The Dark Kight Rises, but not for good

This is one of the best films of this year, maybe not as good as The Dark Knight but exciting nonetheless (with even a little humor). There are several things to comment about this film, the last of the trilogy Christopher Nolan began with Batman Begins (2005), and here are some of them:

Chris Bale: He plays a decent Bruce Wayne. His Batman never convinced me entirely, however, if there is one actor who can work with the psychological side of a character  is him. He has done so in the past and has not disappointed. The scenes where Wayne is shown   working hard to find a way to reach his goal, those are his best. Whenever Bale played the millionaire I felt he needed a bit more of "glamour". We know that Wayne, the playboy, is only a facade but still is an important part of the Batman mythos and should be treated carefully every time.

Gary Oldman: The best actor in that movie is him. His Jim Gordon is definitive. Every time Gordon appeared in a Batman movie or show it was never done well. Gordon is a tough man though his best weapon is his intelligence and relentlessness. He is a restless policeman that when everything else fails you can count on him being the man that will get the job done and always by the book. For one reason or another previous Batman films have neglected this character when correctly handled it contributes greatly to the story as it did in each part of the Nolan trilogy. Oldman has played bad guys in the past but after seeing him as Sidious Black or as Commissioner Gordon I get the impression that those are the roles that suit him better.

Anne Hathaway: I confess that originally I did not agree with this choice since Ms. Hathaway looked just too fragile to me. That and the fact I couldn't shake off my mind her image of adorable princess from The Princess Diaries; however, when I saw her acting I changed my mind. I simply had to. She is no Michelle Pfeifer and yet she delivers a powerful performance that does not grow larger because her screen time is a bit limited.

Michael Caine: I'm still waiting for the right Alfred. Caine´s is not. He is British and a wonderful actor but he is not Alfred. It is not that his characterization is bad (in fact his performance is outstanding); but he does not even look the way Alfred is supposed to. Not his fault, really. In the past it has been the same: finding the right Alfred has been hard. Nevertheless, Caine does what he is asked for and that is enough. For example that scene where Alfred is in front of the Wayne's gravestones, crying in his belief that he has failed in his mission to  keep Bruce safe...well, that was a heartbreaker.

Tom Hardy: Playing Bane can't be easy. All muscles and brain is not a usual combination though this Bane is quite different from the one we see in comics. Even his origin is different. I like this Bane because he looks more powerful in terms of what he can do to Batman in the psychological aspect. The mask takes away the chance of a better performance, but it's something that comes with the role. Bane is presented as a master strategist though in the end we discover he is more an enforcer than anything else. I liked the part when he "breaks" Batman's back. You can not do a film with Bane without him doing that to the Caped Crusader.

Marion Cotillard: The executive called Miranda Tate who is really Talia al Ghul. Though most of the film her role is almost intrascendent, at the end when you see her true colors you also see how wonderful an actress Marion is. She can look nice, innocent, and also determined or lethal.

There are also appearances by Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane and Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul. Crane would be the only villain to ever appear in three Batman movies.

The Plot: Well crafted. I love it when the director manages to make the audience believe something else and then comes with a big reveal. In this case, that concerns the identity of the main villain of the story who is not Bane. It is the plot that makes this movie stand out among other movies this season. I loved The Avengers but if I had to choose between that movie and The Dark Knight Rises I wouldn´t hesitate for a second. Perhaps it is the fact that  there is very little in The Avengers that you could not find in one chapter of their cartoon series or comic books. This story, that of TDKR was made for a cinema  theater and only there can be fully appreciated. It´s not a story that little kids would enjoy or understand. Besides it is full of moments, situations that touch other Batman stories such as No Man´s Land for example. The Nolan brothers did a great job and this movie is completely justified since it connects with the previous ones and at the same time gives a proper ending to the trilogy.

There were parts I loved such as when indirectly Batman reveals his true identity to Commissioner Gordon or when Batman convinces Catwoman to help him because that's what Batman does best: he inspires others to join him in his crusade. There is also the scene when the Gotham police with almost no weapons, tired and bettered slowly marches to face Bane's army (that has much heavier weaponry) and one of them say: "They are not the Law. We are." Inspiring. Not the first time Nolan brings pictures of the human spirit. He did the same in The Dark Knight when none of the passengers of two different ships decide to let the other blow up to save themselves thanks to a trick the Joker had set up to demonstrate that we all are selfish and evil like him. And one of them was full of ex-convicts. 

There are of course parts I disagree with:

A new Robin? Well, yes. At least this one is as smart and as determined as any other Robin. Just like Tim Drake he figures out who Batman is and just like Dick Grayson he won't give up on any of his friends. Truly he is in the age to be a Nightwing not a Robin. Though he never dons a costume, he does have the name. And the attitude. And in the end, also the Batcave.

Batman decides to stop being Batman? Not for a second, not for a happier life. Bruce Wayne cannot do that because he doesn't exist. Batman does. Bruce Wayne died with his parents on the same fateful night his parents got killed by Joe Chill. Still I suppose this is how Nolan envisioned his story and not any other way.

That is perhaps the only problem with this movie and the others. This is not the Batman the fans want to see. Perhaps, it is the most realistic Batman ever done but not the one we want to see. What he is for sure is Christopher Nolan's Batman, and that is undoubtedly a great character.