REVIEW - THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

An epic of soulless brutality. The Dark Knight Rises exaggerates the most visceral elements of Christopher Nolan's previous Batman films, but doesn't augment them, and leaves all else alone. Gone is the eerie atmosphere and the psychological depth - this is a physical film, in which plot is driven by what, where and whom, not why. Perhaps it is appropriate that, in a film that has begun to reduce its characters down to their most basic long before they experience true desperation, Nolan should adopt such a lean tone, but he finds his intentions at odds with themselves: he seemingly wants to make both polemic and superhero movie, convey both desolation and mania simultaneously, and he betrays both strands of thought. We're bombarded with sounds and images of unrelenting menace, but there's no emotional heft with which to contextualise these, and they are presented merely as what they are, for our awe. If one scene manages to chip through and engage our hearts, not just our eyes and ears, it's purely due to the work of Michael Caine; after 2.5 hours, though, the only emotion I felt was despondency at how Nolan had mistreated characters I had come to care about in The Dark Knight. This treatment is a brave move on his behalf, but, considering the grand work he accomplished in developing these people and their relationships in that film, it seems improper to relegate them to the status of facilitators, crudely manufacturing tension with their time-bombs and double-crossing. Even the new characters deserve better - Bane's impact diminishes as the film drags on, and he's inexplicably shafted in a plot twist which, although it makes technical sense, hinders the narrative, stunts its momentum. However, there are some good performances, some well-handled sequences, and brilliant sound design that truly enhances the film. But a series of contrived closures only further contribute to the tonal haziness and underscore the sense of disappointment that Nolan has squandered this opportunity to expand upon the achievements of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and to produce something genuinely daring and creative. Instead, he has made something long, loud, and rarely more than serviceable.