‘Dark Knight Rises’ brings trilogy to strong close

  • By Robert Horton Herald Movie Critic
  • Thursday, July 19, 2012 9:05am
  • LifeGo-See-Do

For a variety of reasons, director Christopher Nolan couldn’t do another “Dark Knight,” his monster hit from 2008. Key elements of that wild ride were finished, none more definitively than (due to unforeseen real-life events) the loss of Batman’s nemesis, the Joker. R.I.P, Heath Ledger.

So for “The Dark Knight Rises,” the third and final installment in the trilogy Nolan began with “Batman Begins,” the feel is different. Serious and determined, and skillfully playing out on a huge canvas, “The Dark Knight Rises” doesn’t have the crazy, helium-inhaling inventiveness of its predecessor, a movie that felt a little like hanging on to the back of a flying dragon, if the dragon’s been drinking.

Eight years have passed in Gotham City since the events of that film, and billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has been a recluse during that time. Faithful manservant Alfred (Michael Caine) is worried, but never fear: calamity is on deck, sure to lure Bruce back into his cape as his crime-fighting alter ego.

Most enormously, there is this bulked-up man called Bane (Tom Hardy) who wears a bizarre thong-mask and speaks in a processed voice that manages to be both gravelly and lilting. I’m impressed by Hardy’s achievement there, even if I couldn’t understand all his dialogue.

Bruce is also distracted by a cat burglar (Anne Hathaway) with a definite feline emphasis in her style. Other new characters include a Gotham philanthropist (Marion Cotillard, lately seen in Nolan’s “Inception”) and a young policeman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who suspects something about the Batman.

This movie has a lot of past business to cover, some of which involves the Police Commissioner (Gary Oldman), whose decision to “print the legend” at the end of “The Dark Knight” is here called into question. Four years between sequels is a long time to wait before addressing an important plot point, but at least Nolan holds this one up for inspection.

Physically, the film is muscular and sometimes dazzling: the opening sequence has Bane on a plane (we’ll leave it at that), and there’s a mid-movie set-piece in which Gotham is detonated by Bane and his army of followers.

Although “The Dark Knight Rises” propulsively hurtles from one thing to the next, Nolan knows how to slow down a moment to lend a sense of gravity.

You’re left with the impression, at least, that something is at stake, although the reasons for this stuff to be at stake become murkier the longer the movie goes on (and also more dependent on your knowledge of the first two movies in the series).

A few final-act curveballs help keep it lively, and Nolan demonstrates his ability to capture sheer epic awesomeness (hundreds of people fighting hand-to-hand in a gently falling Gotham snow) even if the sequence doesn’t make a great deal of practical sense.

The movie’s strong on the mythic aspects of the hero’s journey — stronger than actually telling a story, in fact. I like it that Nolan reached for the moon with this trilogy. Part Three comes back down to earth after the triumph of “The Dark Knight,” but the sheer scale of the saga is impressive.

Will something else rise in its place? You’ll have to watch the last five minutes for that, but it feels like this is the final word from this Bat-team.

“The Dark Knight Rises” (3½ stars)

Christopher Nolan’s final segment in his Batman trilogy is enormous in scale and satisfying in its conclusions, even if it comes down to earth after the crazy shoot-the-moon highs of 2008’s “The Dark Knight.” Here, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns to the mask after an eight-year layoff, to battle the giant Bane (Tom Hardy) and a host of unexpected threats. The movie’s serious and determined, and sharper on the mythic aspects of the hero’s journey than on actual storytelling.

Rating: PG-13, for violence, subject matter

Showing: Alderwood Mall, Cinebarre, Edmonds, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marsyville, Olympic, Stanwood, Thornton Place, Woodinville, Blue Fox, Cascade Mall, Oak Harbor.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.