The Dark Knight Rises - A Dark Masterpiece

2012/165 min

In 2003 an Anglo-American film director and screenwriter named Christopher Nolan, who had already made two successful films, Memento -2000 and Insomnia -2002, together with his brother Jonathan and the screenwriter of  Blade -1998, David  S. Goyer , approached  the Warner Brothers Studios, pitching  their  idea for ​​a revival of the series of films starring the Batman. The executives of Warner Brothers, who initially did not want to hear about yet another movie starring the masked avenger, especially after the commercial and artistic failure of  Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" -1997, finally succumbed to the undisputed charm of the young filmmakers.  

In June 2005  "Batman Begins" was released in theaters, followed by "The Dark Knight" (July 2008), with two films not only breaking  box office records with global revenues of 372 million dollars for the first and over 1 billion dollars for the second, but also achieving artistic recognition, gathering nominations and awards, while the unjust death of Heath Ledger in the role of the Joker and his posthumous Oscar award, will haunt the role and the film.

4 years after the most successful, at all levels,"Dark Knight" which ironically is the first film of  the series without the brand name "Batman" in its title,... Batman returned for the third and last time, in the Nolan way, with the director drawing inspiration from the comic books: "Knightfall" -1993, in which the character of  Bane is introduced, "The Dark Knight Returns"-1986, in which Batman returns to Gotham City after a 10 year absence  and  "No Man's Land" -1999, in which Gotham has been swamped by gangs.

The story in a nutshell: It has been 8 years after the events of the previous film, in which Batman had saved Gotham city from the Joker and  Two Face / Harvey Dent,  taking the blame for the latter's crimes.
Chased by the police, he has chosen to live in exile and to leave the safety of the city in the capable hands of the highly qualified Commissioner Gordon.
Finally peace  prevails and it seems like Bruce Wayne will not have to wear his Batman cape again.
Then, out of nowhere, a new deadly enemy appears. His name is Bane and he threatens to destroy the city.
The authorities prove to be too weak to cope with the new villain.

The Dark Knight will be forced  to return and use his powers for one last time.

The entire cast of the past films is here: Christian Bale wears for the last time ( ? ) the suit of the best Batman so far, veterans Morgan Freeman, in the role of  Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as the devoted butler / adoptive father- Alfred,  add  prestige, Gary Oldman in the role of  Commissioner Jim Gordon, Liam Neeson as evil  Ra's Al Ghul, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role of police officer -and not only, John Blake.

Like in The Dark Knight and for one more time, those who steal the show here, are the villains: Bane and  the Catwoman/Selina Kyle.

Eartha Kitt-Michelle Pfeiffer-AnnHathaway as Catwoman

In the role of the not so evil pussy cat, we find Anne Hathaway. When I first heard of  the young actress  being cast for this role I was disappointed. 

Having in mind Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in Tim Burton's "Batman Returns" -1992  and the amazing Eartha Kitt, in the distant past of  the super hero's TV series, I couldn’t see how the elegant and classy, Hathaway could play a role dominated by more bestial instincts and..well...sex.

Needless to say, Nolan knew better.  

Hathaway's Catwoman is a perfect match for Bale's Batman. There is real chemistry there and Hathaway's less of a sexy kitty and more of an Aristocat.. 

So let's talk about Bane.

In the role of the ultimate rival to the Dark Knight, we find   the talented British actor Tom Hardy. 
Hardy nearly stole the show in "Inception", Nolan's previous film, while in the last years we saw him again alongside Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and next to Nick Nolte in "Warrior".
Where you should definitely see him is in "Bronson", a film directed in 2008 by  "Drive" director Nicolas Winding Refn.  I  bet that  it was Hardy's transformation  into  Bronson,  that  made ​​ Nolan notice him and  choose him for the role of Bane

Nolan,  in an interview with the  L.A. Times said this about Bane: “With a good villain you need an archetype, you know, you need the extreme of some type of villainy. The Joker is obviously a particular archetype of diabolical, chaotic anarchy and has a devilish sense of humor. Bane, to me, is something we haven’t dealt with in the films. We wanted to do something very different in this film. He’s a primarily physical villain, he’s a classic movie monster in a way — but with a terrific brain. I think he’s a fascinating character.  I think people are going to get a kick out of what we’ve done with him”.

We certainly got a kick out of Bane, although his motives seem vague for more than half way through the film. Still, little by little he starts to make sense. His story is being unveiled as plot and action escalate, leaving us breathless.

The Dark Knight Rises is a multi-layered complex thriller that could never compare to a typical super hero blockbuster.  

What happens in Gotham City reflects the worst fears of post 9/11  NYC  inhabitants, more than ever.

The scenes at the Stock Exchange Market and the Stadium, the emblematic demolishment of two of the cradles of contemporary America, combined to the villains’ history and their real purpose of mass obliteration surpass the motives of  The Dark Knight’s anarchist Joker.

Nolan's  technique, his artistic and sophisticated narration with all action scenes being filmed with IMAX cameras: (in his own words) "the most immersive film format that's ever been created", "the frame is enormous, the cameras are enormous, but when you project it on one of those eight-story-high screens, it is the sharpest image imaginable"

The Dark Knight Rises, certainly is one of the best films  of 2012 and with films like "The Dark Knight" and Zach Snyder's 2009 "Watchmen" break new ground for the super hero genre and point the way to the future for the comic book to film adaptations.

You can find the greek version of my review HERE

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