THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

MyRating: YYYYY + A CROWN  /  [A++]

Director: Christopher Nolan
 
Screenplay: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan
Story: Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer
 
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Modine, Cillian Murphy

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language

The Dark Knight Rises is not, and never was, my most anticipated movie of 2012, as The Hobbit is always popped at the very top of my list. Different from many people who are super-duper excited for Rises since last year, as it is the most highly-anticipated movie and the biggest movie event of the year, I have to admit that I didn't have that super of an excitement. Indeed, there are many other movies that I wanted to see more than Rises this year. And from the 3 big-profile and most popular superhero movies released this summer, Rises still came the third in my superheroes want-to-see list, after The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-man. Why? Two main reasons. First, I was not a big fan of Christopher Nolan's Batman movies (nor the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher's versions). The Dark Knight (2008) is not my most favorite superhero movie of all time. It has always been Sam Raimi's Spider-man 2 (2004). Actually, I didn't really like The Dark Knight that much when I watched it back in 2008, even though I admired and take my hat off to Heath Ledger for his brilliant and outstanding performance as the Joker, whose acting will be very difficult to beat by any other actors who play supervillains (before and) after his time, for years to come. My second reason, Batman is not, and never was, my favorite superhero figure, as I always prefer Superman and Spider-man more since I was a kid.

But after coming back from The Dark Knight Rises last night, one thing I know for sure in my heart, that I loved what Nolan did with the end of this most talked about Batman franchise. I've grown to like Nolan and his works more and more, and he has strongly become one of my favorite filmmakers nowadays. A brilliant director and a brilliant screenwriter, as well as a masterclass storyteller, who will become one of the legends in the industry. And I got my first magic moment with Nolan not in Memento (2000). Not in Batman Begins (2005). And certainly not in The Dark Knight. But it was in his 2010 amazing 'totem spinning' sci-fi adventure Inception (which is also one of my all time favorites). The Dark Knight Rises is his another brilliant work, that fully kept me fascinated through out the movie, scene by scene, excitedly following how the storyteller told, led and bended the story, which I didn't mind at all since I enjoyed every moment out of it.

So, what makes The Dark Knight Rises great? Story. Story. Story. I am always fond of a good and smart storytelling, as I believe story is the most important element to enjoy a movie. Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan and developed the story with David S. Goyer, has written one standout and excellent conclusion, with a perfect round-out that closed this epic trilogy with a slam dunk. The complex but gripping storytelling, with a great direction from Nolan, made this dark and edgy superhero movie becoming a very satisfying fun-thrill ride, full of many jaw-dropping and thrilling moments, as well as intense action sequences, but at the same time still managed to be thoughtful and have hearts and emotions. It has interesting characters to be cared about with good character developments, smart dialogues, beautiful cinematography, cool high-tech gadgets, wonderful score by Hans Zimmer, plus some layers of unexpected twists. There was never a boring moment for me, even at times of heavy conversations. Every scene and dialogue was carefully tied and built-up into a final climax and a dramatic ending. And everything just worked so well.

The story is set eight years after the events in The Dark Knight. Gotham City is now at peace, finely protected by the anti-crime police force under the control of Commisioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman). Batman has vanished and never been heard of for years, so as Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who seems to disappeared from the public eye into a solitary life. When Bane (Tom Hardy), a cruel and merciless masked terrorist leader, attacks Gotham, the city is suddenly set into a series of horrendous terrors, chaos and deaths. At almost the same time, the appearance of the mysterious Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a skilled cat burglar, seems to have her own hidden agenda that may be assosiated with the terrorists. With the impending fall of Gotham City, Bruce Wayne has now to make a decision, whether to come out from his exile, put back on his batsuit and go back into actions to save Gotham City, or to see his beloved city destroyed by Bane and his henchmen.

The awesome cast is a real great treat, as all the actors gave good  performances and fine actings. Christian Bale is a fine Bruce Wayne and Batman. This may be his toughest job ever to save Gotham City. And that the man behind the batsuit was just a normal human being with flesh and blood, who has his own weaknesses. And Bale captured the strugglings that Wayne facing very well. Anne Hathaway was not only stunningly beautiful and attractive in his sexy catsuit, but she also successfully nailed her role as the slick Selina Kyle, a morally ambiguous character. Her love-and-hate relationship with Bruce Wayne, and their witty dialogues, was a pleasure to watch. Hathaway just rocked as Catwoman. While, even though Bane is definitely no Joker, he is still a great villain, who is a tough and equal match to Batman.  Unfortunately, it was not possible for Tom Hardy to show his greatness due to the mask he was wearing the whole movie, that was impossible for us to see his facial expressions. Nevertheless, he played his role well as a terrifying character who spreaded terrors, with his big and muscular body. Hardy was a fine actor though.

The other supporting actors also handled their roles very well, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt who shone as the young officer John Blake, whose idealism and sharp instincts as a policeman gave him a big role in this movie. His character won the audience's sympathy. Another Inception-alumni, Marion Cotillard has an important role in the story as the businesswoman Miranda Tate, who developed an intimate relationship with Bruce Wayne. She played her character elegantly. As Commissioner Gordon, Gary Oldman also has many screen time, an honest police officer who tiredlessly fighting the crimes. The other high profile senior actors were Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, the loyal caretaker of Bruce Wayne, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, a top executive in the Wayne Enterprises as well as the armorer of Batman. Another interesting performance was coming from Cillian Murphy, who reprised his role as Jonathan Crane or Scarecrow. He stole every scene he was in, with his short appearance as the judge in the punishing courtroom. Liam Nesson also has a cameo appearance as Ra's al Ghul.

The attack in the football stadium was a spectacularly brilliant and a thrilling piece, with a massive destruction that will leave you gasp. The tensions in this movie were continuously built into an ultimate climax, with some moments so intense that you want to cheer when the good guys have their chance to strike back, or when some of the characters have their time to do their solo actions. The final fighting scene between Batman and Bane looked a bit old fashioned though, with the two of them punching each other in a robotic way. It was not as amazing as the mindblowing actions in the final scene of The Avengers (2012). Marvel seems to have a more marvelous action sequences than DC. But, who really cares. As a matter of fact, I could not find the amazing storytelling, which The Dark Knight Rises possessed, anywhere in The Avengers. Anyway, Anne Hathaway riding the BatPod with spinning wheels while in-actions was very-very cool.

I cannot understand for the people who hate Christopher Nolan, some for unclear reasons, just because they couldn't enjoy one or two (or maybe all) of his movies as they expected, while other people seem to easily praised and all hyped-out for his movies. These Nolan haters then created their own assumptions and theories on how incompetent Nolan was, and his works. But this kind of fake subjectivity and apathy will forever cloud their judgements, as they will never enjoy any Nolan's movies, leave alone appreciating his great works, because they simply just couldn't get it. Can these haters' opinions being taken seriously then? Seriously! No.

The debate on 'whether The Dark Knight is better or The Dark Knight Rises is better', is not really that important and matter, as it will become a forever unsettling debate. To each his own. As for me, The Dark Knight Rises is the high point and the best of the trilogy. It was a great movie and I enjoyed it the most. My perfect score simply portrayed my overall satisfaction and feelings towards this movie, that I really-really loved. I was impressed by how a comic book movie could have such story with a depth like this. It was a complete fine served dish. And this comes from a non Batman-fan. This is the best movie of 2012 that I've watched so far and definitely the best of this year's summer movies. Without any doubts, this is a seriously much better film than The Avengers, and I really expect to see The Dark Knight Rises receive many serious nominations next year, including the Best Original Screenplay, the Best Director and the Best Picture. It deserves the nominations anyway. It was an amazing and superb film in all aspects. Another masterpiece by Cristopher Nolan. (MJ)

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