The Dark Knight Rises
DVD
Review by Kam Williams
Batman
Battles Terrorist in Thrilling Trilogy Finale
The
Dark Knight Rises brings down the curtain on the brilliant Batman trilogy
directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as the Caped
Crusader. Each of the earlier episodes, Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark
Knight (2008), earned a spot on this critic’s annual Top Ten List, #s 9 and 1,
respectively.
Given
how the late Heath Ledger played The Joker to perfection, delivering an
inspired, Oscar-winning, career performance in the previous installment, you
knew it would be hard for Nolan to find as compelling a character for his
highly-anticipated finale. And if The Dark Knight Rises does have a weakness,
it lies in the fact that its primary villain pales in comparison. Otherwise,
the movie measures up to franchise expectations, though its convoluted plot and
2¾ hours running time is likely to test the patience of younger kids.
The
picture’s point of departure is eight years after the end of the last
adventure, when Batman selflessly accepted the blame for the untimely demise of
District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The broken, embittered vigilante
has apparently kept a low profile over the interim, allowing the Gotham Police
Department to fight crime on its own.
But that’s only until the arrival in town of Bane (Tom Hardy), a
card-carrying member of the association of assassins known as The League of
Shadows. Although his speech is pretty much muffled by a Hannibal Lecter-like contraption affixed to
his face, you don’t need to understand his unintelligible mumblings to know
that he’s a maniacal menace. The masked terrorist is hell-bent on blowing up
the city with a nuclear device and of course it isn’t long before Commissioner
Gordon (Gary Oldman) needs help handling the mayhem.
Meanwhile,
Batman’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne already has his hands full with Selina Kyle
(Anne Hathaway), a cat burglar he catches snooping around his mansion.
Fortunately, Wayne
still has loyal assistants in his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and
weapons/vehicle/gadgetry specialist Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). Plus, he
forges a new friendship with John Blake (Joseph-Gordon-Levitt), an idealist cop
with excellent instincts who might be sidekick Robin should the series be spun
off.
Outfitted
with a state-of-the-art motorcycle and hovercraft, a revivified Batman engages
his evil adversary with an unbridled enthusiasm. And between purist Nolan’s
loyalty to 35mm film and live action stunts, what’s served up onscreen proves
to be nothing short of spectacular.
A
tip of the cap, or should I say of the cape, to a terrific trilogy for the
ages!
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sensuality, profanity and intense violence.
Running time: 165
minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers Home Entertainment Group
3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD
Combo Pack Extras: The Batmobile documentary; Ending the Knight (The Making of
The Dark Knight Rises); trailers; art galleries; The Journey of Bruce Wayne;
and more.
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