THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Grade: B+
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard and Morgan Freeman
PREMISE: Terrorist leader Bane launches a full-out war on Gotham City, attempting to humiliate Batman and complete the League of Shadows' wish to bring western civilization to its knees.

RATED PG-13 for violence and intense emotional content

The first thing I must do in writing this review is ask for your prayers. You've probably heard, but a lunatic gunman entered a midnight showing in Aurora, Colorado, and opened fire with a civilian assault rifle, killing 12 and injuring a reported 59. Please pray for the families of those who were killed, and for the physical and emotional healing of those who were injured. Christopher Nolan, the director of the Dark Knight trilogy that began with 2005's Batman Begins, has issued a statement professing his deep sorrow for the incident. This is one of those appalling tragedies, and to imagine that it happened at a place where people go to view art, to experience entertainment, is unthinkable. Please pray.

It's a little difficult to move from such a sobering statement into something so cheap as a movie review, but the movie at the center of this difficult story, The Dark Knight Rises, is a heck of a film. Long, thunderous, and, like its predecessors, redefining what a "superhero movie" can look, sound, and feel like, Rises puts a capper on what has been a truly unforgettable movie saga. For my money, it doesn't quite match the level of sheer gripping power of 2008's legendary Dark Knight, might be a little long and have a few too many loose ends (as the last films of such series are wont to do), but it's still quite a piece of entertainment. After exploring the depths of depraved evil with studies of The Joker and Two-Face in Knight, Nolan and his titular Caped Crusader (Academy-Award Winner Christian Bale, solid as ever) take a look at single-minded, old-world mania in this third film, as Batman struggles to thwart the plans of an ancient organization that considers destroying Gotham its duty. With an A-list cast (the movie boasts four Academy Award winners), a brilliant soundtrack, some stunning visuals and spectacular action, it's a spectacle that is fitting as a last hurrah but, naturally, leaves you wishing for more.

Plot: It's been eight years since Batman disappeared after taking the heat for Harvey "Two-Face" Dent's crimes (at the conclusion of The Dark Knight), and those tied to the Caped Crusader have never quite recovered. Oh, the media loves to continue to portray the Batman as a murderer and a psycho, but Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) can't forget the very personal service the Batman rendered him, and the gut-punch he gave to organized crime. Nor can kids who idolized "the batman" forget all that he did. Wayne Enterprises has gone under, largely because the face of the company--an older, wearier Bruce Wayne (Bale)--has become a recluse, hiding in his rebuilt mansion with no one but his faithful friend and butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), for company. Still hurt that Gotham rejected his attempts to do good, still grieving his parents' death, still crushed by the death of his one true friend and love, Rachel Dawes, Bruce has sunk into monotonous despair.

What gets him going again is his being robbed by the notorious Cat Thief, Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), who makes off with his late mother's prized necklace. After running into her at a party, Bruce learns that she's been working for a local crime boss to try and frame him, but now she wants out, and is desperate to clear her record. Her stirring up of the local gangbangers actually gives Bruce an excuse to get the old batsuit out and ruffle some feathers. However, one of those whose feathers he ruffles is the new crime boss, a vicious, muscular criminal named Bane (a massive, masked Tom Hardy), who has recently taken control of the local crime scene and is determined to unleash some old-school wrath on 12 million Gothamites. Remember the mission of Raz-Al-Gul (Liam Neeson) in the original--to burn Gotham to the ground? Well, that's an objective shared by Bane, a former member of Raz's League of Shadows: to send Gotham back to the stone age with a tactical nuke disguised as an energy fusion reactor that Wayne Enterprises just unknowingly helped a local environmental magnate (Marion Cotillard) purchase.

Well, Bruce is able to get Kyle out of a tight spot, and gain her trust. He's also able to re-inspire Jim Gordon and an intrepid young detective, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), to try and crucify the newly-thriving criminal underground. But, it has also landed him squarely in the crosshairs of Bane, who, like Raz and The Joker before him, loves to terrorize the garden-variety citizens of Gotham but also really wants to put a hurtin' on "the batman".

What Doesn't Work?
As you may be able to tell, the plot is thick. So thick, in fact, that I have difficult adequately explaining the first thirty minutes.  Both the previous films were slow getting off the ground, and Rises, too, struggles to kick things into high gear. A lot of it is business-type jargon from Wayne Corporate that just doesn't quite make sense (or matter). Then there's the sorting out of the different characters, where, as in Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne/Batman is just one of a cluster of major players, who all have motivations and friends and storylines. Also, at 164 minutes, the film is long, definitely longer than it needs to be, and it has a hard time collecting all the character/plot strands, and presenting an ending that is acceptable without being overly sentimental.

What Works?
That said, if you are a fan of the Batman type or of Nolan's previous Dark Knight films, it's hard to not feel a great sense of satisfaction just watching a new installment. I cheered upon the Caped Crusader's first suited appearance and there are many other pleasures (almost in-Batman product placements) and inside jokes that will give the knowledgeable viewer quite the satisfactory experience. There's also a late, almost throwaway line by Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character that got the audience I saw the film with stirring with excitement and glee.

The actors are tremendous. The returners, Bale, Oldman, Caine and Morgan Freeman-as Lucius Fox, supersmart Wayne Enterprises weapons designer-all do some of their best work, with Bale in particular really owning the Batman role and the film (the previous movie, The Dark Knight, was completely stolen by the late Heath Ledger). The series newcomers light it up as well. Marion Cotillard (Leo DiCaprio's doomed wife in Nolan's Inception) flits in and out of a few scenes with conviction as a woman who might be able to breath life back into Wayne Enterprises (and Wayne himself), Anne Hathaway provides a much-needed burst of energy as the mysterious, super-tough Kyle, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt keeps his star ascending quickly with a terrific portrayal of an earnest, more everyday type of hero.

The critical role of this movie's main villain (read: the person saddled with unenviable task of playing a Batman villain after Ledger won as Oscar for doing that very thing the last time out) fell to muscular Brit Tom Hardy, another breakout star from Nolan's 2010 hit, Inception. I was first alarmed and disbelieving when I heard of Hardy's recruitment to play Bane (primarily because of the required physique), but his performance as a hulking but emotionally-unstable MMA fighter in last year's Warrior made a believer out of me. Needless to say, he delivers. It's a little hard to rate his 'performance' given that three-quarters of his face is hidden by a robotic mask for the entire film, and that not all of his dialogue is intelligible for the same reason, but, like Ledger before him, he makes his villain loom large; his presence is felt even in scenes he's not in. Bane's truly frightening, with his gigantic frame, merciless impulses, physical savagery and (worst of all) flaky 'terrorist movement leader' entitlement. He's a great adversary, as he proves not just with some verbal barbs but in some bravura fisticuffs with Batman that are, alone, worth the price of admission.

Like its predecessors (and like Nolan's other films, Inception and The Prestige), Rises isn't lacking in spectacle. The rumored $250 million budget was put to good use, as attested to by some enormous action sequences, a few exotic locales, and some eye-popping stunts. Yet, despite the shock and awe of the film's bread-and-butter action sequences, the emotion is palpable, both in watching characters make life or death decisions (often for the benefit of others) and in understanding some of the real-world significance of what they're facing. Rises' best moments are its more down-to-earth ones, which include tears, fears, and one of the sexiest movie kisses I can remember seeing.

Content: You won't find much blood here, nor do I remember any standout profanity, and parents don't need to worry about suggestive material, but the action, as exhibited by the previous two films, can be rough and tumble. Our hero takes at least one truly nasty beating, and people do die in some gruesome ways. Just remember: this is a grown-up superhero, in a very Real world. This isn't a cartoon.

Bottom Line (I Promise):
Well, there you have it: the 2012 movie I most anticipated seeing. I wasn't blown away (like I said, I think Dark Knight was better), but it still has moments that will take your breath away, that will keep you on the edge of your seat, that will make you bemoan the fact that this is the end. But is it really? I mean, there was that scene.....Regardless, Dark Knight Rises is a tremendous entertainment.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer
Based on Batman characters created by Bob Kane
Rated PG-13
Length: 164 minutes