TDKR: The Rebuttal

After reading a review of The Dark Knight Rises from a friend of mine (Stuart Milne) he seemed over critical on a few points. As it was a slow week at work I decided to sate my case for the film, and here it is...

Nobody's Perfect

It's clear from the above sentence that I enjoyed the film, but before I sing it's praises I recognise that TDKR is not flawless. The dialogue occasionally suffered from being a bit weak in places and there were a few plot points that didn't hang together, but you kind of expect that in a film set in this genre - after all it's not a documentary or a Mike Leigh film!

Quality or Quantity - Why not have both?

The film was overlong and baggy in places (especially in the middle) and probably could have been edited down slightly.  Having said that there was a lot of ground to cover, new characters to explore and ends to be tied up so it didn't bother me and I never lost interest. I'm a firm believer in a film being as long as it needs to be - within reason of course. I've been bored to tears whilst watching films with a short running time so from my perspective length does not always equate to boredom.

The Characters

As a character Bane was no substitute for Heath Ledger's psychotic and flamboyant Joker but he did represent a new physical challenge for Batman. The Joker thrived on anarchy and chaos whilst Bane has the warped vision of a terrorist, eager to take down the old order of Gotham by brute force for the "good" of the people. The initial fight between Batman and Bane was incredibly tense and it was easy to believe that Batman's number was up. Tom Hardy does a good job as Bane despite the perceived hindrance of his mask. His character was larger than life in more ways than one but it never strayed into silliness. In the comics his powers came from injections of venom but in [director] Christopher Nolan's more grounded vision he shares similar beginnings to Batman. I also liked that his back story his wasn't fully explained until later in the film, keeping him shrouded in mystery.

When casting was announced I couldn't envisage Anne Hathaway as Catwoman but form her early exchanges with Bruce it was clear she was up to the task. The way in which she manipulates the cops in the bar scene with the congressman is a fine example of how she really nailed it. Again, Nolan made a great decision to take the character to a new place, distancing it from the iconic part that Michelle Pfeiffer made her own in Batman Returns. Here Catwoman plays the classic femme fatale and con woman, eager to switch allegiance to suit any situation.
Despite introducing new characters the film fittingly showcased Christian Bale's acting talents. He really gets a chance to fully explore the character of Bruce Wayne ala Batman and  goes from dealing with inner turmoil to seeking redemption and finally a moment of catharsis at the end of his journey.
And as for Michael Caine's Alfred, his a heartfelt speech encouraging Bruce to retire in order to stay alive had me choking back the tears.

"Why So Serious?"

Some have said that the film is too serious but I felt it was a necessity after the previous Batman incarnations from Joel Schumacher. This was a very deliberate move on Nolan's part as he was keen to put his own stamp the films. He always said he wanted a different take on the Batman universe - one that was more grounded in reality (or as much as you can with a man dressed in a cape using cool gadgets to fight crime!). Despite the overall tone there are plenty of great set pieces, action and new gadgetry to keep the Blockbuster crowd happy. In many ways Nolan has picked up where he left off with Inception in creating an intelligent blockbuster for the masses. Personally, I would welcome a shift towards more films like this instead of Transformers 10 in 4D!

I actually thought it was a great film for the very reason that others saw flaws with it. I really enjoyed the grand scope and multiple themes which gave it a sense of gravitas. There were moments of humour (loved it when Selina Kyle disappears whilst Batman's head is turned and he quips "So that's what that feels like") but the film was never going to be a light hearted romp. It's refreshing to see a director with the guts to put in weighty themes like fear, redemption, terrorism and the divide between rich and poor into a £250 million blockbuster. I have enjoyed some of the recent light hearted comic book films but frankly they are a dime a dozen and a good majority are lazy money spinners. The fact he was allowed to keep the film at such a long running time shows the studio were keen on backing his vision with the faith that it would still find a large 
audience.

A Flawed Classic

I'm really looking forward to viewing TDKR for a second time just to pick up on some of the twists and sly references. There were plenty of nods to the first two films and the (possibly ambiguous) ending  really was the icing on the cake. It's not the best film ever made but still deserves classic status and in my opinion it's certainly part of the best trilogy ever made as the previous films were equally good if not better.