The Film
As movie sequels go, The Dark Knight is right up there with Superman II, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and The Godfather Part II. To put it mildly, it's a tough act to follow. However, speaking as someone who had nothing but love for Batman Begins, I said the same thing about that film and was thrilled to see how completely Christopher Nolan, Heath Ledger, and Christian Bale rose to the challenge to far exceed the expectations of even the caped crusader's most cynical fans. Could lightning really strike twice? Could The Dark Knight Rises raise the bar yet again?
Answers to these questions are of course subjective, and The Dark Knight Rises is easily the most divisive chapter in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy - with much of that divisiveness surrounding the film's controversial ending. For some, there is great frustration stemming from the knowledge that's it's over; Nolan is done. The famed director is finished with this story and it's highly unlikely we'll see another Batman film from him. In the end, every saga needs a conclusion, and the ending we get here is sure to delight some and irritate others.
For another take on The Dark Knight Rises, check out Joe Lozito's review.
The Picture
Speaking of IMAX, the first thing videophiles will be curious about with this Blu-ray release is whether or not it follows in the footsteps of The Dark Knight and features an alternating aspect ratio. It does. Like its predecessor, The Dark Knight Rises often switches between 2.40:1 and 1.78:1, the latter used for the film's many IMAX-filmed sequences. This "full frame" approach on widescreen displays more closely approximates the IMAX experience, though it does wreak havoc for anyone using a masking system such as my Carada Masquerade.
Taking another page from The Dark Knight, Warner's Dark Knight Rises sports a 4-star, reference quality transfer from start to finish. The video on display is just sumptuous - the perfect answer to those few holdouts still wondering if Blu-ray is really all it's cracked up to be. Spot-on skin tones, subtle but visible film grain, wonderful fine image detail - particularly during the IMAX-filmed sequences - and of course, rich deep blacks with no apparent crushing in the shadows. Atop my Oppo BDP-93 reference Blu-ray player, I keep a small pile of my favorite go-to discs for judging a display's video performance. The Dark Knight Rises has already risen to the top of that pile.
The Sound
As amazing as this disc's video is, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is every bit its equal. Hans Zimmer's bass-heavy score is reproduced marvelously on this lossless DTS track, with "Bane's chant" appearing several times throughout to wonderful effect. The surround channels are used aggressively throughout while the front sound stage is wide and deep. With one notable exception, dialogue is crisp and intelligible and nicely anchored up front.
And then there's Bane.
My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in an IMAX theater, and it was one that treated moviegoers to the jaw-dropping, IMAX-filmed prologue of The Dark Knight Rises. I can vividly remember Bane's voice, distorted by his mysterious breathing apparatus, and it was deep, frightening, but terribly difficult to understand. That same sequence and dialogue is infinitely easier to make out on this Blu-ray Disc, but it also sounds substantially different and just plain weird. At times in the film, Bane's voice is low and menacing and appropriately centered. Other times his voice seems unnaturally amplified, almost sing-songy, and emanating from all three front speakers. While it's definitely nice to understand (most) of what Bane is saying, the unfortunate cost is a character whose dialogue seems to be coming from a soundtrack all its own.
The Extras
Looking at the back of the box, fans might be disappointed to see just two featurettes listed: "Ending the Knight" and "The Batmobile." Worry not. The former is actually a multi-part series of smaller featurettes covering virtually every element of the film's production. There's some great stuff in here, but on-screen navigation is rather poor and it woefully lacks a "Play All" option.
"The Batmobile" is the biggest surprise in this entire set. Nearly an hour in length, this fantastic documentary is a Batman lover's dream, looking back at the complete history of the Batmobile - from its comic book origins, through the Adam West television series, and the many films which followed. Featuring interviews with Adam West, Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher, Christpher Nolan, and many others, this is a highly entertaining extra and almost worth the price of admission all by itself.
Last but not least, it should be noted that Warner has also put together an excellent Second Screen app to support this release. Available in Apple's App Store, the app is called "The Dark Knight Rises FX" and it's a free download to be used in conjunction with playback on your networked Blu-ray Disc player. I re-watched the film's Prologue while running the synched app on my iPad 2 and quite enjoyed diving into the storyboards, script snippets, and video interviews about the making of this intense sequence. (Though none of it explained how that mid-air blood transfusion made any amount of sense.)
Final Thoughts
To say The Dark Knight Rises is the least effective film in Christopher Nolan's brooding and brilliant Batman trilogy is not an indictment. Nor is it saying The Dark Knight Rises is a bad film; it's actually quite good, and downright amazing at times. In the end, a handful of questionable choices undermined what could have been a brilliant finale, and made it instead just "pretty darned great." But you know what? I'll settle for great any day.
The Dark Knight Rises may not have been the best possible ending for this story, but it was certainly a fitting ending, and an ending worthy of its predecessors. As for this Blu-ray, well, good luck finding a better looking or better sounding disc this holiday season. Highly recommended.
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