The wait was finally over. The Dark Knight Rises. Inside the
theatre, flooded by darkness, my anxiety rose to its peaks and I was literally
out of breath the moment Warner Brother’s logo animated on screen with the
familiar ‘Bat’ music thudding in the background. I knew my expectations were
too high, even for a Nolan movie, and given the fact that I was already aware
of the ‘Bat’-long before it showed up in the trailers, Liam Neeson’s cameo and
worst of all, Marion Cotillard’s true identity, I was hoping to gape at those
Nolan-made surprises, those truly awe-inspiring moments that leaves you
trembling. And Wow!
The film traces the ‘Dark Knight’s’ solitary
confinement-return to favourite grounds-abysmal fall and dramatic rise. Batman
was never a superhero in the filmy sense of the word. He neither hails from
Astra nor does he spin cob webs. So when I saw an aging, weak and languid
Batman on screen, I was not let down completely, for we have seen him gassed,
half burnt and tormented in more ways than one before. But what I, personally,
as an ardent ‘Batfan’ felt was that he did not enjoy the luxury of as much
screen time as that of Bane or Blake or Gordon or even Catwoman!
Bane! Tom Hardy is beyond doubt the movie’s boon. Gigantic,
brawny and menacing-Bane is one flawless contestant for arch villainy. It has
been ages since at least I saw an antagonist whose very presence evoked so much
hostility. With more than half his face covered in mask, he tries to exude his
anger and ruthlessness only through his eyes and lo and behold he brilliantly
succeeds at that.
I thought it was the Catwoman who took Ra’s Al Ghul’s advice
for theatricality a bit too literal. Anne Hathaway tries to act smart and cool
but after a while her assumed air of superiority and affected delivery of
supposed-to-be witty lines becomes an irritant. Bruce Wayne keeps reminding her
(or us? I wonder) that there is more to her than that, nevertheless, she only
seemed phony.
Bane has one of the cinematically spectacular openings for a
villain whereas an ironically ordinary end. He is shot unaware by none other
than Catwoman. Not trying to be chauvinistic, all that I ask for is a little
more respect to a nemesis of his sorts.
Nolan’s stand on the rich-poor divide, corruption and
bureaucracy, be it in the dialogues or in the people’s revolution, is outright
socialistic. Now a political movie by Nolan would really be something!
To me Batman is more than just a symbol-it is Bruce Wayne’s
legacy. Blake, inspired by the selfless and incorruptible icon that is
‘Batman’, and in a bid to extend the franchise, might have chosen to step into
the shoes of the masked guardian of Gotham. He might use all that was once
Batman’s-the ammo, vehicles and all those super cool gadgets-but he better use
his ‘legal’ name.
