MODEST REVIEWS: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

MODEST REVIEWS by Phil: The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012.)

What we’re all witnessing is Hollywood’s reigning king at the top of his game. 

Chris Nolan is a summer blockbuster machine. His visual brilliance and trust in his audience to be smart enough to follow along is once again what sets him apart from competition. The Dark Knight Rises rounds out the best superhero saga in existence with grace and catharsis to spare. 

The best surprise of the film was Anne Hathaway’s redemption for her whole career up to this point. Her portrayal of Selina Kyle is absolutely stellar and blew my expectations out of the water. She held her own in a cast stacked to the rafters with legendary actors, who also pulled their weight marvelously.

I enjoyed this movie and intend to see it many times more, but it is not a perfect movie. There are a handful of less-than-believable plot fillers. The jumps from LA to Pittsburgh and back to Manhattan are a little awkward for anyone that has google images. There is a moment 30 seconds before the film ends that would have made an absolutely perfect ending frame for the trilogy. 

The parts of this film that lack are picked up by the storytelling brilliance of Nolan. No words or events go arbitrarily, and everything comes full circle at some point. The film will reward repeated watches as you piece together more of each character’s complexity. 

The Christian Bale Batman will go down as the finest of the caped crusader’s films. 

9 out of 10. 

»Jul. 21 @ 5:05PM | 67 notes