Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

          OK, so I kind of missed the mark with my Prometheus review.  I over did it a little for my love of the characters and story.  I was reacting to the feel of the movie and not what was actually written and I realize that after watching The Dark Knight Rises, a movie that actually fulfills everything I thought Prometheus had.  Christopher Nolan has once again proven that he is the filmmaker most able to pick up the blockbuster baton from the giants of the past.  The masses may make The Avengers the biggest and best comic book movie ever made, but The Dark Knight Rises would be belittled by considering it worthy of comparison.  As with all of Nolan’s Batman movies, The Dark Knight Rises surpasses the comic book genre in becoming just a great movie.

            Nolan has proven once again that he has an amazing knack for pleasing the comic book mafia while still making a movie that fans of great film can enjoy.  The Dark Knight Rises runs at almost 3 hours, but the story Nolan weaves and the suspense he creates makes the time fly.  Unlike other super hero movies out this summer, like The Amazing Spider-Man, you never for a minute feel the large gaps in action sequences because you are so invested in the movie’s deep characters.  Christian Bale probably only spends 15 minutes total of screen time in the Batsuit but it never feels like the movie lacks for action.  Part of that is due to the great acting performances Nolan pulls from his actors.  I’ve never been a big Anne Hathaway fan, but her turn as Selena Kyle, the Catwoman, is brilliant.  Marion Cotillard’s subtle performance as Miranda Tate is exactly what the movie’s story needed as well as Tom Hardy’s bigger then life Bane.  The presence of Joseph Gordon-Levitt could have easily been something that threw off the believability of the film, but he pulled off the young naive crime fighter to perfection.

            Part of the genius of Nolan’s movies are the way they take the silliest of comic books storylines and turn them into something everyone else can take serious.  The best example from The Dark Knight Rises is the idea of the Lazarus Pits.  In the comics these are actual pits filled with a substance that literally brings people back from the dead, an idea that would just not fit into the world Nolan has created.  So, in a move that pleases the comic geeks everywhere without destroying the credibility of his movie, Nolan makes the Lazarus Pit a prison that no man can get out of, so if they get out it’s as if they have risen from the dead.  I would never contend that Nolan’s world is perfectly free from cheese and silliness (Blake’s first name is Robin?  Really?) but it’s pretty much as good as you can ask for.

            Another place that Nolan separates his movies from the recent crop of blockbusters is how he shoots action.  All the action and fighting sequences in The Dark Knight Rises are extremely clear.  You can tell who is punching who and how, something that seems to be forgotten in most action movies today.  Nolan doesn’t need to hide bad cg or the fact his actors aren’t trained enough with quick cuts and blurry close-ups.  You get to see the action and it becomes as much a part of the story as the dialogue.  A clear fight scene is a lost art but Nolan still seems to cherish its importance.

            I’m never sure with this type of movie how it plays to an unfamiliar audience.  I know the characters and their histories, so it’s probably easier for me to feel connected or miss gaps in the characterization that the uninitiated would pick up on.  I know some of the twists before they come, I understand motives before they are explained.  But I still find it hard to believe that this wouldn’t be seen as a fantastic film.  Great writing, great acting, great suspense, great story telling.  Hopefully the Academy voters will finally give this movie series the credit it deserves.  Easily the must see movie of the summer.