Plot: What’s it about?
Unless you’ve been hiding in your Bat Cave for the last year or so, you’ll know that the third and final installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy came out. The series was first (re) launched back in 2005 when Nolan took the franchise over from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher, who turned it into more of a circus act than anything of cinematic value. This approach has been done with The Hulk and now The Amazing Spider-Man (and soon to be Superman) as well. Nolan is a visionary director and the way he handed “The Dark Knight” was just that – very dark. We’ve got villains that are actually deranged and insane, not just muscle-bound guys who put on spandex. Of course it’s hard to mention this new line of Batman movies without acknowledging the second in the franchise. The late Heath Ledger earned a posthumous Academy Award for his portrayal of The Joker, so the stage was set and the bar very high with The Dark Knight Rises.
Eight years have passed since Gotham City has last seen Batman. Harvey Dent (portrayed by Aaron Eckhart in the second film) is now a martyr and a symbol for supposed justice in the city. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) is now a recluse in his mansion, watching the world from the inside. But a new villain by the name of Bane (Tom Hardy) has plans for Gotham City which just might get Batman out again. After a brief scuffle, Wayne is relegated to a prison in which there is little chance for escape. Bane now has Gotham City in the palm of his hand and plans to destroy it using a modified nuclear bomb he attained from Wayne’s now defunct empire. Not all hope is lost, however, as on again/off again “ally” Selene Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and officer/Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are trying to solve the mystery as well. But, will they be in time to save Gotham City from certain destruction?
This third and final installment lived up to the hype and though it didn’t do quite the box office that its predecessor did, I think Warner is still pretty proud of what the caped crusader has brought to them in terms of money. In addition to the mainstay cast of Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Christian Bale, the addition of Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy (the former two are Nolan regulars) brought this movie up a few notches Does it answer all of the questions that abounded? No. Does it raise some new ones? Almost certainly. But Nolan and his staff has crafted a very taught, tense and emotionally gripping film that’s certainly epic in its own right. Odds are that every fan will have their favorite installment in the series (for me, it’s still the first) but no matter your point of view, The Dark Knight Rises is a must-see.
Video: How does it look?
I remember seeing The Dark Knight and being doing a double take when the aspect ratio changed from 2.40:1 to 1.78:1 on the fly. Then it went back. As it turns out the disc was using some scenes from the IMAX version of the film on the Blu-ray. With this final installment, Warner has employed this technology once again and I’m not sure to classify this as a 2.40:1 movie with several segments of 1.78:1 or the opposite. No matter, it seems to work though it does make me wish that I’d seen the film on an IMAX screen to begin with. Having said that the AVC HD transfer is just about what we’d expect with black levels looking stunning, contrast well in form and the only thing I could really pinpoint is that some of the scenes seemed to suffer from a bit of DNR – this is a common complaint when using the IMAX version of the film. By no means is it bad, but I just felt that some scenes paled in comparison to others.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio on the other hand, oh good lord! This DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack starts from the opening credits and really doesn’t give up until the last name has scrolled across the screen some three hours later. This is the epitome of a robust soundtrack that really adds some oomph. I’ve often been a bit humored by Bale’s attempt to talk in a raspy voice a “Batman”, but he’s really not in costume as much in this installment. Speaking of voices, Tom Hardy’s Bane has a most interesting effect, I liken it to a very articulate version of Darth Vader (minus the breathing). Suffice it to say that the ambient surround effects are amazing, the “thuds” when fighting occurs, things blow up, jets whiz by, bullets are fired, cars squeal their tires…you get the idea. If the scale went to a 10, it’d be a 10.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Evidently Warner wants you to buy the Blu-ray version (one of them, anyway) as the only real extra on the DVD is the Ultraviolet version of the film. This three disc set reviewed has the movie on one Blu-ray, the special features on another and a DVD of the film as well. The main draw here is the TX app that can be watched in conjunction with the movie and if it seems familiar, Warner used it with their Sherlock Holmes release last Spring. We get nearly an hour of footage on the Batmobile with insight from the cast and crew as well as previous directors Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher. I do realize that it’s quite the car, but didn’t know there was this much interest in it! The lion’s (or bat’s) share of the supplements reside in “Ending the Knight” which houses 17 featurettes that range from the production to the characters to the IMAX version of the film. While not all will be covered here, it’s somewhat of a knocked down version of Warner’s Maximum Movie Mode in which these little segment can be played and give us insight into the various aspects of the film. We also get a trailer gallery as well as an art gallery. Be on the lookout for a more robust Blu-ray ala Harry Potter.
“The Dark Knight Rises“ available on Blu-ray Combo pack, DVD and for download 12/4!
