The Dark Knight Rises, and So Do My Spirits

Four years ago, The Dark Knight hit the big screen to great fanfare, and I was eager to see what all the hoopla was about. I figured this was a movie worthy of opening night, but I hadn't counted on just how many people would turn up at that hour in Erie. As a result, we arrived an hour early and all three showings were sold out, and I didn't try again until it made its way to the dollar theater, where I came to the conclusion that it was far too oppressive for my liking. Would I feel any differently about The Dark Knight Rises, which concludes Christopher Nolan&#146s trilogy?

As a matter of fact, I did. It helped that this movie night was a lead-in to my boyfriend's family reunion and that the charming Town Hall Theatre in Lowville, NY, is of great sentimental value to him. The graciousness of the proprietor and the amusing remarks of a friend who has seen the campy Batman movie from the 1960s far more times than she would like added to the fun of the outing, as did the fact that this was the first movie we saw together on the big screen. Nonetheless, I'm certain that no matter what the circumstances of my watching it had been, I would have found it the most enjoyable installment in the trilogy.

The film is set nearly a decade after The Dark Knight in a time when Gotham City has been seemingly purged of its unsavory element. Hundreds of criminals sit stewing behind bars while ordinary law-abiding citizens breathe a sigh of relief. In the depths of the city's most expansive manor, a billionaire broods, trapped in a prison of his own. His name is Bruce Wayne, and without vigilantism to occupy himself with, he has lost his sense of purpose. Will he ever be able to leave Batman behind him and start over?

Christian Bale returns as Bruce, but this time around we see very little of him in costume. Considering how much his Batman voice annoyed me in the second movie, I didn't mind. Besides, that allowed plenty of time to really focus in on Bruce and delve into his psyche. Until the last segment of the movie, he has little direct involvement with battling its baddies. Instead, he wars with himself while others team up to fight the bomb-wielding terrorists led by the chilling Bane (Tom Hardy), who breathes intimidation under his voice-altering mask.

Bane is no less horrific than the Joker, and the threat that he places over Gotham City could hardly be grimmer. Nonetheless, the movie feels far easier to take. We don't spend the entire film under gloomy cloud cover or in the midst of bleak industrialism. Bright sunshine and glitzy halls are equally abundant. While the scene concludes in calamity, it was great fun to see the moment set in a football stadium and know that all those yellow jerseys belong to Steelers fans in nearby Pittsburgh. I appreciated the score, which often had a classical feel to it and only occasionally reprised the pounding cacophony heard throughout much of The Dark Knight. Despite the dire circumstances, it just felt like a lighter movie.

I also loved the partnership that develops between noble but world-weary Commissioner Gordon, once again masterfully played by Gary Oldman, and idealistic cop Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whose childhood loss of his parents gives him a sense of deep solidarity with Bruce. These two profoundly good men do not have all the fancy tools at their disposal that Batman does, but they do work very effectively together. I also enjoyed Anne Hathaway's performance as the sly, seductive Selina, otherwise known as Catwoman. Her playful prowess makes her great fun; she is an accomplished thief who burgles for sport and greed, but a sweet vulnerability lurks not too far below the surface. Her ambiguity makes her one of the most compelling characters in the series.

I have always had a soft spot for Bruce's loyal butler Alfred, and I have particularly loved the magnificent Michael Caine in the role. While he is off-screen for the majority of the movie, he is at the heart of two gut-wrenching scenes; elsewhere, his dry wit provides several laughs. Morgan Freeman also returns as sage inventor Lucius Fox, and I found him just as delightful as in the previous films as well. While they have only brief scenes, I also enjoyed seeing LOST's Nestor Carbonell, back as the city's slightly overwrought mayor, and Brett Cullen, who plays a hapless congressman at the beginning of the movie.

The Dark Knight Rises is just as much an action movie as its predecessors, but it also has a deeply introspective quality to it. The threat of violence is severe, but what we actually see on screen is considerably less grotesque than in The Dark Knight. While the adrenaline-pumping moments are edge-of-the-seat fun, what I really appreciated were the quieter bits that really gave us a chance to know Bruce Wayne and understand what makes him tick.

Before I saw this movie, my brother warned me that while he found the ending appealingly optimistic, the night truly is darkest before the dawn in this case.  I assured him that I would shield my eyes at the appropriate times, and he replied, "I don't think you'll have to shield your eyes much...  It's more shielding your soul."  Yikes.  However, after that ominous warning, I have emerged from this film experience unscathed.

I'll readily confess that I like Batman best in his corniest incarnation, but for a dark series, this movie offers a conclusion that makes it well worth the ride.