Dark Knight Rises Review: Silence is Underrated
Silence in underrated.
Though words may be able to describe things in a more detailed light, visuals may be able to translate images more effectively; silence is something that has become forgotten. Silence comes in many forms, some good and some bad. After finishing a performance, being met with silence is nothing short of heartbreaking. Yet silence can be something great, Dark Knight Rises was able to bring the strongest form of silence I have heard from a crowd in many years. The film treats us to an amazing emotionally hopeless scene; it was done so perfectly that when it faded to black to transition to the next scene in the film, the crowd was stunned, shocked and silent. This was breathtaking, the emotions radiated through nothing but silence itself. Christopher Nolan (Director of the first 2 films in this trilogy) is able to connect with his audience and make them feel the bleak, hopeless world he has created and the Dark Knight rises to the occasion.
Dark Knight Rises picks up 8 years after Batman’s confrontation with The Joker. Right away we are introduced to the villain known as Bane, he is an overpowered sadistic mercenary who wants nothing more than to see Bruce Wayne/Batman’s (Christian Bale) home of Gotham City suffer and burn. With the devious and conniving Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) by his side and Alfred, his faithful butler (Michael Caine) missing in action, can Batman save Gotham from the greatest threat it has ever faced and his most powerful foe he has ever encountered?
The performances in this film were amazing; Anne Hathaway is able to pull off Catwoman to perfection. From the sweet innocent personality, to the devious and deceptive cat burglar we all know. Michael Caine is able to pull some heartstrings as Alfred and has some very strong emotional scenes; another strong and very likeable performance was delivered from Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays John Blake, who valiantly brings Batman back into the fold. Christian Bale as he has 2 times prior was able to capture Bruce Wayne and his alter ego perfectly, still in my eyes the best Batman to date his presence in the role will be sadly missed in any future Dark Knight films.
“I’m Batman.”
One of Dark Knights few flaws comes from Bane himself, Tom Hardy does a good job of making Bane a very ominous and powerful figure when it comes to visuals, yet his voice will throw you off completely. Several times the crowd was actually laughing at Banes “British chipmunk” like voice as it did not fit the character at all, when your main antagonist can actually provide the audience with laughs; you are in trouble. Banes persona is let down in this respect, as taking him seriously sometimes is a big stretch. Another gripe some may have is the lack of Batman himself, his screen time definitely felt shorter than in previous installments, I did not find this to me much of an issue however as it allows for Bruce Wayne’s tale to be fully explored.
The lack of Batman actually provides one of the main positives in the film, the emphasis on side characters. More screen time is definitely given to explore the importance of the minor roles, this is something I felt lacked in the previous 2 films. This allowed for a stronger connection to the characters and made the minor story points to have more of an impact as you cared for them as well as Bruce himself. The greatest thing Nolan was able to pull off in Rises was the feeling of hopelessness; I kept asking myself how they would be able to save the day when it came to some of the major plot points. The bleak feeling of being outnumbered, outplayed and outgunned is done to perfection and this adds to the film in so many ways. Being almost 3 hours in length may put some people off, but this movie never felt like it dragged and did a great job of keeping the pace.
Some of the biggest crowd reactions were during the Bane/Batman confrontations, they were done well and their characters were both built up nicely as the light/dark sides of this tale. The vehicular scenes in the film also drew great reactions as some particular action heavy moments were a pleasure to watch. This film is definitely a movie going experience; the crowd played a massive part in making this film an amazing viewing journey, the laughs, the emotion and the shock all came across from the film onto the audience and hats off to Nolan on enhancing those feelings.
When it comes to super hero movies these days, they have become known as either hit or miss experiences, Dark Knight is most certainly a hit amongst fans and film fans alike. This movie is a thrilling supposed conclusion to the Dark Knight franchise, definitely one of my favourite super hero films in recent memory and of all time. From the stellar performances, amazing artistic score, great atmosphere, Dark Knight Rises is a must see. The blockbuster season of 2012 continues to entertain and this is one of the best options when it comes to films this summer and this year.
Silence is underrated, to capture the emotions of an entire audience is no easy feat and those moments of utter silence gave me goose bumps, something words could never accomplish.
Score: 9.5/10
Jamie Briggs looks after Analog Addiction, follow his daily life on Twitter @Jamierock50, his videos on YouTube and his published reviews on WeekendNotes.com.