The Dark Knight Rises Review

• 19th Jul 2012

Christopher Nolan’s final part to his Batman trilogy arrives after a lacklustre promotional effort from the marketing department. Or was it?  After viewing the film the marketing campaign may have been right all along in not letting our expectations get raised to the heights that The Dark Knight raised.

That isn’t to say that the film is below par – far from it. Instead it is a very different animal altogether. The Dark Knight Rises can’t be expected to be either of the two previous efforts as the story being told here is a very different one, with a very different mood and tone.

Years after the events of the last film Bruce Wayne is living in his newly built mansion in seclusion as Gotham has managed to pull itself together in the aftermath of the events that unfolded. Harvey Dent is dead, and his legacy that both Batman and Commissioner Gordon sought to protect has done the trick. The streets are cleaner than ever, the Batman is wanted, but nowhere to be seen.

But things never truly stay the same as the arrival of revolutionary terrorist leader Bane sparks trouble for Bruce Wayne, Batman and the social class structure of Gotham. The Batman is soon called back into action, but this is truly only the beginning of events. Things are about to get epic.

It has to be handed to Chris Nolan and his technical team for the sterling work they have done. A large hand has to go the entire ensemble of actors, but it is Christian Bale who really delivers his most powerful performance as Bruce Wayne yet.

But the real gold medal has to be handed to the screenwriting. This is perhaps the most complex of all the films. Sure it takes a very long time to get going, but nip out to the loo and you will miss relevant plot (which is always entertaining). In the respect of mapping out characters, motivations and even the general storyline of how it all comes together is truly a mesmerising thought. TDKR will have great replay value for the modern intellectual Hollywood buff.

That isn’t to say the film is without flaws. In fact all the films in this series you could pick at. And there are parts here and there that can be picked at: a sound issue here, a special effect there. There are a couple of more troublesome moments in the film that may cause people to distance themselves from proclaiming the merits the film deserves. And whilst these odd moments do cause your face to contort in pain they are literally a fraction of the percentage of the entire package – so it is without pause here that we can award the film full marks.

Come the finale, you will leave theatres a) looking forward to seeing the film again to really soak up the rich plot and characters and b) feeling secure in the knowledge that the film has reached a satisfying climax.

Steven Hurst

Our Spoiler filled podcast review will be online soon for those that have seen the film to listen to. But there is no way that we can spoil matters now!