The Dark Knight Rises

When there's anticipation for a film, the results are either sink or swim. However, if it's in the hands of a trusted director, the results are usually in the "swim" category.

Christopher Nolan is one such director. His past seven films had stirred up an interest from both critics and audiences alike. His newest film The Dark Knight Rises does the same. It's much more dark and brutal than the previous two yet it's just as bewitching.

Like Nolan's previous films, the cast is just to die for. Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman reprise their roles and do exceptionally well, Bale and Caine in particular. But it's the new faces that reign supreme. Tom Hardy, though not as menacing as Heath Ledger in the previous film, is a brute force of nature not to be reckoned with. Joseph Gordon-Levitt remains one of the very few people who still has faith in Batman, a risky move especially being in a city that branded him a pariah. Marion Cotillard, like in Inception, radiates in the limited screen time she has. And Anne Hathaway just emulates femme fatale chic.

The Dark Knight Rises contains several scenes that echo events of the recent past. Could Nolan be providing a social commentary amid a a comic book film? It's very likely, but I myself won't go into grand detail about it.

The Dark Knight Rises in the wrong hands could have fallen apart easily, especially with a 165-minute running time. But Nolan knows what he's doing. (Thank God.) Hans Zimmer's score and Wally Pfister's cinematography capture the dark nature of reality excellently in a film that showcases that very thing. Well played, Mr. Nolan.

My Rating: *****