Movie review - The Dark Knight Rises

It has been six movies and over a month since my last post to my movie review blog.  I figured if the Dark Knight could rise, so could Baatezuu, to write a review for this film.  The movie of course is The Dark Knight Rises.

This film truly tells a story, it is not simply a bunch of spectacular action scenes tied together with a thin string like other superhero movies have been.  Like The Dark Knight before it this film feels much longer than it really is.  There is so much going on that you really feel like you are living through it with the characters.  This film however doesn't have the same creepy overtone that The Dark Knight seemed to have.  Christopher Nolan has done an amazing job throughout this trilogy making the mythos of Batman believable, and fresh.  The story really comes to life on screen for all of us to experience.

The acting is amazing, Christian Bale's performance as Bruce Wayne is phenomenal, he really brings an emotional pain to the character.  Christian's performance as Batman was pretty good as well.  This is a hard feat to accomplish too, others have tried in the past and only one has succeeded in playing both roles equally well.  Batman actually has more dialogue in this movie than any of the other films in this trilogy.

The always beautiful Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (Catwoman).  Not the person that I would have expected them to cast in this role; however she was amazing in her performance.  She brought a great strength to the character that was really needed to make her feel genuine.  She was the yin to Batman's yang, willing to do what he wasn't to get the job done.  Her moral flexibility certainly made Selina a much darker character then Batman was.  In the end of the film she felt much like the character of Han Solo in Star Wars.  Not used to playing as a team, and conflicted between doing what's right and saving herself.

There is such a strong cast of supporting characters in this film.  Their stellar performances really draws you into the film and make you feel like you are apart of the city.  My short list of amazing actors is as follows; Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordan; Tom Hardy as Bane; Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox; Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake; and Michael Caine as Alfred.  The actors in this list were simply fabulous at portraying their characters in a believable and realistic fashion.  The emotion they put into their roles was well worth watching.

Unlike the last time we saw Bane on the big screen, this character was very much a proper villain.  Plotting, scheming, and even outsmarting Batman along the way.  This film really does the character of Bane justice on the big screen.

The costumes of course were amazing.  I was perhaps most impressed with that of Selina Kyle's cat burglar costume.  You can tell that much thought was put into its creation.  Sexy but functional, it was never too revealing but every part seemed to serve a purpose, right down to her heels that she was wearing.  She had goggles on that when flipped back on top of her head looked very much like cat ears.  I found this to be a very clever trick of the costume.  Considering this trilogy has seemed to completely rethink things like the Batman costume and vehicles this only seems fitting for Catwoman.

This film has seemed to really expand on the events of the last two movies in a truly unexpected way.  This really neatly tied up the story arc while simultaneously leaving things open for the imagination to wander in new directions.  Christopher Nolan is a true master of his art, having co-authored the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, produced, and directed this film.

I rate this film five out of five smiley Mike heads.  If you are at all interested in superhero movies, or if you simply like a good action movie, then this one is for you.