Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises (12A) (U.S.A./U.K. 2012) (Director: Christopher Nolan), Friday 20.07.2012 06:00, The Cameo Cinema Screen One, Edinburgh (Preceded by Double Bill of Batman Begins + The Dark Knight (Both 12A) (U.S.A./U.K. 2005 + 2008) (Director: Christopher Nolan), Thursday 19.07.2012 23:30, The Cameo Cinema Screen One, Edinburgh, The Dark Knight Rises (12A) (U.S.A./U.K. 2012) (Director: Christopher Nolan), Sunday 22.07.2012 16:00, Cineworld Screen One (IMAX), Edinburgh

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Batman Begins/The Dark Knight Double Bill:

This was treated as an event by me, and it appeared to be the case also for many present. I arrived shortly before 23:00 and the cue was already out of the front door of the cinema. I'm sure that most would have seen the first two films several times previously, though both of them were received with applause; all part of the build up to the main event. There was an hour break between the first two and the final film and The Cameo Cinema kindly put on free breakfast for those who were staying for the third film, which appeared to be almost everyone; the seats were almost full for all three films, though I managed to get my preferred seat, A8, for all three.  

I'm not going to write full reviews of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, though will say the following:

Begins was a good origins story, though that was what it was and it did not feel to be in full stride. It also feels to me to not have enough of a sense of menace to it. It did not feel to drag, and with it lasting 2H 20Min, that is quite impressive.  

Knight had more menace with an overall tone that is quite ominous and felt to be in full stride. It also benefited from Heath Ledger's definitive performance as The Joker (which made Jack Nicholson's efforts in 1989 appear fairly pedestrian). I feel the fact that he died prior to the films release is irrelevant as to how the performance is viewed. The one problem with the performance is that it was so good that it blinded at the time to the fact that the film is flawed. The film is just over 2 & 1/2 Hours, and after The Joker is and Two-Face still to be dealt with, it does drag at that point. It felt as though it overreached itself. Two-Face, although visually very well handled, felt to be an afterthought of a villain, certainly in contrast to The Joker, he appeared slight.

Begins: 07/10.
Knight: 08/10.
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The Dark Knight Rises: 

The anticipation by the time the new film arrived felt to be quite feverish. 
I'm going to try to write this without any (or minimal) reference to the actual plot.
The film is just over 2 & 3/4 Hours, and from the start to the end, I felt there was no drag at all. From the start to the end it is was masterclass in terms off large-scale, intelligent action based blockbusting. The tension of the plot escalates throughout to a satisfying finale. With this being the final part of Nolan/Bale's trilogy, there were then some scenes to wrap up. This presented an emotional payoff which I felt to be satisfying though predictable. There was then a twist of there being further scenes and the real end I found to be more emotional and satisfying. I felt the ending was handled very well. After the final scene there was rapturous sustained applause.    

There has been reaction to the film saying that about half of what Bane says, through the device he needs on his face to prevent being in crippling pain, is unintelligible; I disagree, I would say that there is the occasional word that is difficult. beyond that I had no difficulty with it, and it certainly had no impact on enjoying the film. The sort of criticism that has been expressed in regard to this, I feel could only come from someone not paying proper attention.

There are more twists in plot & reveals + development to characters, than there had been in either of the first two films. In this way, the film felt to have more depth and satisfaction. There is no villain to compare to The Joker, though the ominous tone to the whole film is darker than the last, and that was one of the notable characteristics of that film. 

Catwoman I felt to be a particularly well portrayed character. She felt to be capable of looking after herself, sexy and quite ambiguous - which I always like. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman is quite a scene-stealer. There was a vulnerability to the portrayal by Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, which reduced her sense off threat and made her fairly comical. The new portrayal does not have that same vulnerability and therefore is more investable. 

Alfred the Butler. Michael Cane is an actor I have found hard to warm to in the past, though I did feel he was good in the last two batman films. In this one he rivals Hathaway for quality of presence. The emotion within his performance, allows for the sneaking in of classy twists. There is much to admire of his performance within the film.  

I feel the term comic-book film in terms of these films is now redundant and particularly unhelpful. They may be based upon comics, though that is where the comic element ends. I also feel it is unfair to actual comic-book films for these films to be lumped in under the same heading, as actual comic-book films can only look meek in comparison.The current batman trilogy are proper adult dramas. I do also wonder, as do others, as to the appropriateness of these films being given a 12A certificate, they do though also retain a fantastical element which may assist younger viewers to retain that is entertainment and not to be taken as real. 

There is a quality and complexity to the plot weaving of this film, which could only be termed as drama of the highest caliber (with Shakespearean elements). This is easily the best of the current batman trilogy, and that is not being disparaging of the others, mealy a reflection of the quality of this one, how often can that be said of the third part of a trilogy. I would view this as an instant classic, and the only new flawless English language film I have seen so far this year (there are only two other flawless feature films so far, one French 'Goodbye First Love' (10/10), and one Turkish 'Once Upon A Time In Anatolia' (10/10)).     

Rating (without hesitation): 10/10. 
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The Dark Knight Rises (IMAX)

I subsequently went to see The Dark Knight Rises in the IMAX format. I was curious about IMAX as had not seen any films in this format previously. 

After seeing Prometheus in 3D and then 2D, I had reached the decision that I really do not like 3D and did not wish to waste any of my further viewing on this format.

It also caused me to think that I really only wanted to see films, for the first viewing at least, in a conventional presentation, and if possible at either The Cameo Cinema, or Filmhouse Cinema, hence why I first saw the new batman film at The Cameo (my favorite cinema).

I had thought about seeing a film I was not bothered about in IMAX for the sake of experiencing that format, though then also realised that this made no sense. I therefore decided to book to see The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX format, and this decision was supported by my awareness that Nolan views IMAX cameras as being the most advanced for gaining images of the highest quality. I am also aware that about 30 minutes of The Dark Knight was shot uses IMAX cameras, and a bit over an hour of The Dark Knight Rises has been shot using these cameras.

Although it was enjoyable in a way that 3D is not (the gloom + the restricted viewing range of the frames = detracting from enjoyment), I did not feel that it added anything compared to seeing it on a conventional sized screen. It did not feel any more immersive, and the increased quality of the IMAX shot footage is clearly visible on a normal size cinema screen, or even for that matter when projected on an H.D. T.V. Screen from a BLU RAY Disk. As it also costs more to go to an IMAX Screening, as with 3D (those cheeky monkis), and did not add anything, I don't feel any need to return, and as I suspected and has been the case for many decades, conventional screens will do just fine.

In terms of the film, I don't feel it lost anything in enjoyment on 2nd viewing. To consider I knew what was going to happen and therefore there were no surprises; a sign of a great film. There were even some nice little details, at the time of Batman's first battle with Bane and towards the end that I had not picked up upon on first viewing, which added further depth.   

A film that I was already very impressed with, appeared even better on the 2nd viewing, and to think this is a commercial blockbuster. Even more strongly than before, I feel this film cannot be viewed as popcorn fluff (as is the case with pretty much all blockbusters), though has to be respected as the layered classic that it is.
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 Nolan is developing a habit of commercially successful intelligent films, which demand the attention of the viewer. The Dark Knight, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises makes three in a row. Although not all of his films are flawless and he has not reached a point yet of me being able to consider him as one of my favorite directors (i.e. Almodovar, Kubrick, Lynch), commercial cinema is certainly a lot better off for being the benefactors of his attention.