THE DARK KNIGHT RISES TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION DVD (2012)

SYNOPSIS: Eight years ago after assuming the blame for D.A. Harvey Dent's death, a disgraced Batman mysteriously vanished. But everything changes with the appearance of a cunning cat burglar and the arrival of Bane, a ruthless madman. Bane's reign of terror forces Bruce out of his self-imposed exile and into the ultimate battle for Gotham City's survival...and his own.

MOVIE REVIEW:

With the release of “The Dark Knight Rises”, it marks the closing chapter of Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed Batman trilogy. Much has been said about the money-raking franchise but all I can add is no matter how chaotic or bloated the last instalment may be, it remains one of the most powerful live-action adaptations of the beloved comic character created by the late Bob Kane over 70 years ago.

The story by Nolan, his younger brother Jonathan and David S. Goyer continues from “The Dark Knight” with Batman aka Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) living in recluse after assuming the blame for Harvey Dent’s death eight years ago. However when a mysterious ruthless mercenary, Bane (Tom Hardy) starts to terrorize Gotham City and captured Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), Batman finally moves on from his sadness and vowed to take on Bane with the help of a cat burglar, Selina (Anne Hathaway).

Instead of a simple good vs evil superhero tale, Nolan and company bite off more than they could chew in this instalment. Introducing Bane as the villain who matches Batman’s intellect and twice his physicality seems to be the perfect choice to end the trilogy with a bang. Unfortunately, Hardy’s Bane is nowhere as satisfying as Ledger’s Joker or should I say compelling enough. The introduction of more new characters such as Catwoman, a young rookie cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a suspiciously-looking love interest of Wayne, Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) muddled the story further. Add to the usual cast members, that include Wayne’s loyal butler, Alfred (Michael Caine) and gadget man Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), “The Dark Knight Rises” becomes a busy affair filled with a capable cast.     

All is not lost however under the hands of a great storyteller liked Nolan as he manages to pull off nearly every single details to form a complete circle despite several pratfalls. Still remember the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul from “Batman Begins” anyone? The movie expectedly offers plenty of jaw-dropping, awesome moments whenever Batman or Bane turned up. The breath-taking opening aerial sequence, the fight between Batman and Bane in front of New York stock exchange, the explosion at the stadium and Batman’s latest vehicle dubbed The Bat are just some of the highlights. Nolan and his team had conceived the major set pieces with plenty of hardworking physical effects put in, something that is seldom seen in today’s blockbusters and movie making process. 

In terms of tension, the last 30 minutes of the movie scored a higher point than the conclusion of both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” with a dazzling display of bombastic action and weaving an ending that will leave you guessing, same as what Nolan did for “Inception”. Did he or did he not? For the most part, it is smartly written and paced yet again comparing with the second one, “The Dark Knight Rises” occasionally misses the mark with its suffocating second act that tries hard to sell Bane’s backstory. Despite that, Nolan’s treatment of the Batman character will forever remain a tough act to surpass. A commercial entity that marries popcorn cinema with sincere storytelling, well only “The Dark Knight” trilogy can accomplished that. Definitely one title to match another superheroes caper called “The Avengers” in 2012.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Batmobile is an hour long documentary on the ever-evolving history of the batmobiles, from the Adam West’s classic version to the tumbler. Containing lots of interviews with the original engineers and designers of the iconic vehicles, this feature alone is worth the price of the DVD.     

Ending The Knight is divided into three sections: Production, Characters and Reflections.

Production lasts 68 minutes and broken into 12 smaller segments covering the various aspects of making the movie such as the stunts, special effects, set design, sound design, music and more. It’s amazing to watch the extent Nolan and his crew emphasised on practical effects in such a big scale movie.

Characters consist of “The Journey of Bruce Wayne”, “Gotham's Reckoning” and “A Girl's Gotta Eat” detailing the character development, costume design and casting of Batman, Bane and Catwoman.

Reflections have cinematographer Wally Pfister talking about shooting in IMAX and location shooting and director Christopher Nolan’s and his main crew members share their feelings on closing the epic trilogy.

The Special Features DVD also contains 4 trailers in the Trailers Archive and a Print Campaign Art Gallery.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

“The Dark Knight Rises” looks striking on DVD with clear deep black level and natural skintones. Visual images are lovely and the Dolby Digital 5.1 is both robust and immersive all thanks to Hans Zimmer’s sometimes overwhelming score and the terrific sound design of the tumbler and The Bat when they are in action on screen.

MOVIE RATING:



DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee



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