The Darkest Knight Yet

"The Dark Knight Rises"

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written By: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Rated PG-13

164 Minutes

The biggest problem facing "The Dark Knight Rises" is that it isn't "The Dark Knight."  Christopher Nolan's 2008 crime epic came out of nowhere to shock and delight audiences who weren't expecting the sequel to "Batman Begins" to be so sensational.  It caught everyone off guard and remains a nearly perfect film elevated by the iconic performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker.  The obvious expectation this time is that Nolan must justify the final chapter of his trilogy with something bigger and better than "The Dark Knight."  Mixed reviews might convince you to lower your expectations, but I think all it requires is different expectations.  In its first hour, "The Dark Knight Rises" may lack the initial visceral impact of its predecessor, but what slowly emerges from the perceived rubble is an absolute masterpiece.

This final entry in Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy is actually the most methodically structured of all three.  It hits the ground running by introducing all the familiar characters, and at least four new and prominent ones.  Having too many new characters in the concluding chapter of a trilogy can be the kiss of death if handled incorrectly.  Luckily, Christopher Nolan has 2 hours, 45 minutes to find something for each of them to do and casts big name actors to make sure that even in their briefest moments, they leave an impression.  Arguably the most significant addition is Selina Kyle, who is oddly well-defined for being such an ambiguous character.  Anne Hathaway plays her with a deep charisma masked by a playful tenacity and when we first meet her, she is posing as a waitress to sneak into Wayne Manor's east wing, where Bruce has been a recluse for several years.  He is so spiritually broken from the events of "The Dark Knight" that even The Batman hasn't been seen in 8 years.  This is Christian Bale's strongest performance as the character and will likely stand as the definitive one should somebody else snag the role in the future.  Michael Caine is back as well, providing some of his most emotional work to date as Bruce's ever-faithful Butler, Alfred.  In one conversation with Bruce, he rescinds on a promise he made to him in the first movie.  His reasons are sound, but the choice that he makes is probably the film's most heartbreaking moment; and there a lot of those.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) has been living under the weight of the lie he and Batman concocted to prevent the public from finding out the truth about Harvey Dent's crimes.  Oldman has played Gordon as a moral force for good in the previous films and with that moral compass bent just slightly too far, Gordon loses focus in some early scenes here, and pays dearly for it.  Under his command is a new Gotham City Police Officer named John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who knows a vital piece of information that he quite honorably keeps to himself.  There is also Miranda Tate (Marion Coutillard), an environmentalist and board member for Wayne Enterprises who has a hand in a vital clean energy project.  She works with Lucius Fox to keep this technology from falling into the hands of John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn), a Wayne Enterprises rival who has used his wealth and resources to bring a terrifying mercenary known as Bane to Gotham City.  Tom Hardy is absolutely ferocious as Bane, if not quite as memorable as Heath Ledger's Joker, or as well-defined.  What is clear is that Nolan and Hardy had different intentions for Bane altogether, and he holds in store a horrifying fate for Gotham City.  While the Joker's reign of terror had a great deal to do with the Batman, Bane will see his plans through whether Batman is around or not. 

This is all dense plotting in a film that initially feels too long with the first viewing.  Some characters drift in and out of the narrative, sometimes absent for significant stretches.  But the movie covers a lot of ground and I am certain that Christopher Nolan has left nothing to chance and made specific decisions for a reason.  Symbolically, he has structured the narrative to be a little jarring, to echo the overall sense of unease.  Then when things start hurtling toward the heart-stopping climax, Nolan reveals his hand, giving every character their due and placing them exactly where they need to be.  A vital part of the film's final act is the score by Hans Zimmer, which elicits a powerful emotional response to accompany the thrills of the plot.  Perhaps the title for the film was influenced in part by the trajectory of the score, which has taken a new direction from the previous films.  It is an elegant piece of work. 

The palette of the film itself is exponentially grander this time as well, with Wally Pfister returning as director of photography.  When Chicago stood in for Gotham city, he had a distinct color scale and framed shots so that a familiar city was creatively disguised.  This time, Gotham is a hybrid of New York, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles; and even though this provides a new look to the film, it successfully reflects the change of genre.  Nolan has stated that he wouldn't do a third Batman picture unless he could top the grandeur of "The Dark Knight." In terms of scope and scale, he has done exactly that.  If  "Batman Begins" is a focused, fear-driven, psychological character study; and "The Dark Knight" a bold crime drama; then "The Dark Knight Rises" is Chris Nolan's disaster epic.  Each film could stand independently and fit into a particular genre, and I think that's why Nolan chose to come back to the story twice; because each chapter of his Dark Knight saga has resonated with its own self-contained theme.  If he had restricted himself to making simple sequels, he would have had nothing new to offer and they would have played as needless rehash.  The brilliance of this trilogy is that it has spanned genres, becoming so much more than what its source material would suggest.

Even at 164 minutes, "The Dark Knight Rises" will reward repeat viewings.  It serves as a definitive end to be sure, but it still leaves excellent questions.  The last shot in particular must have been meticulously planned and it does a fantastic job of wrapping up everything that has come before while simultaneously leaving us with ideas about what the future will hold.  Chris Nolan will not be returning to the universe of the Dark Knight, but he has provided three films with a captivating interpretation of the character.  This could easily stand as one of the greatest trilogies put to film, and it goes without saying that it is the most significant in the comic book universe so far.  I just hope that audiences will not hold this final chapter under too much scrutiny in comparison with "The Dark Knight."  It is a different kind of film and should be allowed to stand or fall on its own merits.  One thing is for sure, from beginning to end, it rises to the most emotionally exciting climax I have seen in a long time.  There is a really nice moment early on where Selina warns Bruce that a storm is coming.  He wonders if she might be looking forward to it; to which she replies: "I'm adaptable."  Looking back over the director's relatively short list of films, she could easily have been describing Christopher Nolan.  Now that he has finished telling this story, with whatever he does next, I'll be looking forward to it. 

The Amazing...Peter Parker?

"The Amazing Spider-Man"

Directed by: Marc Webb

Written by: James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary

Rated: PG-13

136 Minutes

 

 

The big concern on everyone's mind with the release of "The Amazing Spider-Man" is whether the Spider-Man franchise needed a 'reboot' so soon after Sam Raimi finished his trilogy in 2007.  It could be easily argued that the best Spider-Man story was already told with Raimi's "Spider-Man 2" and while this new version may not convince audiences that this Spidey is better than the last, I believe where "The Amazing Spider-Man" earns its stripes and justifies itself is by absolutely nailing the story of Peter Parker.  Marc Webb has crafted a motion picture that does a pretty good job of mostly avoiding too many comparisons to the earlier films by wisely containing its scope to a more touching and streamlined human story.

Much of the appeal in "The Amazing Spider-Man" is the inspired casting of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.  Some may remember him from "The Social network" but his best role to date is in John Crowley's British drama "Boy A."  Garfield is 28, but has young features and carries himself just awkwardly enough to pass for a nerdy adolescent.  There would be little point in me reciting Peter Parker's defining moments because the origin story is largely the same, but is now told from different angles.  The most significant addition is the intriguing mystery surrounding the disappearance of his parents, who left him with Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) when he was just a boy.  This development is a catalyst for the tension and conflict between Peter and his Aunt and Uncle, because when Peter finds out they have been keeping secrets from him, he starts to keep a few of his own.  Of course the fate of Uncle Ben has always been a defining moment in the Spider-Man cannon and that remains true here.  The Raimi version diluted the emotional impact because it immediately transitioned into that film's first sensational web-swinging sequence, too much in a hurry to show off its visuals.  It's not that "The Amazing Spider-Man" is darker and grittier, per say, but it's a great deal more contemplative and pauses to allow Peter to really feel his anger and grief.

There are other familiar moments in Peter's life that are given a bit more heft here as well, such as his conflict with Flash Thompson (Chris Zylka).  Instead of being a caricature of run-of-the-mill high school bullies, this Flash is wisely injected with some humanity, and one of his confrontations with Peter provides one of the film's most touching moments.  The entire feel of the high school environment feels several shades more honest because instead of cliched moments with Peter being relentlessly tormented as a target of ridicule, he is more accepted and just kind of blends in.  His insignificance is more relatable than endless victimization.  He does manage to catch the eye of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), who works as an assistant under Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans) at Oscorp.  Garfield and Stone are both accomplished actors for their age and they display a maturity here that elevates their chemistry.  Marc Webb's resume as a director may be shorter, but his experience helming the excellent "(500) Days of Summer" seems to inform his intimate focus on "The Amazing Spider-Man."

As for the action sequences and traditional Spider-Man elements, they are at least as good as anything that has come before.  I always thought the Raimi series felt a little light on its feet, especially with the disappointing third installment.  Now the action feels more grounded, more informed by physics that we can measure just by watching.  Spider-Man even makes better use of his powers while fighting, using his webs to pull himself out of harm's way, and taking advantage of the environment to get the upper-hand on his foes.  While there is a traditional montage of Peter assembling the various elements like the suit, the web shooters, etc., Webb doesn't let that overshadow the emotional journey involved in those steps.  The full Spider-Man garb doesn't appear until nearly an hour into the film, which is okay, because to rush through the broad strokes to quickly get to the finished product would be too reminiscent of Sam Raimi's approach. 

"The Amazing Spider-Man" isn't without its short-comings.  With the Lizard as the villain of choice, it bears a striking resemblance to so many other Spider-Man foes, who always seem to be well-intentioned scientists who fall victim to some experimental mishap; although that may be more of a reflection on the redundancy of the comics.  Nevertheless, some of the Lizard sequences are a bit too over-the-top for the more grounded approach.  More fascinating is the manhunt for Spider-Man led by Gwen's father, Captain Stacy (Denis Leary).  His character arc is slightly under-developed but still effective because of what it means for Peter and Gwen.  There is, however, one really sensational sequence near the middle of the film that bests a similar set piece in the first Sam Raimi movie.  It works well because it never feels like Marc Webb is trying to one-up Raimi on any front, but instead trying to respectfully acknowledge what made Spider-Man work before while still keeping him relevant now.

Where "The Amazing Spider-Man" will rank in a few years' time is hard to say.  Some will argue for the existing trilogy and some may find more to like in this update.  For my money, this iteration of Peter Parker is far and away more compelling than Tobey Maguire's take, who in "Spider-Man 3" was inexcusably annoying.  Andrew Garfield is the selling-point for this one and is successfully able to reel in Marc Webb's emotional focus.  There is plenty to like here no matter which version you prefer and even though "The Amazing Spider-Man" arrives so soon following the last cinematic outing, it is a respectful kick-start to a new story arc. Even if you feel like you already know it.  It also contains probably the best Stan Lee cameo to date, and if the creator himself is okay with a new version, who am I to argue?