The Dark Knight Rises

There are many forms of immortality... The film series from the bat cave does not end with a movie that rewrites or destroys its rules or genres. The laws of Batman stories were determined by the first installment, and the immortality of the saga established with the second. As such, Bruce Wayne rises in a completely logical way at the end. On the one hand, Christopher Nolan makes him the Batman of the comic books by giving him Selina Kyle or references to the League of Shadows. In the other hand, he gives him the determination of the Dark Knight with the anarchy and political/police intrigues. There is no need to rush, no reason to shock. All he has to do is untangle the final plot twists and place the characters of one great story in their final positions. In the end, you get another hour and a half of fascinating and equally breathtaking spectacle full of captivating characters, and a royal comic book trilogy with everything that goes with it. (04/08/2012)

The ending of Nolan's trilogy is outright weak, although seemingly everything fits together like a puzzle. In three films, Batman was born, fell, and was reborn only to let the Bat fall back to sleep. In the third film, the theoretical highlights include Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Marion Cotillard as Talia al Ghul, but even they don't rank amongst the best displays of acting in DC films. (09/05/2022)

Until the American anthem was played, this the best I've ever seen in an American blockbuster - for a lot of people this means that they'll be bored for about the first hour, but I enjoyed the masterful tension with which Nolan completely controls the screen. He is able to do so without action, and only with a massively built feeling of restlessness. After the American anthem, I began to have issues with the film - the brothers probably heard the criticism that came down against the Dark Knight's ideological background from the left and seemed to want to settle accounts with supporters of social justice and redistribution. However, they chose a destructive "weapon of choice" - Bane is an enchanting, overwhelming and utterly demonic character that allows Bale’s Wayne / Batman to do what they are strongest at: sacrificing themselves for the film / Gotham. In the end, I was missing more systematic work with the story and characters, the pace is deliberately very impetuous and the dosing out of information is cumbersome. The quite contradictory return to the "comic" mythology of the first film is also quite surprising... The final mega-twist, which weakens Bane's pure evil aura a little, tore me out of a pious ravings about one of the best characters in the trilogy. But I wonder in vain when the last time was that I saw something so overwhelming, monstrous, majestic and yet honed in terms of filmmaking. It was said that Batman would be the king of the season - and despite many objections, he definitely was for me. Edit: Only the second viewing will reveal how consistent and yet emotionally fertile this film is. The IMAX copy is stunning, and the film gains through every detail. Grandiose... (19/07/2012)

Not so bombastic anymore! From the realistic waters of the last part, we’ve drifted off down a sewer into the comic-book waters of part one. But this is not the movie’s main issue. But why trump the joker when it’s enough to equal it. Too much happens with too little room. Those 164 minutes just aren’t enough and some moments don’t resound as they could. In fact, Batman returns twice here, which is a lot for one movie. The introductions to new characters is maybe a little rushed (but left an impression). But disappointment sets in during some scenes. The expanse and the story’s message are of course above average. In this respect, Wayne’s journey couldn’t have had a better conclusion. And no let down from Zimmer, either. Not everything. Not yet. Thumbs up for the second time in the IMAX. The huge scale of the screen at last does justice to the dimensions of this picture. The action scenes are absorbing, particularly fly-pasts around Gotham. Awesome. (26/07/2012)

The wow! effect of surprise that would mask the heartless treatment of characters is no longer there. Said treatment was still somehow forgivable in the previous instalment, but number three is drowning in it. It is impossible to absorb every twist and its influence on the characters, who are too numerous and keep appearing and disappearing as if on cue, just to do something cool and say a catchphrase (not one of which is worth remembering). Moreover, Christopher Nolan once again (after Inception) underestimates the audience’s intelligence and feeds them cheap non sequiturs. Tom Hardy’s Bane is a dull mountain of muscles. He is interesting thanks to his muzzle and voice, but he does not arouse either fear or respect. The only good thing about Catwoman (or whoever that is) is her pert behind when she rides a motorcycle. The only one who does the best work from the trilogy is Hans Zimmer. He uses the motifs from previous instalments, adds new ones (the Balkan piano from Sherlock for the treacherous Catwoman and anarchist chorales for Bane are invigorating), transforming the flat mass of dark depression from before into a bombastic, orchestrally rich action background. So why am I awarding four stars after all this criticizing? Because the movie still has that colossal quality in which Nolan is unrivaled. You will enjoy being carried away by all that epicness and immense drive, even if you don’t care what is happening or why, or where it will all lead. (19/07/2012)