The Dark Knight Rises - Review

There is a strange sense of joy when you manage to sit in the AC comfort of a plush cinema-hall and get to watch a movie for TEN bucks right in the first row. The joy is compounded when the movie is The Dark Knight Rises - before I go into the review a prayer to the dear departed souls whose lives were snuffed out by a deranged psychopath in the US.

All tickets in the executive class were full and the helpful attendant gave me a Rs 10 ticket to my shock and surprise the three gorgeous (make-up magic) girls who stood behind me in the queue managed to get the executive tickets! 'Anything for you madam' seems to be PVR's new mantra :)

Before the movie started there were trailers of Superman to be released in 2013 and The Bourne Legacy (am not going to miss it). The movie started finally and the incessant chat of two dumb chaps in Telugu was beginning to irritate me. Before I could say anythin another chap a Sardar methinks said - 'Oye chhhup kar yaar picture dekh'!

The movie starts with a plane flying with a CIA recovery team who have seemingly captured a nuclear physicist and some mercenaries who work for Bane! Then we are introduced to the menacing Bane himself played by Tom Hardy attired with a Hannibalesque mask! A crash is engineered and Bane escapes with the physicist hanaging from another plane! What an introduction scene :)

Commisioner Gordon's homage to Harvey Dent and then introduces us to the now retired Batman / Bruce Wayne. We are also introduced to the ravishingly seductive Catwoman / Selina Kyle played by Ann Hathaway:)!

To cut a long story short we have a stock market attack initiated by Bane in which Bruce Wayne loses control of his company. This follows Bane terrorising the city by blowing up parts of the city specially the stadium when an American soccer match is in progress.

He threatens to blow a nuclear device if his demands are not met and unleashes a reign of terror and revolution wherein the commoners hold mock-trials and punish the upper class society members.

There is a parallel track of a rookie cop who holds the key to the climax!

SPOILERS AHEAD - I guess half the readers of this blog would have seen the movie already!

The caped crusader wears the mask again and tries to fight Bane. But Bane overpowers Batman and sends him to a dungeon at the bottom of a well-like structure and there we see Bruce Wayne recovering from his bashing supported by two old men in the prison.

During this period complete unrest and anarchy breaks out in Gotham City while a whole contingent of policemen are trapped in the underground tunnels.

The movie keeps shifting from Gotham to the dark dungeon - apparently a few shots of the exterior landscape depicting the location of the dungeon were shot in Rajasthan!

Bruce Wayne rebuilds his strength and attempts to climb out of the well, fails a couple of times and then climbs out without the aid of a rope!

Gordon and the rookie cop meanwhile try to prevent the nuclear bomb from detonating. Batman returns to Gotham and a massive fight ensues and good triumphs over evil.

We have a lady who sleeps with Bruce Wayne turning out to be Ras al Ghul's daughter who seeks vengeance and the Catwoman becoming Batman's saviour!

The movie ends on a positive note we are to believe that Wayne / Batman escapes a nuclear blast and lands in Florence with Selina Kyle in tow and a memorial gets erected for Batman in Gotham City.

The ends also brings the option of a new Batman franchise. Watch the movie!!!

Special mention as always for Michael Caine as Alfred the butler and Morgan Freeman as Fox the tech-guru!

Nowhere near the Dark Knight because Heath Ledger was a villain in another mode and Tom Hardy has to portray a more physical and brutal villain.

I wonder how Bane eats / drinks and if the mask is to be there always, how come there is no beard or side-burns if he can't shave :)!