Christopher Nolan
Tha Dark Knight Rises

I can't say that this movie disappointed me because I didn’t have expectations; I simply didn’t like it. It works badly primarily because it starts penalized by the predecessor’s legacy; I’m not referring to the figure of the Joker, a villain that defining as memorable is an understatement, but rather to the fact that the ending of Dark Knight, forced and decidedly implausible, complicates things terribly. Rises opens with this messy and shaky situation, verbose, slow. Kudos to Nolan for managing to unravel more or less realistically a plot at least not predictable, but we are still talking about a blockbuster and superheroes: putting too much meat on the fire, even if you're a skilled cook, is always a risk.

In the first part, Alfred stands out, disillusioned and realistic, passionate and moving, but gets quickly cut off when the Bat indulges in his own ruin. The enemy Bane takes a while to emerge but leaves a mark. He is ruthless, extreme, straightforward yet twisted, not at all fascinating like the intrusive Joker but still engaging. He was the right villain for this film with almost noir tones and is frightening because he demonstrates an immediate total superiority, both physical and mental, compared to Wayne/Batman. He always has everything under control, knows exactly what he wants and how to get it, exactly the opposite of the faded and solitary adversary. Their duel in the sewers, shocking in its brutal intensity, is exemplary and memorable in this sense.

The movie tries to take off just as Bane’s true intentions and plan are revealed. Batman collapses along with his myth and that false, smoky, and cumbersome one of Harvey Dent. Gotham is annihilated and the criminal-revolutionary project of the terrorist, although absurd and on the verge of science fiction, is coherent with his crazy and ultimately ferocious nature. However, all this happens halfway through the film and during the interval, I asked myself several times if and how the director would be able to resolve the grave crisis in just one act. Nolan doesn’t land on his feet because he can’t adequately unravel the already too heavy skein.

We have Gordon busy restoring a soul to a city devoid of energy and stripped of all its symbols, be it Batman or Dent, and thus fed to Bane, a faceless beast whose reign leads only to ruin. Bruce, on the other hand, split in two, must attempt a strenuous climb from darkness and rise to find, amidst the chaos, a new purpose and a new destiny, perhaps precisely the one dreamed of by the touching and sincere Alfred... but maybe not.

The needs of the Hollywood blockbuster and the intrinsic rhetorical heaviness of the first part lead Nolan to ruinous choices. Unacceptable in its crude approximation is the hero’s resurrection, weak is the theme of Ra’s Al Ghul’s posthumous revenge, already defeated in the first episode, ridiculous is the comeback of the policemen who, pistol in hand, charge against the terrorists’ automatic cannons and machine guns to create a "war" that is nothing but a colossal (and poorly shot) urban brawl.

Dark Knight Rises truly falls apart when the "twist" and betrayal occur. From there on, the film is greatly rushed: already-seen scenes, with the classic and hackneyed race against the timer paying homage to the basest and noisiest tradition of US-made action movies, and an unfeasible chase where fireworks, firecrackers, and very fake flames rise unsightly. Let’s skip over Miranda Tate’s ridiculous revelation and the pathetic motive of family revenge that distorts and trivializes Bane’s insane plan. The terrible mercenary is disposed of in two seconds while Batman braces for the final sacrifice: plot points already seen in comics or manga (the good guy sacrifices himself by taking away the bomb) and an ending that absurdly reminds me grotesquely of The Iron Giant (a masterpiece, that one), see the nuclear explosion, rhetoric on heroes and commemorative statue.

Also a half miss is Catwoman, played by the pretty doll Hathaway, whose acting skills are inversely proportional to her attractiveness. In her alluring and opportunistic neutrality, Selina Kyle appears practically only when the plot needs to be unlocked, then becomes just an accessory figure that even hints at some sixth-hand sentimentalism we would have gladly done without. The final ending, pathetic before irritating, leaves the door open to a continuation of the franchise. Because yes, it’s now about profit, about images and characters that need to be exploited always and ever more. I believe Nolan and Christian Bale are done with Batman, but not Hollywood, which I’m sure already has other reboots or sequels planned. That’s what makes me a bit sad.

The lesson is that the claims, the contents, and the depth of a thriller that we might even define as auteur almost never align with today’s commercial needs. If its predecessor partly succeeded in the endeavor, Dark Knight Rises is a film that doesn’t take off, that gets lost along the way and presents a last quarter-hour that's truly unwatchable. In this sense, and in my very humble opinion, the best episode of the batch remains the first which is more linear, dry, and measured while not neglecting action and vigor. Nothing doing this time, but that doesn’t cast doubt on the talent of people like Nolan or Bale.