Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as all of cinema's most unreserved creations: from Cimino's Heaven's Gate to Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Despite having wildly different results (Heaven's Gate bankrupted United Artists), both of these films are prime examples of what can happen when you allow a director to have full control over a project with unlimited resources. They are also prime examples of how not to make a film.
In The Dark Knight Rises, it is as if this director-controlled era of filmmaking has made its triumphant return even if only for a brief moment. For all the good and bad that comes with it, The Dark Knight Rises showcases director Christopher Nolan at his most unreserved. It pushes all of his positives and negatives to their extremes while simultaneously proving that Nolan, even at his most unsuppressed, has more control and restraint over his craft than most directors could hope for on their best day. The Dark Knight Rises isn't just a mess of a film, it is one of the most brilliant, epic, and satisfying messes ever constructed.
