The Dark Knight Rises

cinema, The Dark Knight Rises (2012) film

I came to this film knowing very little of what it was about, and without much in the way of expectations. I knew that Talia and Ra's Al Ghul would be in it, (once again played by Liam Neeson), I knew Bane was the villain, and Catwoman was to be included. I expected Alfred and Gordon to be there, though not Fox after he walked out at the end of 'Dark Knight,' and I knew there was a gap of several years. I also felt that Batman was likely to die, because if something that brave and unprecedented were to happen it would have been this film series. I actually wondered if the Batman TV series that's supposed to be in the works might fill in the gap between the second and third films and show him fighting other villains and doing the stories we never got to see, but from the way it begins, I realised that wouldn't be possible. That's because after the events of the second film we learn Wayne went into seclusion, has become a broken down recluse, and never stirs from the rebuilt Wayne Manor. I didn't understand why he was so damaged, since he hadn't been Batman for years and had had ample time to recover.

It never sits well with me when a film begins with no logo or credits, no musical theme to sound the march of the story, instead heading right into the action. It also seemed lazy not to have a strong, individual theme for this film, and as much as I like the main Batman theme, I was expecting a new variation. I wasn't drawn in by the way 'Dark Knight' began, while I could still appreciate the cleverness at work, but although the plane stunt was very big and visual, it didn't excite me and set me up for the rest of the film. A good summation of the two latter films in the trilogy are that they are clever and intelligent from a story standpoint, but they never wowed me or made me feel 'how cool!' as the first one tended to do. It's the style of Christopher Nolan and I reserve the right to dislike aspects of that style, even if the majority see no flaws. One thing that doesn't even annoy me any more because I'm resigned to it, is the shaky-cam style of fighting. After 'Dark Knight' they may have decided to scale back on the violence, because there was nothing in 'Rises' to make me flinch, such as the notorious pencil scene or the Joker's hideous method of scaring people with his proximity and tales of childhood. It was almost devoid of viciousness, which could be a good thing, but also loses some of the tension. I miss artful fighting scenes, and that's something this series has eschewed in favour of fast cuts and the sound of slabs hitting each other. There was also too much filming from behind characters making it difficult to see the moves.

Granted, Bane isn't a martial arts type, he has the physical strength to batter and doesn't need any art in that. Strangely, I never felt worried about Bane. He was a hulking brute, but not the stereotypical stupid lout, yet that impression of an intelligence behind the bulk, which should have been diabolical, never turned into the evil cunning I expected - he should have been like the Joker, but with more concrete plans and the muscle to personally back it up. I'm not an aficionado of Batman lore, but the little I know (mainly from 'Batman: The Animated Series' of the 90s), is that Bane would pump himself up with chemicals and become this fearsome creature. I also knew he broke Batman's back in the comics, and he was supposed to wear a wrestling mask. His backstory in this was: thrown in pit, patched up by doctor that didn't know what he was doing, needed mask to stop pain. Where were the drugs filling him in a horrific way? Stripping something like that away loses some of his power to shock.

Now I don't mind about the details too much as I'm not attached to the series like I am other things, and I know the mask is considered silly, but I think I would have preferred that. It was disappointing that Bane was a hulk all the time and never became anything more. There was no room to be horrified by his disgusting strength. Yes, he beats down Batman in their first meeting and could have killed him (making the usual villain's mistake of keeping the good guy alive), but I was never struck by his immense power or enjoyment of inflicting pain. He wasn't oppressive as I imagined he would be, the only moment of foreboding I felt being in the buildup to blowing up the stadium, and even then the boom wasn't designed to catch you off guard.

I was all for having Bane in this film (Clayface or he were the villains I wanted), and Tom Hardy did an admirable job acting through the face mask. He was incredibly pumped up if you compare him to his role as Shinzon in 'Star Trek Nemesis' ten years ago, and probably weighed twice as much! But he should have gone around shirtless more because he wouldn't have needed clothing, even in the cold. I think they were going out of their way to show that he wasn't a dumb, animal thug, a notion which might have been increased had he been bare-chested. I was surprised at how fun the character was, not enigmatic or scary at all, despite the voice. During the film I didn't find his voice funny, but removed from the experience I can see how easy it would be to make fun of the character, so he still hasn't quite recovered from the figure of fun that arguably lost him credibility in 'Batman and Robin.' Some people apparently had trouble understanding his lines, but for the most part I caught what was said. There were times when I missed a line or two, but it wasn't necessarily Bane, it could be anyone that whispered or mumbled, and because the speakers were so loud in the cinema I couldn't always make things out.

It wasn't a fair fight against Bane. I really would have liked to see a Batman in his prime, fully fighting fit and at his peak, to take on his most physically powerful foe, but instead it's a weakened, crippled man who's let his vitality drain away behind closed doors. I noticed his voice was dialled back to 'Batman Begins' rather than the super-hoarse, rumbling vocals of the sequel, another indication of losing his vitality and confidence? It shows they did listen to criticism. I felt Batman was not thinking straight, as well as being comparatively enfeebled. He no longer swoops from a dark sky or uses his brain, when he comes up against Bane and underestimates him. It's almost like he felt he had to defeat the giant with his strength to prove his worth to himself, instead of coming up with a strategy. In fairness, he's led into a trap, so was relatively unprepared, but he must have planned to go toe to toe with Bane, and slipped up on his research, relying on Alfred's hearsay! A good net might have given him a better chance, or a taser gun. I know he's a hero, and doesn't shoot people, but in this case maybe he should have made an exception and shot to wound, at least to level the playing field. Instead he goes in all fists pumping and to no avail, the fight itself just a whacking match with none of the subtlety or skill I wanted.

Other characters weren't at their best either, Commissioner Gordon knocked out of the film for a good portion of it (I wanted so much to see him with white hair as in the animation, given the time difference between films, but you can't have everything, and there's always the chance the series will continue with him in the cast), and Alfred, who gets all the best scenes early on, all but disappears for a huge chunk of the film. Michael Caine's contributions were the most affecting and gave the film its main reason to care for the characters because he makes the strong bond between Alfred and Bruce so real as this man who's dedicated his life to serving his young charge, caring more for Bruce than we can fathom. It's upsetting when it leads to a cold parting between them, but also leads to a joyful end in some ways, a bit like the conclusion to 'The Bourne Ultimatum.'

Regarding the ending, some seem to suggest it's ambiguous, but it was pretty straightforward to me: or do people think Alfred was daydreaming? On the subject of hallucination, was Ra's Al Ghul really brought back from the dead, or was it Bruce's imagination, just as he sees his Father again. What would have been a terrific idea would have been to actually bring back the actor that played Wayne Sr. in a dream sequence, and have him argue with Ra's for Bruce's 'soul,' a metaphor for him to gain confidence and the will to return to Gotham, and a reminder of the 'why do we fall?' theme from 'Batman Begins,' just as pertinent to that pit as the old well. Just to be clear, that prison Wayne was in was about as far from 'Hell on Earth' as could be. You had food and water, kindly old men with white beards, even TV on tap! Bane was supposed to have grown up there in darkness, one of the reasons Batman's tricks didn't work on him, never seeing the sun until he got out, but the whole time Wayne was in there it was bright and airy with a warm light blazing down from the pit mouth!

One character I could have lost and it would have made little to no difference to the story, was Selina Kyle. She's never referred to as Catwoman, she doesn't wear a suit and mask, but Kyle was her name so we know it was her. I'm not sure how I feel about well-known characters being in the story without an acknowledgment of who they are, but it fits the style that began in 'Dark Knight' with Two-Face only a nickname. There was little reason for Kyle to be part of the story, except to give Bruce a future. I liked the special glasses that flipped up when not in use to form cat ears, but that was the extent of her association with Catwoman. Perhaps the Halle Berry film had tarnished the character so much they decided to be specially careful. To give her her dues, she did have occasional fun moments (when she grabs the con's hands in prison in passing, twisting them right round as she turns head-over-heels), but I needed more of those acrobatics I associate with Catwoman, and to see the agility and obsessive thieving. Her character never got the fleshing out it required to be a worthy component of this story.

I feel like Batman wasn't in the film that much. The first film got the balance just right, using the darkness and atmosphere he could create, but there's been less of that in parts two and three. One item that did make an appearance was the Bat-Wing, or in this version, The Bat, named by Lucius Fox. Again, it fit the design of that world, the Tumbler and the… whatever the bike was called (which continued to be fantastically impossible in its double-axle wheels!), yet it also came across as unimportant and tacked on. That was my view initially, but of course it rises(!) to prominence towards the end as Batman has to make a fateful choice, although then it becomes a convenience. I find it hard to dislike, it just doesn't have the iconic look the Bat-Wing had tearing though the skies, and I felt it more than with the Tumbler/Batmobile. I probably held more of a negative opinion of the Tumbler on first viewing 'Batman Begins' so after repeated viewings The Bat may grow on me. It had its moment of glory, evading seeker missiles through Gotham's skyscraper-filled cityscape, but it was one of those scenes they had to put in to give Batman a reason for using it, to validate having it as a solution for the end. An interesting twist that Bane takes over the secret haul of Tumblers and Wayne Enterprises tech, and the reason we don't get the black Tumbler for Batman, which I didn't mind.

I'd wanted Wayne Manor back, and the Batcave, and I got both, although I couldn't make out from the exteriors whether it was the same location they used in 'Batman Begins,' and I really needed an establishing shot of the house to show beyond doubt it was the same one they'd filmed at before. Fun seeing the Batcave looking a little more as it did in the cartoon, with the big computer terminal, though I hope it didn't get dripped on, and didn't seem the best environment for electrical equipment! I would also have liked to see more structure, such as a runway for the vehicles to enter and exit a little more gracefully, though again, that's just a matter of taste. Perhaps something that could be built for the next film. Because I'm sure this world will continue, even though Christopher Nolan won't direct and Christian Bale won't play Batman, much like the fourth Bourne film due soon. The jury's out on whether a fourth film tied to a trilogy, yet separate, can work, instead of completely rebooting as the new Spider-Man did, but it will be worth waiting and seeing.

Clearly the writing took some turns to make ready for a change in the casting of Batman, and it's here I think it's only right and proper to talk a bit about Blake, the good cop that takes much of the weight while Gordon's on his back. He doesn't have a huge arc, but his character does come to realise that he'd be better off assuming a mask instead of being held back by the police force. Not that the police look bad in this film, but there's a sense that they've grown fat on Batman's success, some not willing to go the extra mile (like the guy Gordon tries to convince to help, but won't, which was an extraneous sub-plot at best), but in the reckoning they take on the challenge, charging at the criminal army in a gang versus gang street brawl, something like 'The Lord of The Rings' (but flatter, in ground as well as tone), and showing great bravery. Fortunately the thugs are almost as bad shots as the cops! But back to Blake: I liked the guy, and I wouldn't mind if he turned out to be the man to take up the mantle of the cape and cowl, but I also wondered if he might be Robin, unless that moment where the woman says he should use his given name, Robin, more often, was a little joke at the audience's expense for expecting the famous sidekick to show up in the film. If he were Robin it would work with the backstory of them both being orphans. On the other hand, he probably wouldn't be Robin if that was also his name, so it seems much more likely the series will continue sans the Boy Wonder!

Should Batman die? That was one of the biggest questions on my mind before the film, and I'm still not sure what would have been the most fulfilling. They had a rare opportunity to do something never dared before, and if a new man is stepping up anyway, why not close that particular book? At the same time I liked the ending, playing out as Alfred had always hoped, and a final gift to the linchpin of these films. Because Alfred has been the one keeping Bruce going. His strength of character and wise words are what inspired Wayne to do what he needed to do. I'm not sure what the theme of this film was, but there was certainly a lot of inspiration for the characters: Blake to fight crime in a better way; Gordon to keep fighting; Wayne to make the leap in the pit without the rope, because if he failed, death was his reward. I must admit to being surprised by the twist with the little boy turning out to be a little girl (even though I've seen it before, e.g: 'Pitch Black'), but knowing Talia Al Ghul was in the film, I kept expecting her to be revealed as Bane's sister, since they've shown they aren't bound by comics continuity, and it would have been a good twist if Bane had been Ra's son. To what end I didn't know, and it was a shock moment when she plunges the knife into Batman, even more so when you expect his suit to be able to take such blades! Maybe Bane had weakened the infrastructure?

I did forecast the self-sacrificial setup Batman would have to take to save the city, though I must congratulate the makers of the nuclear device - it's the sturdiest bomb ever! It survives bouncing around in the back of a truck, falling to a lower level and getting knocked about when The Bat winches it up! It would have been a silly way to die if Batman had gone out simply because Fox had never bothered to include an autopilot feature onboard, so when we get the full realisation, it's like another dig at the audience for expecting such a weak ending, the writers asking us if we really expected that. They even set it up a couple of times with people suggesting they might not have another chance to say what they want to say to Batman. It was a bit of a 'Star Trek II' trick, where Spock was 'killed' early because people were expecting it, except in reverse. Fair play to them.

Someone else's end wasn't so complimentary to the writing: Bane. After all the menace he'd exuded throughout the film, Talia reveals herself, and I never bought into their love story and consequently felt none of the sympathy we were supposed to feel for Bane when he's weakened by Batman, who in the end only has to knock a couple of pipes in his mask askew to make him tame as a baby, and anticlimactically he's finished by a blast to the chest from Selina, returning to show there was good in her somewhere after all. Han Solo anyone? Actually I'd have loved a scene like Liam Neeson has in this film in 'Star Wars Episode III' as it would have been so great to have Qui-Gon Jinn reappear in ghostly form to give words of wisdom to Obi-Wan. His small role in this tied it so much more tightly to the first, and best, film. I didn't entirely buy the actor who played young Ra's, but enjoyed that side of the story immensely, and you can't expect a perfect lookalike for a younger version anyway.

There were the occasional missing pieces or lack of explanation, which, I suppose, is the Director's right, but some things bugged me. The knife going through his suit was one, but I also wondered how he got back into Gotham once it was under siege. Did Bruce know a secret tunnel or was he using The Bat? Seeing the city in that big sweeping shot as the bridges are detonated also makes me wonder where Wayne Manor is located. Clearly not on the island, so the area of Gotham affected by Bane wasn't as big as we think, since it doesn't cover the whole city, right? Casting I enjoyed was Christopher Judge from 'Stargate SG-1' as one of Bane's men, although I didn't realise for sure it was him until his name came up in the credits - I forget people age, and I'm watching the series from ten years ago! It should have been cooler to have the League of Shadows back in the story, but because they weren't hidden in masks they never had the mystery about them, and so were just common thugs working for Bane, even if thugs that would give their lives at a whim (such as the guy in the plane at the beginning). I also noticed the deliberate inclusion of young boys in the plot again (the orphanage ad school bus sequences), as happened in the other films to appeal to that age group  on their level, perhaps.

This may sound strange when talking about such an expensive project, but as a whole the film was very episodic, so much so that I likened it to a TV miniseries. A grand, big-budget one, but a series that could have been cut into chunks and watched in sections. The running time of approaching three hours helped that feeling, as did the familiar music which never created its own individuality, like a spinoff. Saying that, and I don't mean to demean the huge scale, I will note that I was never bored. 'Mission: Impossible 4' occasionally bored me, but that might have been because I'm more concerned about that series than Batman, and also, I was involved with these characters. I didn't even hate Catwoman, though she was unnecessary. Multiple viewings may improve my understanding and vision for the piece, and I do find that the more I think about it, the more I'd like to see it again and discuss it, not something I can say about all films. I don't know what the theme was, but if I take anything from it, it's that 'Batman Begins' was a positive tale, 'Dark Knight' was negative, and I see 'Rises' as strangely neutral. Bane didn't have some great plan or maniacal desire to cause chaos, yet he still created anarchy and wanted Ra's Al Ghul's work to be fulfilled. Batman may or may not have lived out his life. The city had its own choices to make. And as for Batman learning to fear death, doesn't that fly in the face of 'Batman Begins' and it's striking message? Regardless, I'd like to see more of that world, and a film that leaves you with that feeling has succeeded.

***