Culture

The story picks up sometime after the end of The Dark Knight. “Batman” is a spurned memory from a darker time in Gotham City's recent history, and billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne is a recluse. Christopher Nolan starts this episode of the Batman legend by planting the seeds of this story in the fertile soil of the past, recalling Harvey Dent, who went on to become Two-Face, the source of the Gotham City Police Department's standing prejudice against the capped crusader.

Nolan clearly enjoys the process of story building and execution. His style of shooting both puts us in the middle of the action and focusses very strongly on the characters, whose conflicts and journeys drive the story relentlessly forwards. In essence this Batman story is about redemption, not only for Bruce Wayne and Batman, but also in some strange way for Bane himself. One feels almost as much for the bad guy as one does for the hero, and we see that Bane is much more than a mindless thug bent on destruction and mayhem. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne must face his own fears and demons, literally climbing out of a pit of despair in order to redeem himself and his alter-ego.

I would recommend this to fans of the Batman franchise as well as to fans of Christopher Nolan. Nolan forces the established set of Batman characters to play out a more introspective story rather than pursuing action for action’s sake.

I loved The Dark Knight Rises, unlike the cynical bastards sitting behind me who complained that it was cheesy. This was character driven drama all the way. Go and see this film.

5/5 stars