‘The Dark Knight Rises’ an Imperfect but Triumphant End to Nolan’s Trilogy

Although director Christopher Nolan’s 2008 Batman epic The Dark Knight was met with near-universal acclaim, reactions to its sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, have been relatively muted to say the least. Perhaps it’s the sobering realization that Nolan’s vision of Gotham City has come to an end, or maybe it’s the fact that it’s now seemingly impossible to speak of this film without bringing to mind the terrible tragedy that occurred during a midnight screening in Colorado. Or we could all be coming to grips with the notion that The Dark Knight Rises—as good as it is—never quite lives up to its much-lauded predecessor.

Having said that, I don’t honestly think there was any way that Nolan and his crew, after four years of feverish anticipation from fans around the globe, could have possibly delivered a film that would live up to the hype. Let’s just be glad that Nolan clearly made the film he wanted to make in the third and final installment of his Batman franchise without having to deal with the studio meddling and last-minute directives that muddled other third films such as Spider-Man 3  and X-Men: The Last Stand. Nolan concluded his Batman trilogy on his own terms, and regardless of how Warner Bros. aims to revive or reboot this franchise in the years ahead, Nolan’s take on the Caped Crusader remains intact throughout this film’s lengthy 165-minute running time.

Since we’re all increasingly sensitive about spoilers these days—and rightfully so—I’ll refrain from recapping the entire plot. Essentially, the film opens eight years after The Dark Knight and Gotham is a very different place. Organized crime is virtually nonexistent thanks to the Harvey Dent Act, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has retired as Batman and has become somewhat of a recluse while Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) is free to spend a great deal of time combing his luxurious mustache. However, as we soon learn, there’s a new villain in town named Bane (Tom Hardy), who has some sinister plans in store for dear old Gotham that will force Batman out of retirement. And, as the Joker might say if he were around for this installment, “It’s all a part of the plan.”

And what a plan it is! Fortunately, Batman and Gordon are aided in their fight against Bane and his minions by brilliant tech-savvy Wayne Enterprises executive Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) his stalwart butler Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and the intuitive Officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who, like Wayne, was orphaned as a child. Complicating matters for our hero is Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a seductive cat burglar who slinks into Bruce’s life during a lavish dinner party and—true to form—doesn’t leave the compound empty handed (or, in her case, clawed). 

The Dark Knight Rises is a crowded film, yet one never gets the sense that Nolan is overwhelmed in dealing with such a large ensemble cast. Gordon-Levitt shines as Gordon’s stalwart, incorruptible ally in the fight against crime, while Caine and Freeman continue to keep our masked hero grounded in reality even as he races through the skies of Gotham in an aerial assault vehicle code-named “The Bat.” Perhaps the most surprising performance comes from Ms. Hathaway as Selina/Catwoman, who gives even Batman Returns alumnus Michelle Pfeiffer a run for her catnip.

When we first meet Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight Rises, we see a man defeated, older, hobbled and essentially a shadow of his former already-shadowy self.  After taking the rap for the late Harvey Dent’s sadistic actions in The Dark Knight, the Batman has vanished while Bruce has locked himself away in his palatial manor. Think Howard Hughes with shorter fingernails. When he’s spurred into action and returns to the streets as Batman, we see a transition in Bruce that is instantly reminiscent of the character’s post-retirement resurrection in Frank Miller’s 1986 mini-series The Dark Knight Returns. Bale conveys this transformation incredibly well, even though he still sees fit to give Batman’s voice the same time of gravel-throated intonation that would make Cookie Monster blush.

But our hero is only as good as his adversary, so let’s talk Bane. Making waves among the comic book community in the 1993-1994 Knightfall story arc for “breaking” Batman, Bane is among the Dark Knight’s most feared foes, and with good reason. On screen, he’s a wholly different antagonist than this series’ previous primary baddies—Batman Begins’ Scarecrow and The Dark Knight’s Joker—and it’s fitting that Nolan saved Bane for last. The character, who speaks in a bizarre accent muffled by a mask, had the potential to come across as goofy (which is exactly how he was portrayed in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 farce Batman & Robin), but Hardy and Nolan injected Bane with the appropriate menace.

The film is relatively light on action, featuring a couple of chase sequences and some brutal close-quarters combat between Batman and Bane, but Nolan’s economical approach to set pieces results in a slow burn of a film that relies more on escalating tension than dazzling spectacle. However, there are some awe-inspiring city shots captured with IMAX cameras that more than warrant a viewing on an IMAX screen. 

The Dark Knight Rises unfortunately, isn’t a perfect conclusion to Nolan’s Batman trilogy. There are a few gaping plot holes that I won’t get into here, and the film has a tendency to drag in the middle act as it sets up a conclusion that is telegraphed just a tad too blatantly. Yet, I can’t help but find myself continuing to dwell on the many aspects of the film that I flat-out loved. The Dark Knight Rises isn’t quite as good as The Dark Knight, but it comes damn close.

My Thoughts on the Delay of ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’

Late last week, it was reported that Paramount Pictures had decided to delay big summer tentpole film G.I. Joe: Retaliation until March 29, 2013. This shocking revelation came just five weeks before the G.I. Joe sequel was scheduled to hit theaters. The official reason for the delay was that the film would be converted to 3D, however reports surfacing this week have unearthed new details regarding the nine-month delay of the film’s release.

According to Paramount insiders speaking to Deadline.com, the decision to convert Retaliation to 3D was certainly part of the reasoning behind the delay, but was not the sole deciding factor. If you’ve seen the trailers, it’s fairly evident that Channing Tatum’s character Duke dies in a Cobra attack early on the film, leaving Roadblock (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and a group of Joe survivors to rally together and bring down the terrorist organization in an act of—wait for it—retaliation. Although many fans of the property applauded the filmmakers’ decision to “wipe the slate clean” and distance Retaliation from 2009’s middling The Rise of Cobra, test audiences felt that the friendship between Duke and Roadblock wasn’t adequately developed fully in the original cut. Also, since Tatum has had a successful 2012 thus far with 21 Jump Street and The Vow, the studio is beefing up his role in this film and shooting additional scenes. Channing Tatum, in Paramount’s eyes, means profit.

I’m not necessarily a fan of 3D conversion, but I’m also aware that not distributing a 3D version of a blockbuster in today’s cinematic climate is akin to leaving money of the table. Plus, with The Avengers continuing to perform well as The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises stand poised to dominate the summer 2012 box office, it’s not unwise for Paramount to reposition Retaliation and pit it against less formidable opposition. After all, a March release date did wonders for The Hunger Games this year.

Having said all of that, I can’t help shaking the feeling that Paramount is setting itself up for failure. After being delayed for nearly a year, is there any way G.I. Joe: Retaliation could possibly live up to the hype, 3D or otherwise? For the sake of this franchise—which I feel has some true potential—I hope it does.

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is Set Eight Years After Predecessor

Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, is set eight years after The Dark Knight, the director noted in a recent interview with Empire.

“It’s really all about finishing Batman and Bruce Wayne’s story,” Nolan explained. “We left him in a very precarious place. Perhaps surprisingly for some people, our story picks up quite a bit later, eight years after The Dark Knight. So he’s an older Bruce Wayne; he’s not in a great state.”

Of the film’s primary villain, the brutish and calculating Bane, Nolan added that he wanted to put The Caped Crusader to the ultimate test in the conclusion to his trilogy.

“With Bane, we’re looking to give Batman a challenge he hasn’t had before,” Nolan said. “With our choice of villain and with our choice of story we’re testing Batman both physically as well as mentally.”

How physically? Actor Tom Hardy—who plays the baddie who infamously broke Batman’s back in the comics—went into sickening detail about Bane’s fighting technique.

“It’s about carnage,” Hardy said. “The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed, it’s nasty. Anything from small-joint manipulation to crushing skulls, crushing rib cages, stamping on shins and knees and necks and collarbones and snapping heads off and tearing his fists through chests, ripping out spinal columns. He is a terrorist in mentality as well as brutal action." 

Ouch. The latest issue of Empire is on newsstands now. For more on this story, click here.

Anne Hathaway Sounds Off on Catwoman Reaction

It’s no secret that comic book and movie geeks are hard to please, even when it comes to hot women in skintight leather. So I guess none of were surprised over the backlash against Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman duds in some leaked photos from the set of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

MTV News caught up with the Oscar-nominated actress, who had some interesting things to say about fans’ response to her costume. Watch the clip below.

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UPDATE: Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman Suit Revealed! Or Not!

Late last week, photos of a catsuited Anne Hathaway straddling a Batpod—totally not a euphemism—made its rounds on the ‘net, generating a ton of speculation as to how Selina Kyle’s feline alter ego would factor into Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, which hits theaters next summer.

On Saturday, notorious entertainment blogger Perez Hilton added more fuel to the fire with this unobstructed, full-body still of Hathaway’s Catwoman, complete with futuristic goggles and a noticeable lack of actual cat elements. However, a number of websites and even a few of you have noted that this graphic is a total fake. A fraud. a sham. Not real.

Move along, folks! Nothing to see here!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Role Revealed

Weeks ago, we learned that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be reteaming with Inception director Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight Rises, but the specifics of his role remained unclear. After reports that the Golden Globe-nominated actor would be playing Alberto Falcone—son of Gotham crime boss Carmine Falcone—were proven false, Batfans were left scratching their heads. Which villain would Gordon-Levitt play? The Mad Hatter? The Riddler? Calendar Man?

Well, the reality is nowhere near as exciting as any of those suggestions (hey, I like Calendar Man). As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Gordon-Levitt has been cast as John Blake, described by Warner Bros. as “a Gotham City beat cop assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon [played by Gary Oldman].”

Pedestrian? Sure. But with Gordon-Levitt’s fellow Inception alum Tom Hardy playing Bane and Anne Hathaway stepping into the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, the movie’s full of iconic baddies as is. Also, it’s great seeing big-name actors playing these smaller roles.

Speaking of smaller roles, Oscar winner Marion Cotillard—yet another of Nolan’s returning Inception cast members—will play Miranda Tate, “a Wayne Industries board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne [played by Christian Bale] resume his father’s philanthropic endeavors for Gotham.”

Interesting. For more on this story, click here.

Warner Bros. to 'Reinvent' Batman Once Again

We’re still more than a year away from the release of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises—the film that completes his Batman trilogy—but Warner Bros. has already revealed that they are planning to “reinvent” the character in the fourth film.

Keep in mind, Wortmaniacs, that Warner Bros. last rebooted the character with 2005’s Batman Begins, a film that introduced moviegoers to a more realistic Gotham City after Joel Schumacher turned Tim Burton’s series into a campy, neon-lit, cringe-inducing sideshow.

“We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman…Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is,” Warner Bros. executive told the Los Angeles Times. Also on the slate is a Justice League film in 2013 in addition to Flash and Wonder Woman solo films.

I’m all for a big-screen Justice League film—especially if Warner Bros. follows Marvel Studios’ example in setting all of the other superhero films in the same universe—but it’s pretty clear that characters like Wonder Woman, Superman, Hawkman and Martian Manhunter wouldn’t make sense in the film world Nolan created. Is Warner Bros. reinventing Batman to somehow distance the character from the realism Nolan has worked so hard to retain through three movies? Is the studio deliberately taking the character back into Schumacher territory?

Furthermore, where does this summer’s Green Lantern stand in all of this? It’s hard to imagine a cinematic Justice League without Hal Jordan among its ranks.

In any event, with Green Lantern making his big screen debut, Wonder Woman returning to TV in the near future and Superman soaring back into theaters next year, it seems as though Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment are finally paying attention to the rich array of costumed characters at their disposal (that aren’t Batman). Could a Booster Gold movie trilogy be that far behind? Fingers crossed.

The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release on July 20, 2012.

Selina Kyle and Bane Confirmed for 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Warner Bros. announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. The studio press release—which you can read in full at Deadline.com—does not specify whether or not Selina becomes her sultry alter ego Catwoman in the anticipated Dark Knight sequel, but let’s all hope she slips into some skintight leather at some point in the film. Hey, geeks can dream.

The studio also announced that Tom Hardy (Nolan’s Inception) has been cast as Bane, the hulking behemoth who broke Batman/Bruce Wayne’s back in the 1993-94 Knightfall storyline. In that arc, Bane—a steroid-fueled criminal genius—freed all of the most dangerous inmates at Arkham Asylum, forcing Batman to go up against all of his most diabolical foes simultaneously. After taking Batman to his limit, Bane tracked the Caped Crusader to Wayne Manor, beat him within an inch of his life and broke his back over his knee. As a result, a wheelchair-bound Bruce was forced to hang up the cape and cowl for an extended period of time.

“I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies,” Nolan said in a statement.

Nolan’s made interesting choices in casting Hathaway and Hardy, and as was the case in casting Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight, these decisions will almost certainly pay off.

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20, 2012.

Chris Nolan Casting Two Female Roles in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

It looks like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises won’t be a Bat-sausage fest after all.

Deadline.com is reporting that Nolan is meeting with six actresses to cast a new love interest for Bruce Wayne and a female villain. The six women being considered for the roles are Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway and Keira Knightley.

I’m sure many of you out there are already speculating that one of these roles will be revealed to be Selina Kyle/Catwoman, but I really like the idea of Hathaway as Talia al Ghul or Weisz as, well, anyone. As for Natalie, I find it hard to believe that she’d do a Batman film after starring in three Star Wars prequels, V for Vendetta and Marvel Studios’ upcoming Thor. She must be getting tired of creepy love letters from her nerdy fans (which would explain why she’s never answered mine).

For the full story, click here.

Nolan Names His Next Batman Film

For the past two years or so, comic book fans—and fans of good movies in general—have been anxiously awaiting Christopher Nolan’s inevitable follow-up to his Oscar-nominated masterpiece The Dark Knight. While that sequel is still a long way off—hitting theaters in 2012—at least we all know what to call it.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex blog, Nolan confirmed that his third and final Batman film will be called The Dark Knight Rises.

Hmmm. The Dark Knight Rises. Not quite as exciting as we thought it might be, is it? Indeed, a title says very little about the quality of the actual film (Nolan’s Inception would still be awesome even if it was called Sleepy Time Mind Spies). However, there’s something disengaging about simply adding the word “rising” to the end of the title of the previous film, especially considering the fact that the title progression from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight was so dramatic. All that said, it’s pointless to gripe about the title of a movie that’s still a year and a half away. Let’s move on.

Nolan also confirmed that the Riddler will not be the villain in The Dark Knight Rises. Filmmakers have also ruled out Mr. Freeze and, barring some creative casting, we probably won’t be seeing the Joker either. Since Nolan’s Bat-verse is very much grounded in reality, I’m guessing the Penguin is a reasonable possibility, as are Catwoman, Bane, Black Mask, Deadshot, Firefly or even Harley Quinn. It’s tempting to rule out outlandish adversaries such as Clayface, Killer Croc and Poison Ivy, but let’s keep in mind that Nolan made the extremely supernatural Ra’s al Ghul semi-realistic in Batman Begins. Hell, we might even see a gritty reimagining of Clock King or Maxie Zeus.

Nolan also revealed in the Hero Complex piece is that The Dark Knight Rises will not be screened in 3D. James Cameron weeps.

For the full story, click here.