Christopher Nolan's trilogy finale was intended to end with a bang and with little if any controversy, but alas, that was not the case.Criminal cases aside, there has been much fandom complaining regarding the presumptive drop in quality from the penultimate to final film.
I happen to disagree, adamantly.
I think it's a film on par with the other two films, but one which is less about being a superhero than about a man torn, losing the hero in him, even as he fights to save Gotham. An ideology threatened. A city whose Utopian facade crumbles from within, tossed aside not by a man defined by faulty morality, or insane hedonistic anarchism, but a man defined by a faux leftist agenda with a destructive edge.
As a superhero film, it provides very little in terms of action and other traditional fare, although fans of Batman and his comics, will be thrilled as they see the titular and ancillary characters careening towards a predefined destiny. There, there are no surprises, just hints spewed throughout. A quote here, a look there, the brief mention of a name, always enough to entice and titillate.
The cinematography is not as dark and broody as Batman Begins (2005), or as crisp and hopeful as The Dark Knight (2008), which is fitting. It is clean, and stark, and expansive, and ever so menacing in a subliminal way. Some of the shots have focus that is slightly off, but it manages to feel like part of the stylization of the film, even if at times it comes across as not intentional.
And the one true problem with the cinematography is the use, in two occasions, of specifically iconic NYC landmarks, the Empire State Building decked in Red White and Blue, and the Freedom Tower still in construction.
I don't per se have a problem with the shift from Chicago to NYC to showcase the evolution of Gotham, although I presume a shift from 1970s New York to the modern decadent one would be more fitting. But I get the point, this is a city that is thriving against all odds, and in its shiny lights, the moths of the underclass, the 99%, are being crushed and brushed aside.
But why use emblematic Empire State edifices that, even for a short second pulls you from the suspension of disbelief?
The music bothered me the first time I watched this, but I think that had more to do with the quality of the sound system than with the sound design and sound editing itself. They are both, perfectly tuned and supplementary to the themes of shallow danger and menace, in a world tossed against itself in a distractionary bend.
The score is exquisite, and just like the previous two films, manages to extol the best in the audience. Tossing you to the edge of your seat when needed, crescendoing your enthusiasm when required, and shaking your core where desired. My only complaint would be a personal one, and that's the overuse of music, often hiding what could have been a beautiful sound design, masked behind the iconic simplicity of the Dark Knight Trilogy soundtrack.
The acting is spot on, as usual.Gary Oldman's weak man with an iron will astuteness can be feared through his eyes.
Anne Hathaway's confused and at the same time resolute Catwoman can be felt in her schizoid manias, which are only truly matched by Christian Bale's Batman, who in a true last gasp of treason and surprise, loses his final facade, his voice, for the fractured one of his alter ego.
But the true revelation, is the complete breakdown of Michael Caine's Alfred, and his descent into failure and weakness, leaving him, at the tomb of his two previous masters, quivering his lips and crying for forgiveness.
I would like to complain about the ending though, mainly the demise of Catwoman and Batman, but it's not fitting, and it might just be my pessimistic screenwriting style (my wife's characterization, not mine), but I wanted them dead, I was ready for that, not happy in Florence, even if that goes against reason and logic. Really in three seconds he ejected the Bat and escaped the radioactive blast radius of the bomb! But that there hides the bigger problem, the Bat itself, and that I can't forgive.
The Bat can only really be blamed on a script that required it to be able to succeed in hiding a few plot holes, which the Bat only resolves the way duct tape fixes a broken bumper. But that aside, the script is a true fit end to a trilogy that has been solid in its writing.
My one true unforgivable complaint, is the one weakness of editing that all three films have had, and that have bothered me on all three occasions. The three second revelatory flashback when somebody mentions something from the past, it happened most noticeably in Batman Begins with Bruce Wayne holding a charred stethoscope in the smoldering remains of his Manor, flashing back to his father using the stethoscope on Bruce himself. But here is seems more poignant in that it cuts away from the immaculate build up of tension and action. I'll forgive the horrible Rachel castings before I forgive this.
Watch this film in an IMAX screen if you can help it. The spectacle and superior sound system are worth it, just avoid the Liberty Science Center domed IMAX which keystones the image into an unrecognizable and out of focus mess.
Otherwise buy it on Blu-ray for prosperity and posterity, it rightfully deserves a place there.
Will do
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