The Dark Knight Rises
Directed by:
Christopher NolanCinematography:
Wally PfisterComposer:
Hans ZimmerCast:
Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Matthew Modine, Alon Aboutboul (more)VOD (5)
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It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (15)
There are many forms of immortality.. The series from one 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 part, and the immortal saga defined the second part. Therefore, Bruce Wayne rises in a completely logical way at the end. In one hand, Nolan gave him the comic book-like Batman in the form of Selina Kyle or references to the League of Shadows. In the other hand, he gave him the determination of the Dark Knight with anarchy and political-police intrigues. There is no need to rush, no reason to shock. Just untangle the final plot twists and place the characters of one great story in their final positions. In the end, another one and a half hours of fascinating and equally suffocating spectacle full of captivating characters, and a royal comic book trilogy with everything that goes with it.
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A monumental film – maybe too much so. It exhausted me as if I’d had to carry Bane on my back for three hours. The Dark Knight Rises has a massive scope, it follows about a billion different characters and the network of motivations and relationships among them it’s never very clear (at least not after watching it once). In all this burnt-out expanse, it needs to resort to various shortcuts (someone always comes and meets someone – without it being clear how they knew that said someone would be there – then they say something important and carry on – repeat and rinse after a bit) and pathetic holy speeches (and I won’t even mention the bus full of orphans), while Bane’s plan and its execution feels very dodgy. Yeah, it’s (only) a “comic book movie” and you also can find similar “comic book” twists, motifs and dialogues in the previous two parts, but here it’s a bit too much and Nolan is trying to take his very realistic concept too far. Naturally, the movie is technically flawless. In the end, it’s the character of Bruce the one who gets most of the attention, so as a conclusion to “his” trilogy, it does work well in all its fatality and epic (8/10). As a standalone film, however, it grinds a little. Let’s hope that in two years Christopher will go for something smaller. PS: Of course, it’s very likely that watching it a second time will make the film feel more cohesive, complex and clear (as usual with Nolan), but I don’t feel like going through it again so soon.
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In the opening scene, the viewer witnesses two prisoners being escorted on an airplane to some prison. The men have bags over their heads and the leader of the escort tries to mentally break one of them and probably force him to confess. He opens the door and pulls the prisoner to his knees facing a bottomless pit that can scare not only those who suffer from a fear of heights. Automatically, I would expect the next step to be the removal of the bag, as otherwise, the act does not make sense. However, that does not happen. The purpose of that bag was not to disorient the prisoner but to surprise the guards and especially the viewer with a moment of revealing the prisoner's identity. In the world of Nolan's Batman trilogy, everything is done for immediate effect and you cannot find any logic or functionality in it. It was only here that I fully understood when it came to The Dark Knight why some people were irritated by the total brevity and stupidity of practically everyone on the set. I also agree with the sentiment that people don't know why The Joker was trying to bring chaos with his plans when in the end he is almost the only one whose actions make sense to some degree. All the others, Batman - the police, and the mafia - exhibit such a heap of insanity that cannot possibly come from a member of the Homo sapiens species equipped with self-preservation instincts. Something like that might belong in a comic book, but this is outwardly presented as a sophisticated detective story with elements of noir and psychological drama. Nolan does not spare any special effects and generously provides attractions, but in terms of content, there's not much to be ha. Batman Begins had the reputation of being a dark drama in which the comic had finally matured and successfully transferred the literary source to the real world. I don't fully agree with that, but I agree that the mentioned tendency was there and that it was an interesting step within the genre. The Dark Knight Rises is evidence that Nolan got stuck in a dead end when it came to grasping the material. It is pompous, megalomaniacal, and content-wise, excuse my language, stupid. Forget about any deeper psychology, this blockbuster only pretends to be mature and is about as good at it as little children playing mommy and daddy. I consider the last part to be unquestionably the weakest part of the trilogy, partly due to very problematic ideological starting points. Frank Miller, the author who has most influenced the current form and mythology of the Batman world, is known as a right-winger and represents a counterbalance to left-leaning anarchist authors like Alan Moore. However, here his individualism and contempt for "scum" has essentially become a manifesto for questioning democratic orders and for authoritarians like Spanish caudillo Franco and especially for General Pinochet, and for them, Batman would undoubtedly be an ideal movie hero and this piece would occupy a very honorable place in their film collections. Overall impression: 25%. If Dunkirk and The Prestige represent the peak of Nolan's work so far, then The Dark Knight Rises represents the bottom.
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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...
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It was only after the second viewing that I fully understood and appreciated why Nolan turned the wheel after the acclaimed second film and once again rode the comic book waves, just like he did with the first one. More than anything else, the third film concludes the trilogy. I can understand the disappointed responses that were expecting something in the style of a funny anarchist madman Joker, but I don't buy the criticism about the poorly told story. The phrase "monstrous epic," used by many around here, suits this film better than anything else. The uncompromising Bane brings Gotham to its knees with brute force to make it suffer before giving it a taste of death. As well as its black-caped guardian. This isn't the Nolan brothers expressing their worldview, this is a critique of everyone for whom the idea of social justice is a political idol. Therefore, before the last atom completes the fission reaction, it is necessary to rise physically, but especially spiritually. This is the engine of the entire film, building Nolan's precise narrative that works both in the characters' dialogue and in the surprisingly spare but superbly raw action. All of this is then only perfectly complemented by Zimmer's thunderous music, without which the film would work a third less. If anyone wants to restart this at Warner Brothers, they should be thinking about changing careers by now. PS: Christopher Nolan is, along with David Fincher, the best cinematic storyteller of his generation. No question about it.
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