To be honest, before as much as stepping foot into the cinema, we thought, “Christopher Nolan didn’t want to do this. But let’s hope he hasn’t given up!”. We were wishing that the movie would live up to expectations of not just ours alone but of everyone else around the world because the build up leading to the release of the film was absolutely madhouse!
At the same time, we know that watching a Nolan film and having to pick up our jaws off the floor after was not exactly uncharted territory. It happened “Memento”, “Batman Begins”, “The Prestige”, “The Dark Knight”, and ‘Inception”. With each movie, his productions seemed to get better and better.
What more with “The Dark Knight Rises“?
So, Christopher Nolan returned for the last time although he was initially hesitant about it. He only agreed to come back after developing a story with his brother, Jonathan, and David S. Goyer that he felt would conclude the series on a satisfactory note. Ah, a perfectionist through and through.
But was it sufficient to end the Batman film franchise reboot on a high note?
Yes. It was a mind-blowing as they said it would be. If not more. We won’t say that we were surprised by the dark-ish more serious tone of Nolan’s Batman franchise. The first two, and especially the last one (starring the late Heath Ledger as Joker) set the bar really high after raking in critical success and breaking major box office records around the world.
Most of you would have already known by now that Christian Bale returns as Batman.
And in this installment, we are greeted by a reeking evil named “Bane” (played by Tom Hardy). His formidable stature (he looks like Hannibal Lecter!) is enough to scare your socks off you – which explains why even Gotham City’s police, who are clearly outnumbered, are afraid of him. Basically, Bane wants to wipe the city out with a nihilistic movement. And the only person who can stop him is, yup, you guessed it!
Batman.
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But Batman aka Bruce Wayne is crippled, and is hiding in Wayne Manor after the city named him enemy of the state. Wayne Enterprises has become bankrupt, Batman is a fallen hero, and very much weakened. But with the city under siege, he must recover and regain the strength he once had to fight.
To save what he has always been fighting for.
Oh, and let’s not forget Anne Hathaway‘s outstanding performance as the character costumed thief, Selina Kyle. To us, she’s known as “Catwoman” but we noticed that in the film, she’s never referred to in that way. Nolan’s interpretation of Catwoman is perhaps the best version of the character that we’ve ever seen.
It also helps that Anne Hathaway is head-to-toe versatile, serving her performance perfectly on a silver platter.
Just like his past works, Nolan’s film is built small until it escalates into a thick plot so big that you hurry to sort the math out in your head. But by the time that you do, the story line would’ve already moved into something else and suddenly you’re dealing with another “surprise”. In short, it’s intense!
And do us a favour. If you’re going to catch “The Dark Knight Rises”, for the love of Nolan, please do so in IMAX. For something that is mostly shot using IMAX cameras, it’d be a crime not to pay for the IMAX ticket for the mind-blowingly impressive visuals. Do yourself a favour!
Now excuse us while we rush off to book tickets to watch it for the second time around.
Editor’s note: Our hearts go out to all the victims, families and friends who were affected by the Colorado shooting.
For more information, visit the movie’s official website.
