“The Dark Knight Rises” is no superhero movie. It is but a movie that easily ranks among the best, well-crafted forms of entertainment. I’ll only sum it up that way at the risk of (major) spoilers. It has none of the senseless bombast, almost every detail crucial to the story’s core: the burden of choice, morality, principles confronting the rise of ambiguous evil. The genre is the mask.
Christian Bale here is finally the star. Whereas in “Batman Begins” we are mesmerized by the exhilarating texture and scale of Nolan’s interpretation and in “The Dark Knight” we are suddenly shaken by Heath Ledger’s unforgettable performance as the Joker, Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman in this third and final installment is at the forefront, more human than ever. And though Tom Hardy gave Bane credibility as a legitimate adversary to Batman (his introduction is a study of masterful filmmaking), it was Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle (yes, she’s not mentioned as Catwoman) that slunk and stole many arresting moments in the movie. For a woman in tight suit who never resorted to the three-point landing, she is certainly a welcome surprise.
2 comments:
I'm not entirely in awe of the whole Batman movie franchise by Nolan, but this third installment might actually change all that. Haven't seen it yet but based on the spoiler-free reviews I've encountered (thank you so much to that person who pointed out someone would die), I think I'll enjoy this one. I'd say the best interpretation is the one which didn't strip the hero of his humanity - the choices, principles, atbp. - things that this movie did (and what most review promised). Heheh.
On the contrary, I was immediately intrigued by Nolan’s first Batman film. I liked it. It had this promise of a definitive, grand storyline brewing within it. And (I think) I was right when it was followed by ‘The Dark Knight.’ I am just glad that, even with the third movie’s ending, there is still that sense of closure you rarely get in “genre” flicks. (But as I’ve said, the “genre” is just a mask).
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