Batman’s Swan Song — The Dark Knight Rises Review

The legend has ended. With it so has Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale's tandem as director and actor, one of the most successful pairings in the history of cinema.

With the expectations through the roof (following the incredible performance by Heath Ledger as "The Joker" in "The Dark Knight") "The Dark Knight Rises" has successfully lived up to expectations. Though many would credit Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway's performances with the the astounding success of the film, credit must also be given to Tom Hardy for his performance as the main villain "Bane".

Hardy truly was a revelation in "Inception", his breakthrough performance as Eames winning him the title role in TDR, thrusting him into the Hollywood spotlight. First and foremost, it must be noted that the sound quality of his performance is solid; however the mixing itself makes it incredibly hard to understand him for a fair portion of the film. Never fear though, the shear physicality of the role more than makes up for this fact. Considering the origins of the character in the comic books, the realism and humanity that Hardy brings to the role is something worth noting. Watch out for Hardy in the upcoming film "Lawless", in theaters August 29th.

From start to finish the action is ramped up like never before, with a constant stream of visual components that will help revolutionize the film industry. I will refrain from giving away any spoilers but the visual style to this film is quite different from the previous two, likely because of the change of location filming from Chicago to Pittsburgh.

Christian Bale has even been able to up his game for this film, creating another layer to an already complex interpretation of the Bruce Wayne character. If this is indeed the swan song for Nolan's "Dark Knight" franchise it certainly has gone out with a literal and figurative bang. Another great triumph of acting in the film is Gary Oldman, ever the professional both on and off set, who's portrayal of Commissioner Gordon should be given more attention by critics. Though not entirely ground breaking, Oldman is able to expand on his character and the flaws he possesses much in the way Bale was able to with Bruch Wayne. Both are truly exceptional and make this film even more worth a view.

Thematically TDR raises some very interesting questions, in particular to it's relevance to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Nolan took aim at the major themes of the 1% and even tied in numerous scenes to the actual sit-ins in Pittsburgh. Though not contrived, the theme of the upper class holding down the lower classes via a trickle down theory straight from Reagan economics, is somewhat blatant in this film. In comparison to TDK the thematic elements of this film are not so expertly veiled, likely in part to the Nolan brother's intention in the script. Overall the writing in this film is not quite to the level of TDK, with fewer memorable lines and some that were slightly cliché or forced.

To answer many fan's questions, the Joker did not return in this film. Rumor was rampant on the internet that Nolan was considering re-casting the roll or even using deleted scenes featuring Heath Ledger to insert the Joker into this film, even for just a cameo. Throughout the course of the film there is not even one singular mention of the character, out of respect for Ledger and the iconic character he created. Perhaps it is best this way though, allowing viewers to imagine what would have become of the character in this newly created Gotham eight years following his capture.

Nolan has done an incredible job of making one of the smartest, most popular and successful film franchises in cinema history, thanks in large part to his stellar casts that have included the likes of Christian Bale, Michael Cain, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart to name just a few. It is unlikely that we will see another Batman film from the dynamic duo of Nolan and Bale so I highly encourage you to go see "The Dark Knight Rises", a film that will surely live up to your expectations and yet still leave you wanting more. A+