Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Cain, Morgan Freeman, Gary
Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotilliard,
Matthew Modine
Review: The question of Batman has been part of what has
made the character so intriguing for generations. Does Batman have a singular purpose to serve
for the city, or is he part of the city?
Does his need go beyond the role that he filled in the events that
transpired in ‘The Dark Knight?’ These
questions and more are pondered in Christopher Nolan’s final third of his
masterful Batman trilogy.
For one reason or another I think that Batman catches the
attention of the public more than most (if not all) other heroes and
superheroes. First and foremost, the
obvious reason is that he’s just like the rest of us. He doesn’t have super strength or super speed,
he can’t teleport or see through walls, he simply has the will to right the
wrongs.
What Nolan has done is accentuated that fact. The overall arc of his trilogy hinges on a
world without superheroes and whether or not we would need one. In many ways Batman is the only one capable
and best man for the job of protecting Gotham against the likes of villains
like Ra’s Al Ghoul, The Joker, and Bane.
Yet, he could also be seen as the very reason for those villains
existence. Such a fact was made
explicitly clear in ‘The Dark Knight’ with the Joker’s taunt of Batman “Kill
you? What would I do without you?”
The Joker could have been talking for all adversaries at
that moment. They were there to make
Batman’s life miserable, to constantly question himself, to repeatedly question
his code, and ultimately wonder about his place as Gotham’s protector. His tragedy is that with each civilian he
saves he seemingly loses someone close to him, whether it’s figuratively or
literally.
Batman and Spider-Man seem to be the only heroes who find
themselves trying to make situations better but only making them worse. Very few others actually question their
existence or self worth.
Nolan knows full well that this is one of the most
intriguing aspects of Batman and Bruce Wayne.
He also knows that the duality of the character is part of what makes
him special as well. Over his three
movies Bruce Wayne had to learn how to be Batman until a shift happened and all
of the sudden Batman had to learn how to be Bruce Wayne.
The more he had to pretend to be Bruce Wayne, the more he
became Batman. Bruce Wayne could go on
living and have a normal life, but Batman only has one end and that is what
Nolan’s entire trilogy has been moving towards.
Nolan has shown himself to be fascinated with men who are
preoccupied with ideas and obsessions. Going
back through all his movies his protagonists have been people who define
themselves by what they do and how well they do it.
Leonard Shelby in ‘Memento’ couldn’t let go of the nagging
memory of his wife’s death. He tattooed
himself with the recollection so he would make sure he could find her killer
and bring him to justice. Will Dormer
from ‘Insomnia,’ in what may go down as Al Pacino’s last non-scenery chewing
role, was a man obsessed with getting criminals off the streets.
Robert Angier and Alfred Borden in ‘The
Prestige’ were both obsessed with their own issues. Angier wanted to discover Borden’s secret and
pay him back for killing his wife, whereas Borden wanted to have the greatest
trick in the entire world. Cobb in ‘Inception’
only existed for one purpose, to get back to his children and be a father
again.
Certainly all characters in all movies need to have motives,
but full on obsession has been the key component to these heroes in all of Nolan’s
films. Obsessions that mask their flaws
and make them more apparent at the same time.
Bruce Wayne spends all of his money on being Batman and when his
alter-ego is exiled he goes into hiding himself. Couldn’t Bruce Wayne do more good for the
city with his company and wealth? Wasn’t
that his father’s goal?
Wayne’s preoccupation with vengeance and justice has only
given him a mask to hide himself from his true responsibilities of helping this
city that he is so attached to. In this
final installment Bane speaks of returning Gotham to the people. Even with the casting out of Batman as a
villain and taking the fall for Harvey Dent, the city is still held captive by
their need for a hero. Even eight years
later they still celebrate “Harvey Dent day.”
A constant theme running through this final installment is
that Gotham is full of heroes that walk the streets every day and don’t need a
mask. In ‘The Dark Knight’ Bruce Wayne
said that’s what he wanted Batman to help accomplish, but what Batman did was
counterproductive.
In the case of this movie, Bane is the perfect villain to
bring to the forefront. In terms of
Batman villainy, Bane is a relatively new character only being created in the
90’s. Nonetheless, over the years Bane has shown himself to be one of Batman’s
most formidable villains, not only because of his strength but his intellect as
well. Nolan uses him well in this film,
if not perhaps a little verbosely at times.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise in the film is Anne
Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. A
choice I deemed as odd when it was made, reminds me why I should always give
Nolan the benefit of the doubt. She
brings just enough sexy to the role to give it life, but still maintains a
reality of character that is paramount for the storyline to work.
There are holes in this movie and flaws. Even at two hours and 45 minutes it can still
seem to move to briskly at times. Having
the utmost respect for Nolan I simply did not expect as many plot holes and
general lack of focus as was apparent.
This didn’t run rampant through the film, but was apparent.
Nothing is strong enough to make me not enjoy the movie, but
enough to make you know it’s there. All
said, it’s a fitting end to a genre-redefining trilogy.
This movie is worth your time.
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| I just think this is a cool poster |
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