bats fly out before he makes the jump, fear literally found him again, just wonderful.
Bane is a fantastic villain. He may not as be charismatic or have the same level of gravitas as Heath Ledger's Joker, but then he was never going to as Bane is a completely different kind of villain. But if Ledger fully embodied and became the Joker, so too did Tom Hardy with Bane. There are two scenes in particular; the prison scene post-sewer fight and at City Hall when he is incapacitated where Hardy is able to convey with his eyes alone the hate and coldness which Bane feels towards Bruce and the love and warmth which he feels for Talia. Intelligent, calculating and evil, Nolan created a villain that was worthy of being Batman's equal and Hardy elevated the character to be a menacing, terrifying enigma.
The Dark Knight Rises is well written, incredibly well acted, beautifully shot, moves at a heart-racing pace - this film does not feel like two and a half hours - and speaks to us about the world in which we live today through the prism of one man's journey to be a symbol for good whilst exorcising the demons within him. To see Bruce finally shed his pain and anger, to move on with his life was for this Batman fan an incredibly moving and wonderful thing to see. He may have left Gotham behind but he didn't abandon it, he has inspired generations to follow in his footsteps. Bruce Wayne will not be around for ever, but the symbol of Batman can be. Anyone can be a hero.For me The Dark Knight Rises is a masterpiece, and I struggle to understand why it receives intense nitpicking and unfounded criticism to be so underrated. Following The Dark Knight was always going to be tough, and I think a lot of the problems with Rises stem from people expecting something far different than what we got. However like many a now considered "classic", Rises is undervalued in it's time, receiving mixed reviews and not held up aloft as the cinematic achievement that it i.s But in time it will be viewed as it should be - as one of Christopher Nolan's and cinema's masterpieces, and I can only offer my thanks to Mr. Nolan for giving us the greatest trilogy ever made.
Martin Deer
Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen - Available now via Amazon.co.uk
and Amazon.com
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I couldn't agree more. Tomorrow can't come fast enough.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great write-up. I too simply cannot understand the nitpicking and the criticism. The film is not 110% perfect as a film, because how could it be, but the ideas it conveys, the execution of those themes, and the actors that push home the point masterfully are what makes this the best film of the year for me. I've read about all the hate for this film in comment boards and forums across the web, and sometimes I think maybe this hate thrown against it stems mostly from arrogant trolls vying for some kind of warped attention/recognition; hell, maybe some of it stems unconsciously from the tragedy and anger surrounding the Aurora shootings, and its effect on everyone in general. And maybe some people were just way too under the spell of THE AVENGERS and wanted, all of an idiotic sudden, for Batman to be more like that Marvel opus. But If there is one sure thing, its that time will do this masterpiece justice; TDKR deserves it's place alongside the greats.
ReplyDeleteWOW what an amazing article.
ReplyDeleteCouldnt agree more, Nolan is a genius who brought us the best trilogy of all times.
Everything you said in this article is fantastic, but it's all just opinion. The one thing that is universally agreed upon by film editors, is that this was a poorly paced movie.
ReplyDeleteIt's incredible how much they try to cram into each scene, even having John Blake reveal his identity after there first scene together. It's all just a little rushed, but if you like it that way then who is gonna stop you from enjoying it.
Thank you for putting it all in perspective. TDKR is still my favourite & most epic in the trilogy
ReplyDeleteGood point. I Love the movie and I agree with a lot of this article. I think it's true a lot of people are distraught by the fact that TDKR is such a vastly different movie than TDK. (I had the same reaction to TDK after BB. That's what I love about Nolan; he never makes the same movie twice.) Nevertheless TDK is still the most flawed of the three in mainly technical and screenplay terms. The character Foley for instance had too big a role, as did Blake. There were too many imo unnecessary scenes that took away from the four core characters (Bruce, Bane, Selina and Miranda/Talia). The most typical one imo is where Blake leads the school kids back into the bus; nothing short of a waste of screen time. Bane could've gotten a better 'end' with that added time. And so on. I can't believe they cut out sequences of Bane's origin in favor of utterly useless and un-impactful scenes of supporting characters.
ReplyDeleteHow about this (I don't care if that sounds arrogant): it'd been better in my opinion if Foley hadn't existed as a character. Gordon wouldn't have to be so ridiculously bed ridden half the movie. Gordon should've lead the attack against Bane and BLAKE was the one who followed the truck with the anti-signal EMP. It would've been a wonderful moment to show how skilled Blake is and how much potential he has as a next Batman. He also could've realized that Miranda was not who she claimed when he was sent to the wrong truck adding validity to his earlier displayed detective intellect. Gordon would've had a much more glorious role and all of them would've had more screen time as the completely pointless 'failed exodus scene' (with Blake and the bus) would've been completely gone. I like Modine, I like his performance, but sadly his character is utterly useless and nothing but a screen time detractor for the rest.
I love the movie, Nolan and exceptionally this entire trilogy. I think TDKR's message and addition to the Batman character is magnificent. But TDKR's script was the least of all three and that is simply too bad. Many missed opportunities in this movie...
I totally get what you're saying about the bus scene and Foley, although I'd argue that they both at least serve some purpose. They both contribute to Blake's eventual disillusionment with legal structures (which eventually become 'shackles' as Gordon puts it). Also the bus scene allows Blake to invert Bane's whole strategy of using hope as a means of torture ('Isn't it better to give them hope?'). It's still a bit naff though. I think while the previous films managed to have their themes seemingly emerge organically from logical(ish) storytelling, this one focused too much on the themes, to the detriment of narrative cohesion. Too many plates spinning. Still, I do like the film a lot. Better a film that aims high and doesn't quite get there than one that succeeds admirably at being mediocre.
ReplyDeleteThe bus scene brings a lot to the story that I think you are missing. It solidifies the point that the structures of law can become shackles and sets Blake up to quit the Police. It also puts the kids on the bus in a position to witness with their own eyes the sacrifice that Batman makes, thus inspiring them. Check out the second pair of kids on the bus it cuts to, the kid on screen left, he is devastated but amazed. That kid has a future ahead of him doing good things.
ReplyDeleteIf Gordon had led the attack he would have ended up dead, he was a main target for the League, and leading the charge would have put him in harms way. Since I didn't want to see Gordon dead, I'm glad that he didn't. But I do agree Foley could have been written better, giving his death more impact. And I do wish Gordon had a bigger role, just not the one you are suggesting.
Why did Bane need an origin? We know his origin; he was born in a prison, was attacked saving Talia and went on to be trained by the League of Shadows. We know enough, the brilliance of Nolan's trilogy was keeping the focus on Bruce, not bogging us down with villain origin stories. They aren't important, and besides that we got an origin story for Bane.
Good points of both you guys! Thanks for replying.
ReplyDeleteI think, Martin Deer, that I can agree and review my point with regards to the bus scene a lot. And I think you make a good point that TDKR is indeed all about Bruce and I agree with you in liking that focus. However, I still think regardless that other characters besides Bruce deserve as much credibility as Bruce himself. Or his four main stars specifically. With regards to Blake I had definitely not realized Blake inverts Bane's manipulation of the concept of hope, I'm very glad you pointed the sense of that sentence out. Thomas Love however just replied a thing that I think is becoming a problem with Nolan for the first time: "[...] this one focused too much on the themes, to the detriment of narrative cohesion."
I think Thomas hits a nail there that in my opinion Nolan gives so MUCH layers to his characters in terms of carrying thematic symbolism that he starts to have difficulty managing the validity of all of them throughout the film. Especially considering you want viewers to pick up on them, obviously. This is of course mostly a practical problem in terms of the film's running time etc. It's a hard trick to manage so many symbolic layers and have characters essentially almost be vessels for these themes, and still create a film that's coherent and filled with enough practical instances of action etc. I think Nolan is brilliant at it, but not perfect yet, not yet...
Again thanks for the replies, especially to the author of the article Martin Deer. You nudged the film up a bit for me (not that it had anything coming close to a low score – I still think it's a grand film).
Now if only those few dreadful goofs like the final battle's geography could've been fixed...
TDK was a better movie by a mile
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