I want to talk about the soundtrack for The Dark Knight Rises

I want to talk about the soundtrack for The Dark Knight Rises. I'm going to talk about a few scenes from the film so in case you're worried that I'll spoil some things, I would just say skip this post for now. I'll try to keep it to a minimum, as far as spoilers go, but hey, gotta do what I gotta do.

Hans Zimmer is obviously a genius, but with the music for TDKR, he went completely over the top. Sure, you may say, 'it's just music', but people seriously underestimate how important music is in a film. It sets the tone, it lets us experience the film in a completely new way. There are several choice scenes in this movie where the music, or, in one particular case, the absence of it, completely make the scene.

The 'theme' from the previous two Batman movies is there (you know what I'm talking about, the baaaaaam BAAAAAAAAAM), but it's different. It sounds different. It comes at different times in the film. You know that Batman is still a badass, but a reluctant badass. It's there whenever he's on screen, but the tone is different. It's darker. More dangerous. More cautious and less "I'm Batman, bitch!" The music of this film completely makes the point that nobody, not even Batman, knows what's going to happen to Gotham. Gotham is in that deep. It gives us a sense of hopelessness. And that is what makes this movie so completely incredible.

There's a track on the soundtrack called Gotham's Reckoning, and it is phenomenal.

I saw this in IMAX today and my goodness, the sound was incredible. But the soundtrack. There's an intensity there that just tells the audience the urgency of what is happening. It's loud, it's intense, it's chaotic and rhythmic, it crescendos and never stops, it just keeps going up, up, up, to an unattainable peak, until it hits a chaotic point of no return. You almost want to look away because you know something is coming, and whatever that something is, it can't be good. It's dark. It's foreboding. It's absolutely dangerous. Every time Bane is on the screen, every time he's strutting around, you can feel it because the music is so dark. You feel like you're in Gotham, experiencing the fear that all the citizens are feeling.
  
However, one of the most important points in the film comes without music at all. During the initial Batman/Bane fight, (in the sewers), there's no music at all. This tells an incredible story because without music to distract anyone, you can really tell where this is going. Music often gives away what's going to happen in a scene. If it's lighthearted and happy or even intense but bold, you can tell what's going to happen. In this particular scene, the absence of music literally makes it painful to watch. 


I can't say enough about the music in this film. It's phenomenal. It's perfect for the story. It's wonderful.