Christopher Nolan's final Batman entry, "The Dark Knight Rises", more or less delivers what one might hope it would. Here is a movie that careens from bombastic spectacle to intimate sadness and longing, from political commentary to moments of sly humor, and from the preposterous to the strikingly close-to-home. Does it succeed? Not just in living up to expectations, but also as an exciting thriller? I think so. It's certainly better than this summer's other comic book movie/event, "The Avengers", which when held text to "The Dark Knight Rises" comes across as silly and even a bit puerile.
But compared to Nolan's last two movies, "The Dark Knight" and the unforgettable "Inception", it probably falls a little short. Even at two and a half hours, the movie feels over-stuffed with both plot and characters. In the words of another movie reviewer we have "too much movie". But there is so much ambition and bravura on display that it's impossible to be bored. I would still serve it a grade of an A.
The film opens, like "The Dark Knight", with an awesome set piece: a government plane transporting the villain Bane is hijacked mid-air by another, larger, plane; Bane's compatriots latch onto the smaller plane with hooks and rip it to shreds, all while freeing their leader and another man working with them. It's a terrific moment, maybe the best action scene in the movie and sets the tone for the rest of the film. Meanwhile, new characters are introduced, notably Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (although I don't recall her referred to as such in the movie) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a cop allied with Batman. Other minor characters are introduced and one in particular, if you apply the idea of, as Roger Ebert coined it, the "Economy of Character" you will probably foresee a twist that arrives late in the movie.
The best performance is, surprisingly, Anne Hathaway. I was dubious when I first heard of the casting, but she plays the role about as well as possible; she speaks in a demure, measured tone that suggests someone who is considering a multitude of ways to get the better of you and she never goes over the top. Although someone will have to explain to me why a woman with such impressive fighting and acrobatic abilities with choose to do her thieving in impractically high heels.
"The Dark Knight Rises" is ultimately a terrific, even overwhelming entertainment. There's no performance or quality in the movie that comes close to Heath Ledger's Joker in the previous flick (although I challenge you to show me an action movie that does possess that), but it's a satisfying, honorable finish to what is probably the best comic book or action trilogy ever. That's worth writing home about.
No comments:
Post a Comment