When Warner Brothers officially announced there would be a third Batman film, I was thrilled. I was even happier when I found out that Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman would return. Despite the loss of Heath Ledger, the rest of the cast would be rounded out by the talents of Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The cliffhanger ending of The Dark Knight, which finished with Batman as an outlaw, also gave Nolan plenty of material to work with for the film as well. With all of these elements in place, The Dark Knight Rises movie seemed to be on its way to matching the success and quality of the first two films.
In the first scene of The Dark Knight Rises, we see that Gotham City has kept the memory of the late Harvey Dent alive. As proof, the Wayne Manor is hosting a gala, celebrating his legacy as a great hero. We quickly learn, however, that all is not well in Gotham City. Commissioner Gordon is overcome with guilt and is struggling to come to terms with hiding Dent’s crimes from the public. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is still recovering from the old injuries he suffered in The Dark Knight. He has allowed them to hinder him to the point of becoming a recluse, with Alfred as his only contact with the outside world.
His solitude is interrupted when someone breaks into his home and steals his mother’s necklace. He later discovers that this thief is Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Upon confronting her, he learns that Selina is looking for a way to erase her previous record as a thief and start a new life with a clean slate. Also drawing him out of his early retirement is the arrival of a new self-proclaimed leader of the League of Shadows called Bane. Bruce returns to public life and soon finds that his role in Wayne Enterprises has been greatly diminished. However, Lucius Fox and new board member, Miranda Tate, encourage Wayne to continue his involvement with the company. He lets both characters in on his secret project and trusts them enough to give them access to it. They learn that this top secret invention has the power to generate clean energy, but if in the wrong hands, it can be used as an nuclear weapon.
After Bane and his crew attack and steal financial data from the Gotham Stock Exchange, Batman makes his grand return to stop them. Unfortunately, his efforts are unsuccessful. Since he is still wanted for Dent’s murder, the attention of the police is diverted away from Bane and redirected towards him. When Bruce returns home, Alfred warns him that he is not mentally or physically ready to fight Bane. Bruce ignores his advice, and as a result, Alfred quits and leaves the mansion permanently.
Wayne continues to develop his plot to overtake Bane by striking a deal with Selina. If she can arrange for him to meet with Bane, he will give her an electronic gadget that will clear her record. Selina holds up her end of the bargain, and Wayne gets his chance to meet Bane. The meeting takes place in the sewers where Bane is anxiously waiting. Unfortunately, Batman is no match for Bane, and the super villain easily overpowers him. Bane banishes Batman to the very same prison that once held him captive, and the possibility of escape looks bleak for the Caped Crusader.
Things continue to go downhill from here. A terrorist attack violently disrupts a football game with a deadly explosion that causes thousands of casualties. The debris and rubble from the bombing traps the Gotham police in an underground tunnel, rendering them useless to protect the city. As a result, Bane effectively becomes the new ruler of Gotham. To make matters worse, Bane kidnaps Lucius and Miranda from Wayne Enterprises and gains access to the company’s secret project. He uses it to make a bomb, threatening to detonate it if anyone tries to stop him. While stuck in prison, Wayne sees this transpire on television and knows he must escape to save Gotham from Bane. Despite stories that only one person has ever escaped from this prison, through sheer determination and will, Bruce successfully breaks free from his cell. He returns to Gotham with renewed resolve to end Banes’ reign of terror.
After watching the previous two Batman films, I gushed over their excellent screenplays. However, for the third installment, I had little to say about it. It seemed like Nolan knew this would be his final film in the Batman trilogy, so he tried to pack as many ideas in as possible. His main theme, which revolves around the tension between the different social classes, could have been interesting but was left unresolved. The Dark Knight Rises makes a few feeble attempts to show the inequality of the two groups through Selina’s conversations with Bruce. Their discussions only explain why she’s a thief and do nothing to define her character beyond that. Oh, sure we know the resentment the middle, working class feels towards the extravagance of the wealthy, upper class. After all, Bane uses this to manipulate the city and gain his power. But, once Batman returns on the scene, this theme is completely forgotten. We never see how the issues between the different social classes are resolved. It’s almost as if the movie’s way of resolving any problem is to have a big battle that saves Gotham City. As long as the city survives and everyone is safe, the class structure isn’t really important.
I also disliked how Nolan diminished the legacy of some of my favorite characters. Just look at how he portrayed two of my favorites, Alfred and Commissioner Gordon. When Bruce Wayne rashly decides to fight Bane, Alfred tries to stop him. When Wayne ignores him, Alfred decides to quit and deserts him. This decision goes against everything that Alfred’s character stands for and flies in the face of his fierce loyalty to the Wayne family. It was a stupid, uncharacteristic move made on Alfred’s part that did nothing to deter Wayne’s decision. We don’t see Alfred again until the end of the film. Nolan couldn’t stop there, though. He also had to ruin Gordon’s character, too. The first two films established Gordon as an honest, hard working, family man. So what does this movie do with the Commissioner’s honorable character? It takes Gordon’s family away from him and makes him an ineffective decision maker. As the film goes on, he becomes less sympathetic and more unlikable. I get that the Commissioner is consumed with regret over his decision to protect the myth of Harvey Dent’s heroism, but the film does a poor job of giving him a chance to redeem himself. In fact, it does such a poor job that when Gordon’s big redemptive moment arrives, and he becomes the leader of the Gotham resistance movement, I was left feeling uninspired.
I also thought the middle portion of the film was really boring. I didn’t find Bane’s reign as a dictator of Gotham all that interesting, and the government’s response was very weak. Even the underground resistance was tepid and uninspiring at best. The most tedious portion of the film, though, was the time Bruce spent in exile. As soon as Bane drops Wayne in the pit, the flow of the film grinds to a halt. We’re supposed to sympathize with Bruce as he struggles through his inner journey to overcome his emotional wounds. However, this whole sequence left me unmoved. I didn’t really care about Wayne’s internal struggle or any of the other prisoners he interacted with, the setting itself was dull, and after awhile, I just wanted him to escape simply so the film would continue. Even more disappointing, there was no tension or payoff after he broke free. Whenever I watch the film today, I fast forward through this part.
I also hated the decision to move the location of where the movie was filmed. In Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Chicago served as the setting for Gotham City, but for some reason, it was switched to Pittsburgh in The Dark Knight Rises. I loved the ambiance of the Windy City, with its dark tunnels, old art deco architecture, and gritty Loop setting, in the first two movies. The Steel City was unable to capture that same feeling in this third movie, and I found it somewhat distracting due to numerous shots of all the bridges along the three rivers. Changing the film’s location to Pittsburgh is comparable to when the Pistons moved from the Palace of Auburn Hills to Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit. By moving to a new location, it destroyed the continuity and history of the franchise and established a new identity. The Pittsburgh setting made The Dark Knight Rises feel like a completely separate film from The Dark Knight trilogy.
Despite these weaknesses, there are several things I enjoyed about The Dark Knight Rises. The opening sequence of Bane intercepting a plane is simply amazing and remains one of the best action scenes. I happened to like all the new characters added to the film, especially Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. In addition, the rest of the action sequences were all very well done. Although Nolan’s script was flawed, I thought the first hour of the film was good, I liked the surprising twist, and I found the ending satisfying. These portions of the film worked because they stayed true to the themes in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The themes in these first two movies focused on Batman, Alfred, and Gordon’s personal journeys and how each character overcame different obstacles. Every time The Dark Knight Rises returned to these original themes, I found myself drawn back into the movie. If the middle part of the film was cut out, it would be a very good film despite some of its shortcomings.
This is not a bad film, just a very disappointing film. It’s still worth seeing because of the incredible action scenes, interesting characters, and an ending that does a nice job tying everything up. Due to its many flaws, The Dark Knight Rises falls short of matching the caliber of the first two movies in the trilogy. It’s slow in some parts which makes it a difficult film to watch from start to finish. However, it made me appreciate how special Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were and reiterates how hard it is to make an excellent film. Christopher Nolan is still a talented director/writer, but after seeing The Dark Knight Rises, I’m further reminded that making a great film is never easy or a guarantee.
Brian’s Rating 6/10
-Flyin’ Brian