Movie Review: "The Dark Knight Rises"

The Dark Knight Rises

Nolan ends his trilogy with a whimper, not a bang. Not literally, of course, given the bomb that explodes. But in terms of character development and tone, I felt we lost a lot in this conclusion. It's late and there's work tomorrow, so I'll leave a plot summary for another time, and instead focus in my thoughts on the film.

Batman has been gone for eight years, and Bruce Wayne has become reclusive as well. Wayne is just as much a legend as Batman. Why did Wayne become reclusive? We learn he created some fusion reactor project that failed, and he became a recluse after that. Maybe he's nothing without batman, so fine, acceptable. But his motivations for returning are sketchy. After hearing bout some guy called Bane, he figures he needs to return. I figured, after being a villain, becoming the enemy for eight whole years,it would take a lot to bring him back, to give him the motivation to return to a city that cast him out. Like a leper.

Bane also had some odd motivations. League of shadows, destroy the city, that makes sense. Let's create class warfare in the meantime, to give them hope before destroying them? Odd. How about we just destroy them? And why where people suddenly against the rich? We didn't get an indication of that beforehand. It felt a bit forced.

Catwoman was done well. She was sly, elusive, we got just enough backstory. Tate was also done well, and her reveal as Talia was good, albeit a bit late in the game. And that reveal turned Bane from a decently interesting character to a henchman.... again. The Bane of the comic world was a genius, figuring out Batman's identity. The Bane here knew the identity not from keen observation of his prey, but because he was from the league. There are indications he was smart, in making calculations, but not on the level of the comic counterpart.

And the biggest gripe I had was the change in Bruce's character. Batman should've died. I didn't think that going in, not do I think it's the best option, but once Nolan went there, he should've stayed there. Bruce dedicated his life to Gotham, to being a symbol. Dying a symbol makes sense. Sneaking out of his life to live a happy life with Catwoman abroad? Seemed out of place. It would've been good if the character development led to that, but it seemed so sudden. As did Alfred's disappearance for most of the film, although they explained that. There also weren't as many good quotes as the past.

And Robin? Seriously, Nolan? It's enough that Bruce left the legacy to some random cop, but you had to spoon feed us the name Robin? And of course, everyone in the theater clapped like that was some fantastic plot point. And how did Robin figure out Bruce was Batman? Sure he was an orphan too, and saw Bruce as a fake face. But it was just thrown into the film without any good exposition or basis for the audience. Wudle made more sense if Gordon deduced it, and he was the one to convince the world that Btman was needed. I mean, he did in his hospital bed, but it felt sorta unurgent for Batman to come back at that time.

Overall, I think Nolan overreached here. We got inconsistent character development, bland villains, and an overall lackluster feeling at the end. BB remains the most consistent, smooth film, while TDK tackled a lot but compensated with Joker's theme. TDKR seemed to stop short on all accounts. I liked the return t the league storyline, maxed it somewhat full circle. But certain things, like Lucius coercing Bruce to be Batman by showing him fancy gadgets, seemed out of place. An inconsistent and disappointing end to what should've been a fine film legacy.

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