SPOILED ROTTEN - A Second Discussion on The Dark Knight Rises

SPOILERS AHEAD

Full disclosure: I hedged my bet on The Dark Knight Rises review. 

I gave it an A- based on my revised grading scale, which means it was worth going to see on opening weekend, and I stand by the grade. However, if you read the review, you'll find a far more tentative examination of Nolan's final Dark Knight Saga chapter, one which yearns for the unpredictable and far more entertaining ethos of The Dark Knight. 

Of course, in light of the shootings at the Friday night screening of DKR in Aurora, CO, there has been a necessary call for a bit of a moratorium on the DKR discussion, out of respect for the victims of that senseless tragedy. In fact, I'd like to applaud the studios for holding back on releasing box office numbers for DKR over the weekend. Unfortunately, the combination of the Colorado shooting and the increasingly sober reflections on the film itself, DKR is likely to go down in the annals of film history as a disappointment.

Throughout my review, I constantly referenced how DKR paled in comparison to The Dark Knight, and I firmly believe that, left to his own devices, Nolan would have abandoned the series with Batman riding the Batpod into the darkness as a hunted vigilante. In truth, maybe we all should have left the story there as well. Slowly but surely, articles about DKR's skewed, neoconservative politics, slapdash plotting, and tone deaf character work have a popped up online, with more surely coming down the pike. In a sad way, the shootings somewhat opened the door for the responses, as prior to the shooting, critics were receiving death threats for calling Nolan's film to the carpet on some glaring flaws that practically crippled a surefire hit. Suffice to say, fans have calmed down, if only because many don't want to be compared to the madman who robbed so many innocent people of the right to escape terror and hardship in the darkness of a movie theater. It's just such a shame that, in some cases, it took a loss of that magnitude, rather than time and sober reflection, to make the populace calm down a bit and think before responding with violent fervor rather than measured fanaticism.

I myself don't mean to take advantage of the situation to kick DKR when it's down, and I apologize if it seems that way--that is not my intention--but rather to reflect, after seeing the film twice in a weekend, on the fact that this film could not have succeeded the way many hoped it would because you do not trap lightning in a bottle, you can only marvel--no pun...never mind, pun fully intended--at the moment that fire from the sky cracks the ground and shows you just how amazing a moment of perfect creation can be.

The Dark Knight was lightning cracking the ground. It was an exceptional, if also a bit flawed, work that turned on an amazing, unmatched performance by Heath Ledger as the purest Clown Prince of Chaos to grace the silver screen...ever. Nolan could have toiled for years, waited decades, and still he may not have been able to capture a fraction of the magic he poured into the Dark Knight. His efforts on DKR prove that. 

Nolan is a director who truly, admirably aspires to give meaning to what many inaccurately classify as meaningless. Magic, superheroes, dreams. Nolan has worked with turned examinations of each of these subjects on their heads by revealing the not-so-hidden depth within these subjects. However, Nolan has always had an approach to his subjects that rarely treats characters as more than philosophies. Sure, sometimes he really delves into the humanity of his characters, as in his earlier works like Memento and The Prestige, but often, a few days distance from his work reveals that the characters in his more popular works barely exist as anything other than mouthpieces for esoteric philosophies and perceived dichotomies. Rarely do audiences remember his characters for who they are instead of what they represent. In something a movie like The Dark Knight, that approach is novel because the characters have philosophies that propel them into compelling action--also known as motivation--but in DKR, that approach is distracting because the philosophies led to action that is more head scratching than compelling.

In my initial review, I mentioned the disappointment of Bane, a character built up through every ounce of marketing to be the unstoppable force to Batman's immovable object. He's also framed as a revolutionary seeking to restore balance to economic inequality afflicting Gotham. By the end, he's nothing more than a lovesick henchman following orders and caring little for the plight of the average 99 percenter, finding them no different than Gotham's elite. This bait and switch is not surprising considering how Bane has been used as little more than a heavy in any media other than comics, an approach unaided by his goofy voice and weakly sardonic mannerisms. Even less surprising is the fact that the true mastermind behind Bane's plan is Bruce Wayne's new love interest Miranda Tate, who prefers her birth name, Talia Al Ghul.

Marion Cotillard plays Talia, a role telegraphed since the first photos of her on set surfaced. As soon as it is made clear that Ra's Al Ghul's League of Shadows is involved in the plot to destroy Gotham and the child of Ra's Al Ghul is mentioned, anybody who caught the Batman: The Animated Series episodes based around Ra's Al Ghul knew where DKR was headed, despite Nolan's predilection to change the names of characters in the films to protect their doppelgängers in the comics. This predilection extends to Nolan's favorite character in the film, Robin John Blake, a puzzling name change that is actually hokier than naming the character Dick Grayson or Jason Todd or Tim Drake. 

Now, I can't fault Nolan for his fairly dignified approach to including Robin in his ultra-serious Batman narrative, as it was one of the most consistent and well-conceived narrative threats within the film, albeit a bit contrived considering how quickly and effortlessly Blake ascends to a position in Batman's circle of trust. However, the same can be said for Selina "Don't Call Me Catwoman" Kyle, who also has a real character arc that leads her to a happily ever after with boyfriend/husband/traveling companion Bruce Wayne, after Batman "dies" in a nuclear explosion. Anne Hathaway does a good job with Ms. Kyle, especially in light of the fact that our last onscreen Catwoman was Halle Berry's Razzie winning performance as Patience Phillips. Sadly, as with Talia, Nolan cares more about the boys than the ladies, which means Selina gets an arc but not quite enough character development to make the audience believe that she and Bruce are destined to end up together. It's more of a case of populist appeasement: Fans like the Bat and Cat together so that's what they get for sitting through the 3-hour epic. Again, this can be traced to Nolan's favor of philosophy over character. Selina has a very character driven arc, one that is not bound to a significantly measurable or bombastic philosophy. As a result, her arc is truncated and she becomes more of a guest star than she should have been.

While the Catwoman and Robin development arcs are fairly solid, the failure of Bane overwhelms much of the proceedings, eclipsing the adequate work with Selina Kyle and John Blake. In particular, the Bane issue jabs at the audience's suspension of disbelief, especially our ability to believe that he wants to waste months dangling a nuclear device over Gotham simply to make Bruce Wayne feel like crap when blowing up the city immediately would have crushed Bruce Wayne far more effectively. Even more, Bane wants to show Bruce Wayne how his city is falling apart, but Nolan only shows a bunch of cops living underground with every other citizen locked inside their homes...not tearing the city apart. Based on what we are shown, Bane's plan failed before Batman even showed up. 

What Bane's plan does is allow for a second act that is equivalent to the unseen moments that preceded the very beginning of Batman Begins. Essentially, Bruce Wayne is locked in a prison and, through sheer force of will, must rise to become a hero, just like he did in Batman Begins. And that's exactly where Dark Knight Rises exists, in the space around and behind Batman Begins. The Dark Knight is an afterthought in DKR. With the exception of a mention about the Harvey Dent act and Commissioner Gordon's guilt over the lie he told about Batman killing Harvey Dent, the events of The Dark knight are vapors that ignore the elements of what is to date the most popular entry in the franchise. This is to say nothing of the marginalization of great characters like Alfred, who is excused for most of the film, and Lucius Fox. 

Despite the stack of flaws, DKR deserves to be seen in the theater if only to enjoy the spectacle, which it undoubtedly is, with an audience that will likely respond with shock and awe to the twists and the middling action--never Nolan's strong point. Just know that once you get some distance from this event of a movie and start pulling at the threads, this thing is gonna unravel faster than rayon. At that point, you'll probably end up right where I was after seeing DKR for the first time--wishing Heath Ledger was still with us so that we could watch the Joker challenge the Bat to dance with devil in the pale moonlight of Chicagotham.

Why the Oh So Serious Dark Knight Rises Above the Average Superhero movie

Grade: A-

The Dark Knight Rises may not be a masterpiece, but it is an exceptionally tense and taught epic that wraps up the plot threads that Christopher and Jonathan Nolan initiated in 2005's Batman Begins in a way that will satisfy a lot of people.

That said, I miss The Joker.

As a sequel to Batman Begins, Dark Knight Rises (DKR) is near perfect, but as a sequel that exists in the shadow of the more compelling The Dark Knight, DKR is weighed down by a rampant, but apt, joylessness that makes one long for Joker's antics. Indeed, the proceedings of DKR are no laughing matter, and while one doesn't go to a Nolan film expecting to double over in laughter, the general sense of unpredictability that permeated The Dark Knight is a bit lost in DKR. It's still a decent bit of work, but for those who prefer the Dark Knight over Batman Begins, it's a bit slight.

What works, more than anything else, in DKR is the characters, especially the arcs for the three main 'protagonists': Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), and John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Since the end of the Dark Knight, which saw Bats on the run after Commissioner Gordon lets Batman take the fall for Harvey Dent's death, Batman has disappeared and Bruce Wayne's been laying low. When a madman in a muzzle and a fur-lined pimpcoat, Bane (Tom Hardy) roles through Gotham threatening to turn the city into a prison-state, Wayne and the Bat come out of seclusion out of a sense of duty as a much as in response to goading by a slinky cat burglar, Kyle; a noble young cop, Blake; his trusty accomplices, Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman);  and earnest potential love interest Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).

Bale, Hathaway, and Gordon-Levitt all excel at giving a range of depth to their characters despite splitting time with almost half a dozen other main characters. Hathaway and Gordon-Levitt in particular shine with Hathaway delivering the most accurate and compelling Selina Kyle ever committed to film. Her first scene with Bale, where she flips so casually between naiveté and sly aloofness is pretty masterful. Gordon-Levitt's Blake is also fascinating but hard to discuss without spoiling too much of the film; however, he does provide an interesting and inevitable twist on the notion that few good men survive in the GCPD. Not to be outdone, Bale continues to bring much needed humanity to a character who has grown increasingly bereft of humanity despite being the most human of heroes. The moment when Bruce Wayne literally rises is a triumph mostly because Bale shows that Wayne's fortitude burns through his body and mind. It's great to see each of the characters grow into their roles as they face the horror of Bane's plan, but so much of their growth is steeped in a lore that many members of the audience are extremely familiar with, which ultimately reveals that Nolan's take on Batman follows in the vein of other creators who have tweaked this infinitely malleable legend.

What is less successful, or maybe just less surprising, is Nolan's take on Bane, which is unfortunate because he is one of the prime engines behind this story. At this point, I have to qualify this dissection by remarking on my knowledge of Batman lore, which is not relatively extensive but nowhere near as in-depth as some true Batmanologists. Having grown up in the age of the first round of Bat-flicks, the legendary Batman: The Animated Series, and the Knightfall crossover that introduced Bane, I know a thing or two about Bane. The Bane of the comics, and the animated series to some extent, may rock a luchador mask and get hopped on a comic book drug, but he is a smart guy who often gets the better of Bats because he is just as driven as Bats. Without spoiling anything, the Bane of DKR starts out just like this, but an eleventh hour twist to the character really hurts because it is very reminiscent of Schumacher's take on Bane in the maligned Batman and Robin. 

On its own merits and taken as an introspective and thoughtful superhero actioner and the second act to Batman Begins, DKR is solid if not exceptional. Nolan really excels at making the terror of a super-villian plot tangible. Something comic readers take for granted is the fact that living in the wake of a some deranged cosplayer with an itchy trigger finger is legitimately terrifying. What Nolan does with DKR, and has continually done with the series, is ground the world of Batman in a way that strikes a nerve with post 9/11 Americans. Bane's plot to take over Gotham is particularly unnerving, but not as unnerving as Joker's plot in the Dark Knight because the human element is less scarce in DKR. In DKR, Nolan focuses more on the suffering of the police force and the city's costumed hero than its people, which would have driven home the oppressive conditions of Bane's confusing "occupation" in  which he takes over the city to give people their freedom (?). Despite the missed opportunity to focus deeply on the suffering of Gotham's citizens, Nolan uses Bane's occupation to set a tense third act where the fate go Gotham hangs in the balance. It is here that DKR rises above other superhero epics, even the Avengers to a degree, because the tangibility of the threat makes the efforts of the heroes, all of the heroes, matter in a way that makes the Avengers battle in Manhattan lack some significance. 

DKR is smaller in scale than Avengers, but its tangibility makes it seem far more epic. Yet, it is not necessarily the better film. Simply, it is another variation on superhero mythos that shows just how adaptable superhero stories are. As the closest narratives to modern myths, superhero tales like Dark Knight and Avengers succeed not on their ability to follow a formula but to be shaped according to the needs of their audiences. Avengers and DKR both appeal to similar audiences but with tones that reflect jarringly different takes on urban terror in America. What is great about this fact is that these stories exist to address such topics in a way that entertains and challenges audiences. Granted, some audiences, myself included, may be more partial to a lighter take on the material, but Nolan's approach is just as valid. In fact, it is necessary because it never hurts to remind audiences that the folks in the goofy outfits can be serious when the occasion calls for it.

In-Between Observations:

• Bane's voice is clearer but absolutely hilarious; Joker would have never let him live it down.
• Anybody remotely familiar with the Birth of the Demon arc will not be surprised by the ending.
• Bruce Wayne's injuries recall Terry Funk's injuries as described in wrestling expose Beyond the Mat. Coincidence?
• Gotham City is no longer Chicago but Los Angeles and New York as evidenced by some sloppy editing.