Does Bruce Wayne Get His Money Back In The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Poster

7 /10

Dark....incredibly dark.

I am not a huge comic book-based movie fan, though I see most all of them. That's because my daughter is nuts for comic book movies and we always seem to see them. Some I have loved ("Scott Pilgrim", "The Dark Knight" and "Captain America" come to mind) and some I didn't ("Daredevil")--but mostly I do enjoy them. While I am sure I am bucking the tide here, I was NOT especially thrilled with "The Dark Knight Rises". This doesn't mean I disliked it--it just left me a bit flat. Now the problem was NOT the movie's length--I like longer films and my butt didn't fall asleep during the film (which is a very good sign)! My problems were more about the incredibly dark tone of the film. Unlike "The Dark Knight", "The Dark Knight Rises" really lacked fun and was 100% devoid of any humor to break up the dark mood. In fact, I kept hoping Tony Stark ("Ironman") would do a crossover from the Marvel films and lighten the mood! Stark (Robert Downey) managed to do a Bruce Wayne-like character but infuse him with energy and likability--Christian Bale just seemed tired and limp and humorless. This was more obvious in this film as opposed to the last because there was no Joker-like villain to provide comic relief (albeit darkly comic). The closest they got was Catwoman (Anne Hathaway)--who was a GREAT character but who wasn't really necessary for the plot. As for Bane and his friends, they were scary and nasty...and nothing more. When the film was over, I realized I had a reasonably good time but nothing more. If some other director and actor pick up the franchise, my advise is work more on the characters--make them more likable and interesting--even the villains.

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9 /10

What a way to end the trilogy!

Possibly my personal favourite of the Nolan Batman films, and I do like Batman Begins and The Dark Knight very much. Is it perfect? For me, not quite, there are so many plot strand in a long running time that the film occasionally(and there is a big emphasis on that) sags in momentum and some of the strands in the ending could have done with more development. It is a brilliant film all the same, one of the highlights so far of the year. As to expect from Christopher Nolan, it is a visually audacious film, with gorgeous cinematography, a beautifully realised Gotham City and great special effects. Hans Zimmer's score is not one of his very best for me, but there is still an epic and haunting quality that is just perfect for this film. The dialogue provokes thought and makes an emotional impact, and a vast majority of the time The Dark Knight Rises is ambitious and gripping. I don't consider Christopher Nolan one of my favourites, this said he is a hugely impressive director who shows great ambition and a willingness to make his subject matters interesting. He does a really wonderful job here, as the set/action pieces including the plane hijack and Bane's assault on Gotham are enough to make the jaw drop. The performances are just terrific from all involved, Matthew Modine fares weakest but he is far from bad. Christian Bale is still a charismatic presence, Matthew Caine appropriately loyal and Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman subtly understated. Joseph Gordon Levitt captures his character's idealism wonderfully. Tom Hardy is in beefed-up terrifying mode as Bane, a worthy successor to Heath Ledger's iconic Joker. Anne Hathaway was a curious casting choice, but as Catwoman she is spot on, here is a Catwoman who actually does much more than acting sexy(which she still is), she is very ruthless and no-nonsense here. All in all, a hugely impressive film, the best of Nolan's Batman trilogy- though I'm prepared for any flaming I'll get for this opinion- and one of the highlights so far of 2012. 9/10 Bethany Cox

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Very Good Way to Close This Amazing Trilogy

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

The final film in Christopher Nolan's trilogy finds Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) coming out of retirement and putting on the Batman suit as he tries to save Gotham City from a nuclear weapon being controlled by Bane (Tom Hardy). THE DARK KNIGHT RISES isn't quite as good as the previous film but I'd put it a little ahead of the first movie in the series but no matter how you rank them you really have to give Nolan, Bale and company credit for really delivering a very special series that I'm sure went a lot higher than most people thought when news broke that this group would be taking over the franchise. While this film is far from perfect there are still so many great things that it's easy to get lost in the film and caught up in the various situations going on. I think the strongest thing going for the picture is the wonderful visual style and as with the previous two films, the way Nolan builds this dark atmosphere and city is just something so many other directors should be studying going forward. Another major asset is that Bale can bring that dark and mysterious nature to the Wayne character while at the same time being very believable in the part of Batman. I think it's fair to say that he's put his stamp on the character and if this is his last go at it then he's done more than any previous actor. The supporting cast includes strong work from Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mario Cotillard and Gary Oldman. Hardy was extremely good in the villain role of Bane and really helped make the film so much fun. Anne Hathaway gives a decent performance as Catwoman but I must admit that I thought the screenplay really didn't do much for the character and in the end she had little impact with me. The 164-minute running time does seem a bit too drawn out at spots but I was still rather amazed at how well it flowed and this credit certainly goes to Nolan. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES closes this trilogy and really ends it with a bang and it's clear that the series going forward will have a lot to live up to.

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9 /10

Sometimes predictable, but often astonishing

Christopher Nolan's stunning conclusion to his Batman trilogy is a welcome return to form after the slightly overrated THE DARK KNIGHT, which was so obsessed with being all dark and brooding that it forgot to tell much of a story. Despite the presence of a much-hyped (and lamented) Heath Ledger in the cast, I found that film to be less entertaining than BATMAN BEGINS although it still remains an engaging and watchable film. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (horrible title, by the way), though, blows it out of the water, offering a piece of sheer spectacle that's as involving and as tightly-plotted as you could wish for.

It's eight years since the last film, and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is nowadays retired and definitely feeling his age. Before long, though, a hulking brute of a bad guy (Tom Hardy, whose sheer physicality in the role will surprise nobody who's seen Bronson) decides to do some very unpleasant things in the city, so it's time to dust off the bat suit and get back into the action. Good news for the viewer.

As usual, Nolan surpasses the conventions of his genre, making this a superhero film that looks nothing like a superhero film, instead more like a modern-day epic of dramatic cinema. Yes, at the end of the day it's still about suited guys beating the hell out of each other, and Nolan once again relies on old conventions/clichés (such as the 'ticking bomb' trope, which he's repeated in his last three films now) to see him through, but everyone runs so well and so smoothly that you end up not minding.

The cast is thorough and involved as ever, Bale as usual going the extra mile to portray the tortured hero and Caine lending emotional support as Alfred. Hardy's villain is a sheer powerhouse who dominates every scene he's in, and Nolan brings back a couple of his favourites from INCEPTION (Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) for good measure. There's not quite as much action as you might expect from a film of this type, but the storyline is so involved that you don't care. Throw plenty of stunning special effects into the mix and you have a real crowd-pleaser of a film with real brain as well as brawn.

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8 /10

Anne Hathaway is a good Catwoman

I'm writing this for one purpose and one purpose only. I know it's fashionable to hammer Anne Hathaway for her portrayal. But what do people expect from her exactly? Do they want her to puRRR constantly? Do they really expect her to camp it up? That would run contrary to Christopher Nolan's vision. No, she played it to the level of Nolan's vision. She's not camping it up. She's not playing it big. She injects fragility into the character that is very much in keeping with this iteration of Batman. She injects much needed humanity into this character.

As for the movie, I have the same problem as the other 2. Too much explaining. That's why Heath Ledger's Joker is still the best. He did things just because he's crazy. No more explanation needed.

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impeccable

the great virtue of Christopher Nolan remains to propose the only Batman realistic version. not the best. only the only authentic. this film is the precise pledge.because it is not only about a hero or a town. but about the past, force of memories, subtle cruelty of revenge, the right end for a magnificent series and about the right gestures for build a new beginning. the meet of a great cast and the best script. this is all. and the argument for define "The Dark Knight Rises" as a masterpiece for many reasons, not only artistic, but, first, for to be /becomes a story inside you. many scenes are familiar. from books or other films, from stories or paintings, from nightmares or every day reality. and the genius of Nolan is not to discover them . but use them. in the best manner. an impeccable film. this is the word for define it.

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3 /10

Stupid Characters and Situations in an Awful and Ridiculous Story

Batman is among my favorite childhood superheroes and I used to collect his comic books when I was a child. Therefore, I am a fan and I always look forward to see Batman movies.

I had the greatest expectation with "The Dark Knight Rises" due to the IMDb Rating and the hype surrounding this movie. Unfortunately it is a completely overrated and boring feature with stupid characters and situations in an awful and ridiculous story. We were in four watching the DVD and neither one of us liked this flick. Batman should have taken the director and the writers of this crap together with the bomb and detonate them. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Batman: O Cavaleiro das Trevas Ressurge" ("Batman: The Dark Knight Rises")

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Impacting as a spectacle but jumps around a bit too much and could have benefit from a bit more focus (MAJOR SPOILERS)

Warning: Spoilers

Having enjoyed the previous two films as much as I did, I was looking forward to this film so much that I decided to go to a cinema rather than wait for DVD, despite my general dislike of the multiplex experience. True to form we watched this film in the Odeon with a good handful of people chatting all the way through it and of course one woman who refused to turn her phone off or even onto silent even after it had rung for the third time during the near-silent scene in which Batman flies the nuclear bomb away from Gotham (and the pre-film adverts suggest that it is piracy that is putting people off going to the multiplex). Anyway, despite all this i was still glad to have gone to the cinema to see this as visually it is very impressive and does deserve to be seen on the big screen due to its strength as an out and out spectacle because it does look as good as the previous films.

Unfortunately in many ways DKR is the least of the three Nolan Batman films as it doesn't all deliver as it should. As before the film wears a heavy Gothic air to it that sets it far away from the more cartoony comic book movies and at the start of the film I quite liked that it did seem to take its time and let Wayne's physical and emotional seclusion breathe as a subject. However it is not long before there isn't the material to really support the very serious air and there are times where it feels a little superficial, like it is unable to not take itself so seriously. This gets harder as the film quickly gets to a point where it has very little time to do anything. Character development (beyond that which we already know) is gone, even motivations are skimmed and the story telling has very little room and ends up having plenty of convenience (such as characters finding each other without any logical way of being in the same place so easily) and also scenes without any bridge of any form (scene 1, Bruce Wayne climbs out of a prison somewhere in the world, scene 2, Bruce Wayne is in Gotham and bumps into Selina). None of these were major problems in themselves, but it made the film feel rushed and perhaps a little half done.

As a story it was a little too simplistic and had too much going on; I understand the desire to link everything back to the other films but there are several characters I could have done without. Catwoman is poorly developed while the twist of the villainess at the end not only hurts Bane's standing but also seem unnecessary as an addition. Bane's mission offers much but doesn't have the menace or impact it should have and this also had an impact on him as a character. Bane is physically imposing and smart with it, but he doesn't have the menace that the Joker had in the previous film – OK, this is a comparison that I'm making, but it is hard not to make it while watching. The voice doesn't help as it is sometimes difficult to fully make out what was said, while also being a little comical because he sounds like The Elephant Man. Tom Hardy was the right man for the job though (those who saw him in Bronson know he can fearlessly do chaos and violent threat) but he isn't used as well as he could have been. The rest of the cast are mixed; Bale is good and his Batman voice is less of an issue. Gordon-Levitt helps with the action but his character is poor and he coasts on his own charisma (which is nearly enough). Hathaway is OK but again too superficial. Cotillard rounds out an Inception heavy cast. The smaller roles feature a lot of faces, which at times gets distracting whether it is larger smaller roles (Modine, Freeman) or the smallest ones (him from Dexter, them from The Wire etc).

I have sounded negative here but I did enough DKR as a spectacle of noise and darkness – I liked what it was aiming at and I liked that it fitted into the trilogy thematically. However it is flawed; it has too much to do in too little time and would have been better doing a little less as it would have gotten more from its characters if it had fewer of them. DKR still delivers what the previous films had delivered, but just not as well. Still better than many garish comic book blockbusters, just not as good as the bar it set for itself.

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10 /10

There is a storm coming Mr. Wayne

Warning: Spoilers

This installment picks up 8 years after the previous film. Harvey Dent is still praised as a hero while Batman (Christian Bale) has gone into hiding as a criminal. Our new criminal is Bane (Tom Hardy). He wears a breather mask that makes him look like Hannibal Lechter, but sound like Darth Vader. He is huge and strong plus he has those fancy gizmos and loyal men who work for him. He is a seemingly impossible foe for ailing Batman who kept reminding me of Rocky V.

Anne Hathaway makes for an interesting Catwoman who freely walks the line between good and evil. She is perhaps the most complex character in the story. The film has an incredible amount of action with important plot points happening nearly all the time. You don't want to go out for popcorn during the feature, you will be lost when you return. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Blake, a police officer/detective who grew up in an orphanage...do you see it coming?

PARENTAL GUIDE: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

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9 /10

Final Conclusion

I have to admit from the beginning that I was not an avid Batman Comic reader. So this review will not have any comparisons with that "world". And I try to distinguish that from the start, because you have to accept (if you want to enjoy the movie) that Nolan did create something different from the components the Batman universe gave him to play with and made it work.

Of course this other world does seem to be more grounded in reality (as much as is possible) and couldn't be compared to what normally is a comic book movie. That's either a good or a bad thing, depending on your view of things. Only thing I might not agree with entirely is Marion Cottilard. While I like her, I think someone else should have been in the movie instead of her. You might understand after you watch the movie.

I really like the conclusion and while the previous movie (The Dark Knight) seems a bit better at this point of time, the third Nolan Batman movie has a lot to offer too. Of course the "reboot" is in the works already and we will get another Batman soon. Spiderman showed it does work and is successful too. Tom Hardy is not as charismatic as Heath Ledger, but he doesn't have to be. Hope you're watching it on a good sound system, because his voice could be a bit hard to understand if not.

The number of IMAX scenes have been increased and the movie looks incredible. I also had the feeling that the fight scenes (while not the best choreographed), look a lot better on the IMAX screen than on the regular one.

Unfortunately the movie might be associated by some (even when time passes) with two things: The shooting in a theater during a screening (which led to another movie being delayed due to the fact it had a cinema shootout - Gangster Squad) and the Bane/Bain discussion, summing up some republicans and democrats using this movie as propaganda. Hopefully you'll see this as entertainment (as Nolan intended it to be) and like it too.

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8 /10

"A storm is coming, Mr. Wayne."

Warning: Spoilers

I don't know, maybe I expect too much from my comic book super-hero movies. "The Dark Knight Rises" was certainly much heralded, coming as it did amid a blockbuster summer line-up that included "The Avengers" and "The Amazing Spider-Man". But as good as it was, I couldn't help feeling that there was something missing in this third installment of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. Or conversely, maybe not something missing, but perhaps too much included in the way of excessive special effects and over the top CGI. Take the Bat-Plane for example, or whatever that thing was winging it's way over Gotham City. It just didn't look real enough to be convincing and there were times it looked comical in all too dangerous situations. Same goes for the Bat-Cycle, the laws of physics would have something to say about the way it transforms in mid-ride to transform it's wheel base and take off in an entirely different direction.

As for the character of Bane, he would have been truly menacing in a Hannibal Lecter film, but I had some trouble with his characterization here as the leader of the Gotham underworld. Upon first introduction, Tom Hardy's villain didn't have any kind of physical stature to speak of, in fact I almost laughed in one scene where he seemed to have a bit of a paunch. I know I'm dating myself, but when Bane was introduced into DC Comics continuity back in 1993, the one person I thought could adequately portray him in a movie was the villain wrestler Van Vader, or Vader for short as he came to be known. Vader wore a masked hood that added to his fearsome appearance, and would have been perfect here, WITHOUT the goofy gas mask looking gimmick. How Bane could all of a sudden manhandle Batman in this picture seemed something of a stretch for me, but I do credit the film for it's handling of the 'Breaking of the Bat' story line from the comic books.

The surprise of the picture for me was the handling of the Catwoman character portrayed by Anne Hathaway. Very sensuous, slinky and athletic at the same time, while adding an air of mystery to the Batman relationship. I'm still not sold on Christian Bale as Batman though. As Bruce Wayne I guess he's OK, but the story here didn't convince me that he came out of an eight year retirement, practically as an invalid, in order to take on the cape and cowl of the Caped Crusader. (Do the comics even use that term anymore?) It never seemed realistic to me that those couple of push-ups would have gotten Bruce Wayne in shape to take on anybody, even a human sized maniac like Bane.

Now if I were interpreting the ending of the film all by myself, it would seem a fairly common sense conclusion that Batman sacrificed himself by ditching the nuclear weapon designed by Dr. Pavel over the ocean, well away from Gotham City proper. But then you had Alfred (Michael Caine) realizing his daydream fantasy by exchanging glances with Bruce Wayne in the company of Selina Kyle at an outdoor café in Paris. So did that really occur, or was it a clever trick to keep the viewer primed for a sequel (which I know won't happen with director Nolan). The IMDb Q&A board seems to answer the question definitively, but how am I supposed to figure it out from the movie?

So all in all, that brings me back to my original thought. Even though I enjoyed the film well enough, it just seemed to beg for more in the way of compelling story telling and character development. There's also the effectiveness of the dialog. There was a good portion of what the characters were saying that I missed in the theater environment just because the voices didn't carry very well. Once it's out on DVD with captioning I'm sure I'll do a lot better with it, but I'd rather get the full experience right up front.

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7 /10

tale of two Gothams

The latest Batman movie obviously has made a lot of news due to the shooting at a showing of it in Aurora, Colorado. But aside from that, the movie's plot still needs to get discussed.

It was going to be all but impossible to top "The Dark Knight". While "The Dark Knight Rises" doesn't quite reach its predecessor, it comes pretty close. The movie takes place some years after the last one, and Bruce Wayne is now a recluse. Due to the lie that Batman and Commissioner Gordon had to promulgate in the last movie, the Caped Crusader has been totally out of the scene ever since. But then comes Bane...

It's worth noting that the Bane in this movie has no relation to the butchered version in the execrable "Batman & Robin". This Bane, played by Tom Hardy, is pure evil but is a very clever, calculating individual. He's kind of like the Joker in the last movie, except that instead of creating terror for terror's sake, he's more comparable to Stalin.

The other challenge for Batman is of course Catwoman. But this Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway, is not really a villain as much as a kleptomaniac (or cat burglar, if you will) who exists as more of a challenge to Bane.

And then there's the issue of why Bane does what he does. Bane says that he wants to liberate everyone. But look how many assumed revolutions have led to governments just as bad as those that they toppled. Is the movie's point that there is no fully legitimate government?

Like I said, the movie isn't a masterpiece. The action scenes are really over-the-top. More than anything, I liked Anne Hathaway's performance as Catwoman. The movie is definitely worth seeing.

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7 /10

The Dark Knight Rises

Warning: Spoilers

The first film was a great revamping of the series, the second film was a critical success with a superb posthumous Oscar winning performance from Heath Ledger as the Joker, and this third film in the trilogy was set to be a big finale, from director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia). Basically it's been eight years since the events of The Dark Knight, where Harvey Dent died, but the Dent Act is continuing, despite Commissioner James 'Jim' Gordon (Gary Oldman) hiding the secret of Dent murdering some people and Batman aka Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) taking the blame, but violent and organised crime is lowering. Gordon writes a confession letter to inform the people of the truth, but it doesn't seem the right time to read it, and it falls into the hands of masked terrorist Bane (Bronson's Tom Hardy), police officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) takes Gordon to hospital to recover from a gunshot. Batman has disappeared for eight years, and Wayne is a recluse, and as a result of this, and investing in the clean energy project from board member Miranda Tate (La Vie en Rose's Marion Cotillard), Wayne Enterprises is near bankrupt, it was discovered that the fusion powered harness could be modified and the core could become a nuclear weapon. Blake concludes that Bruce is Batman, he and Gordon implore the caped crusader to return to Gotham City, but Bruce is forced to relinquish his family's company when Bane attacks the stock exchange and bankrupts him, control goes to rival businessman John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn), but he is killed by Bane and he gets his construction empire. Faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth (Sir Michael Caine) confesses to Bruce he burned the letter Rachel wrote before she was killed, about being engaged to Dent, and he says the seven years he was gone, in Batman Begins, he hoped he would never return, and Alfred leaves him. It's revealed to Batman that Bane took over the League of Shadows, after Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson) died, and he is lead to him by cat burglar Selina Kyle aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), but the masked mastermind beats Batman very harshly, fracturing his back, and he goes to the impossible to escape foreign prison. Bane as a child is believed to be the only person to have escaped the prison, he has almost completely taken over Gotham, trapping all police underground, using stolen weapons from Wayne Enterprises, and collapsing all routes out of the city, anyone seen escaping may set off the converted nuclear bomb the terrorist has his hands on. To make matters worse, the letter that Gordon wrote is read out for all of the citizens to hear, proving corruption comes not just from criminals, all prisoners arrested under the Dent Act are released and free to roam the city, and rich and powerful individuals are put to trial by "judge" Dr. Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) to face exile or death. Five months pass, and Bruce is recovering from his injuries and ready to return to the city, and after a couple of failed attempts and his back strengthened he is successful jumping the impossible feat, without safety stuff, and he recruits Selina, Gordon, Blake, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Tate to help save the city from the bomb. Batman battles his way to get to Bane and manages to fight and seemingly defeat him, but then Tate shows up and reveals that it was not Bane that escaped the foreign prison, it was her, she is actually Talia, the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, and with her father they rescued Bane who helped her out, so she is the one who plans revenge for her father's death and achieve his goal of destroying Gotham City. While Selina kills Bane, and Gordon manages to destroy the detonator to the bomb, Batman tries to direct the container truck towards the location of the fusion chamber where the weapon can be stabilised, but the chamber is flooded, and she crashes the truck, and before dying taunts the Dark Knight that the bomb will still explode. Batman decides that the only way to save the city is to sacrifice himself, by hauling the bomb out of city limits flying it away with the aircraft developed by Fox, and it does explode over the ocean, seemingly killing the hero. With Gotham saved Batman is no longer seen as a threat, he is praised as the hero who saved everyone, getting a monument statue, and Bruce is assumed dead after being in the riots, Gordon reminds Blake that he should not reveal Batman's identity to the world to let hope stand, and the bat-signal is repaired. The Wayne estate is left to the orphanage that Blake grew up in, and the rest of the fortune and so forth goes to Alfred, who is devastated that he let Bruce's parents down, but Fox discovers that the aircraft was put on autopilot months ago, and Alfred is happy in Italy to see Selina and Bruce alive, and Blake – real name revealed as Robin, enters the Batcave. Also starring Matthew Modine as Foley, Atonement's Juno Temple as Jen, Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Anthony Garcia, Burn Gorman as Stryver, Tom Conti as Prisoner, Tomas Arana as Wayne's Lawyer, Aidan Gillen as CIA Op, Desmond Harrington as Uniform and William Devane as President. Bale, who won his Oscar for The Fighter earlier in the year, is still a great choice being rough and ready, Hardy (with a dubbed deep voice) is really malicious and beefed up, Hathaway is surprisingly good as a sexy no-nonsense thief, and all the supporting cast members do well also. This instalment is certainly the biggest in terms of destruction from the villain, the special effects create some spectacular scenes of the city collapsing and during chases and fights, this is well paced and exciting to watch, and a good story to go with it, a fantastic action fantasy. Very good!

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9 /10

A fine conclusions to Christopher Nolan's 'Batman' trilogy

Warning: Spoilers

Eight years after the events portrayed in 'The Dark Knight' Gotham is a peaceful city but the Batman is still wanted for the killing of Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne has become a recluse. Then one day cat burglar Selina Kyle breaks into Wayne mansion and as well as stealing his mother's pearls she takes a copy of Bruce's fingerprints. She gives these to an accomplice of masked criminal, Bane, an expelled member of the League of Shadows. Bane then launches an attack on the Stock Exchange where he uses Bruce's fingerprints to authorise the transfer of all of his wealth thus bankrupting him. He manages to find Bane but is defeated and left, severely injured in an apparently inescapable prison. It is only then that we learn Bane's ultimate plan; he seizes the core from a nuclear fusion reactor that Wayne Enterprises had developed and, after setting off explosives that cut Gotham off from the rest of the county, announces that he will detonate the device and kill everybody if anybody tries to leave. And so begins his reign of terror. The months pass and Bruce struggles back to health and manages to escape and return to Gotham; he is now up against the clock as it emerges that the bomb is unstable and will soon detonate whether triggered or not.

This film provides a fine conclusion to this trilogy. Bane is a suitable bad villain for this finale and his schemes were the most dastardly yet. He is definitely a human villain not a cartoonish super-villain. He has a good back story although, thanks to a late twist, some of what we are lead to believe isn't quite true. Then there is the fact that this is more a Bruce Wayne film than a Batman film; first he must overcome the death Rachel Dawes which kept him a recluse for eight years then after he finally becomes Batman again and is beaten by Bane he must heal physically and mentally before he can escape. We also have new characters Selina Kyle, an ambiguous thief who may ultimately prove to be a hero or a villain and policeman John Blake who rises from a young uniformed officer to help lead the fightback while Batman was not there. The cast does a fine job; notably returning cast members Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman. New cast members also impress; Tom Hardy is imposing as Bale; one can believe that he could beat Batman in a fight, Anne Hathaway is likable as Selina and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is good as Blake; the closest thing to an ordinary everyman of the film's main characters. There is plenty of spectacular action from an attention grabbing opening scene, through a series of chases and fights to an explosive conclusion. The end nicely wraps up the trilogy while still leaving things open for us to imagine what might happen next. Overall I'm sure fans of the series will enjoy this; I'd certainly recommend the first two films first though.

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7 /10

Dark , cold and violent Hollywood Blockbuster with intelligent script, unstoppable action and state-of-art special effects

8 years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, Batman , Christian Bale , with the unexpected help of the Catwoman called Selina , Anne Hathaway, faces the greatest powerful enemy , a ruthless killer hunk named Bane : Tom Hardy . The latter causes a horrific apocalypse in Gotham and eventually takes place an impressive final battle. The Legend Ends. A Fire Rises .Welcome to the Reckoning .It is Always the Darkest Before the Dawn .Every legend has an End. Every hero has a Journey .Every Journey has an End .

A breathtaking outing in Dark Knight series in which Batman contends extreme villiains who are causing mayhem and wreak havoc . It contains really powerful villainous , fantastic technology, car pursuits , some martial art struggles and it never let up . This is a dynamical , nail-biting , and fast-paced sequel to Dark Knight 2008 . The muscular grit of the action sequences is leavened with finely juzged sarky banter with Michael Caine's butler Alfred and Morgan Freeman's boffin Lucius . This overwhelming installment relies heavily on too much action scenes with crashes , explosion and it follows with more action as well as over-the-top flying scenes and marred by its overlong runtime . The screenplay is plenty of surprises , twists and turns , as usual , and characterizatiion enough, as well . It is as darkness as its predecessors and made in similar style too . It develops a confidently non-chronological narrative, covering Bruce Wayne's dark and sad past . The latter half offers a more conventional and somewhat cluttered "City in Peril" plot, pitching the crimefighter Christian Bale against psycho bouncing nasty Tom Hardy whose fear bomb threatens to plunge Gotham into ashes and anarchy . Old-times Michael Caine , Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman add sparkle , sympathy , warmth and emotion to their bit parts . The film was was well directed by Christopher Nolan (Following, Memento, Insomnia), here he reinvigorates the franchise that had been lost in self-pastiche with Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher adaptations.

The trilogy well revitalised by Christopher Nolan , is formed by "Batman begins" with Christian Bale, Katie Holmes , Liam Neeson, Tom Wilkinson , Rutger Hauer , Ken Watanabe , following "The Dark Knight" 2008 with Bale , Heath Leger , Aaron Eckhart, Maggy Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy and this third "Dark Knight Rises" with Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marion Cotillard , Matthew Modine , Ben Mandelsohn , Brett Cullen, Daniel Sunjata , forming a perfect trío of spectacular films.

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6 /10

Brutal thrills delivered in shorthand; quick and mean...and heavy-going

Christian Bale returns as billionaire Bruce Wayne, now a limping recluse with bad cartilage in one knee who has unceremoniously retired his alter-ego, the vigilante Batman, after the Caped Crusader's reputation was unduly tarnished in the advent of Harvey Dent's death. However, with his fingerprints stolen, his millions wiped out, and the board of trustees of his estate taken hostage by a raging psychopath who talks through a voice-box like Darth Vadar, it may be time for Batman to reemerge. Assaultive installment in the "Batman" movie franchise is so ugly, so irredeemably brutal and mean-spirited, that even a first-rate cast and the incredible special effects fail to make much of a difference. Director Christopher Nolan leaves his audience beaten and bowed--much like Bruce Wayne!--while plot-threads are shuffled about, wounds (such as a stabbing near the finish) are miraculously healed, and characters enter and exit and reenter following scenes at a lightning pace. The whole explosive thing is hyped up on angry adrenaline, becoming a series of staccato clips which aren't so much disturbing in their content as they are unnerving in their execution. **1/2 from ****

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8 /10

Impressive "Batman" movie to say the least...

Well, with this third movie, director Christopher Nolan definitely drive a nail into it and makes it clear and solid that he is indeed the right man to be directing the "Batman" movies, unlike the previous attempts at making "Batman" movies prior to the first movie of Christopher Nolan.

The Gotham universe is simply brought to life on the screen in such a manner that it is hard to take your eyes off of it. Everything here just screams "Batman" comic book, and it is indeed the way it should be told.

I am not going to go into details with the storyline, as it would be a waste of time and effort, as this movie is to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Character-wise, then I think "The Dark Knight Rises" was really great. There was a lot of good character development and building here, both hero and villain alike. Personally, I didn't care much for the mask that Bane was wearing, and would have preferred something as in the actual comic books. But hey, creative output on the director's side, I suppose. Bane was indeed a good character and well fleshed out. Aside from his voice, with really was a moment of irritation.

It was also nice to have Seliana/Catwoman back in the universe again, after some questionable appearances in the previous two movies where the Catwoman character was in. Costume-wise, then the costume designer could have come up with something more in the spirit of the Catwoman comic books, but hey, that is just a personal preference.

The story progressed nicely and there was a brisk pace to it, which never lead to any dull moments. And there was actually a rather nice twist to the movie towards the last quarter of the movie. I really enjoyed that plot twist and hadn't seen that coming at all.

And also the introduction to the Robin character was interesting, and far better than the previous movie where he was in. And I do believe that this actor, without revealing who it is for the sake of those who haven't seen the movie yet, will be doing a much better job with the character than Chris O'Donnell did.

Again, the cast of actors and actresses was really great, as in the previous Christopher Nolan "Batman" movies. Lots of really talented people in the movie, and everyone was doing great jobs with their given roles and characters.

The gadgets and toys were there, as always. However, the aircraft that Batman had in this movie was a little bit too futuristic and Sci-Fi for my liking.

The action and fighting sequences were great and nicely choreographed. Lots of adrenaline and explosions here to help the story along for those adrenaline junkies in the audience.

"The Dark Knight Rises" was primarily driven by a great story and some interesting and good character development, and as such, then "The Dark Knight Rises" is definitely a movie well worth watching.

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The Dark Knight rises after 8 years, and we get a preview of Robin.

Warning: Spoilers

I always watch a movie like this with mixed emotions. It is made very well, with a good story, but it contains quite a bit of violence, with characters like Bane who just want to destroy a city. We know just a few months ago a young man entered a theater in Colorado at an opening night showing of this movie, and opened fire killing several theater-goers. We have no hard evidence that violence in games and movies influence nut-jobs to kill like this, but it has to make you wonder.

So it was with that in mind that I watched this movie. (My wife chose not to watch it.) And I was somewhat surprised that it was better than I thought it would be. Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and Batman has been in seclusion for about 8 years, still injured and using a cane to help with his walking. Gotham City seems calm and safe.

However Tom Hardy as Bane, with an unusual mask that is always across his head and face, muffling his speech, ostensibly mitigating the pain from a former procedure, vowing to restore order for the poor and downtrodden, to put the wealthy and powerful in their place. With the help of a cat-like woman gets what he needs to steal a device from Wayne Enterprises, a new device that can be re-configured to turn into a fusion bomb, with the ability to destroy Gotham.

Rusty, Batman is no match for Bane, who is of the League of Shadows, and Batman ends up in a terrible prison from which there is almost no hope for escape. But escape he must, for he and his contraptions are the only hope to defeat Bane.

Anne Hathaway is Selina, the cat-like thief and expert fighter. She has been in and out of trouble and prison since she was 16, but now Batman must trust her to help the cause.

I abhor the violence and terrorism, but overall a pretty good movie.

MAJOR SPOILERS: Bruce Wayne does manage to get out of the prison and back to his former fighting skills. With the help of a flying contraption manages to snag the bomb and fly it out to sea where it exploded harmlessly. Before that Selina with the Bat motorcycle managed to blast Bane to smithereens. Presumed dead also a funeral was held for Bruce Wayne, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt as officer Robin Blake is given a note with GPS coordinates which leads him to the Bat Cave, entering he finds Wayne. This sets up a sequel where Robin becomes Batman's partner.

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9 /10

Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale provided an exciting and heartfelt conclusion to the Batman movie series with The Dark Knight Rises

tavm 2 August 2012

Just watched this, the third and final movie in the Christopher Nolan-Christian Bale series of Batman films. This one takes place eight years after The Dark Knight. Both the Caped Crusader and Bruce Wayne have been inactive during that time-enough time for a new terrorist named Bane (Thomas Hardy) to threaten Gotham City. There's also a jewel thief named Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) who may or not eventually be persuaded to join Batman when the eventual battle begins...This one takes its time in getting to the exciting conclusion but when it does, it's very worthy of a series finale! New characters played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard are also worthy not to mention the additional return of Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, and Gary Oldman as Commissioner James W. Gordon. There were also some other returning players that were a pleasant surprise to me but I won't reveal them here. Anyway, on that note, I very highly recommend The Dark Knight Rises. P.S. My heart goes out to all those 12 killed and 58 injured as the result of one man's massacre in that Aurora, Colo., theatre during the premiere midnight screening there. And since I live in the Baton Rouge area in Louisiana, I'm especially glad that one of those 58, 18-year-old Bonnie Kate Pourciau, seems to recover with positive attitude intact especially since she also saved fellow traveling BR friend, Elizabeth Sumrall, during that awful day.

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3 /10

For My Part The Dark Knight Rises Could Have Stayed Below *

Warning: Spoilers

It takes over one-hour in this overly long miserable film to establish the plot-another terrorist campaign against the city of Gotham and its residents. The flashbacks relating to medieval times are of absolutely no value here.

The one redeeming item in this otherwise awful film is the performance by veteran actor Michael Caine, as Bruce Wayne's faithful servant Alfred. He knows when it is time to go; he is dramatic when he has to be and he certainly knew when to pour on the tears.

Anne Hathaway presents an interesting but conflicting character here. She is a jewel thief, cunning, vicious and the ultimate lover for Bruce Wayne.

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Great special effects lost in a confusing and unconvincing plot

Warning: Spoilers

This film is about Batman having to stop an evil mercenary from destroying Gotham City.

"The Dark Knight" have set the bar so high that it is so hard for Nolan to match it. While watching "The Dark Knight Rises", I became increasingly confused. I was then told that it has many links with the first Batman film. As I don't remember the plot of the first one, I became completely lost as to what was happening. Even after I understood what was happening, things are still unconvincing. For example, the ending twist makes no sense to me. Why would Miranda Tate require the help of Bane to destroy Gotham City, when she is in control of the device already? "The Dark Knight Rises" may be an entertaining film, but I could not get into the story. It is far too confusing as it tries to play the "Infernal Affairs" game, where good guys are bad but bad guys are good. It contains elements of the first Batman movie from years ago which people would have forgotten about already. The special effects are great, but the whole film is lost in a confusing and less than convincing plot.

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8 /10

Christopher Nolan keeps Batman relevant.

Warning: Spoilers

Director and screenwriter Christopher Nolan keeps the Batman franchise alive with THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Eight years after Batman(Christian Bale) has left guarding Gotham and actually being labeled fugitive, it is time to resurrect himself. Gotham City is actually crumbling under rampant crime and a lacking anti-crime act. Was it for the greater good Batman being inactive? A ruthless terrorist leader named Bane(Tom Hardy)has put together a dastardly plan to rip a decaying Gotham apart, as well as destroy Batman's legacy. Mild mannered and aging Bruce Wayne must summon what is left of his spirit and rebuild his physical skills to not only defend himself, but once again come to Gotham City's rescue. Special effects are awesomely brutal and the action high octane; just maybe the most entertaining of the franchise. A commanding cast that also features: Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a miss-cast Anne Hathaway.

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10 /10

It Solidifies Nolan's Batman Franchise

Warning: Spoilers

The Dark Knight Rises is a superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan and the story with David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the third and final installment in Nolan's Batman film trilogy, and it is the sequel to The Dark Knight.

Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne and Batman, with a returning cast of Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane. It introduces two main characters to Nolan's series: Selina Kyle,portrayed by Anne Hathaway, a cat burglar whose appearance in Gotham City sets in motion a chain of events that leads Batman to come out of retirement; and Bane,played by Tom Hardy, a mercenary whose objective is to destroy Gotham with a thermonuclear weapon.

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.

There was an opportunity here for Nolan to show us another way, to stretch the boundaries of what is possible in a superhero film. Instead, alas, the latter half of The Dark Knight Rises retreats toward conventionality.But nevertheless,it solidifies this three-part tale of the Batman legend as one of the best ever told.Added to that,it is an intelligent, gripping, complex and suitably satisfying end to what is now and could now regarded as the best comic adaptation trilogy of all time even this film it doesn't quite meet the high standard set by its predecessor.

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Dickensian Cleanliness

Warning: Spoilers

What, what a difference between this and any Marvelmanaged film!

Nolan (with wife and brother) have clearly refined this script a few times. There is a lot of story to cram in, and a few necessary inflection points to destabilize us. They impress, and this merger of story, image and Zimmernoise works well. But you already know that. As I post this, a mere few days after opening, the film is in the IMDb top ten of all time!

This comment is about a simple dynamic: condensation.

• the love story that leaves us satisfied doesn't happen on screen. It is all in our minds, teased out by an amazingly economical shorthand.

• a similar love story on the villain side that has agency in the plot — that literally changes much of what we assumed for two hours, is also sketched with a very few, high power strokes.

• a terrific device involving the otherwise talkity butler. Early, we get a story about when Bruce was away; Albert visited a Florence cafe once a year for one short drink on the off chance he would see Bruce thriving (with no plans to return). This story came complete with images of one such disappointing visit. At our very end after all the normal reveals, he makes the trip again. The stare we get from Albert is a fold that resets our memory of everything we have seen. All the action and noise is put in our past as it has been in his.

• often in these plot-heavy films, the bad guy doublecross is either heavyhanded or needlessly complex. Here it is simple and again uses a shorthand that depends on our film memories,

• we have a lot of exposition about the history of an elite group of mercenaries and their prison. This takes an amazing percentage of the film, almost equal to the capture and holding of the ersatz Manhattan. As overwrought as all that is, the deep test of soul — the test that transforms — is reduced to one act: jumping from one ledge to another.

• unlike any other comic-based superhero film, the bad guy here has the most minimal costume; a mask and even that is explained as necessary in a Darth Vader sense. We've all been to so many summer films with illogically costumed villains that this registers.

This and other notable dynamics tells me that Nolan and company understand the power of understatement in a sea of excess. Less matters when more surrounds it. An example of the excess is all the business about Robin's orphanage — down to the kindly but dumb Irish priest.

I do think this is worth watching; the Dickensian influence is noticeable and welcome, especially after the hodgepodge story of the last episode. Still, there were two elements of the story that made me step out of my role as engaged watcher.

One was an elaborate raid on the stock exchange, where a terminal is hijacked using Bruce Wayne's fingerprint. Many people die and the place is wrecked. Here is the story logic:

• Though everyone in the world would know of the raid and the use of that terminal by the crooks, no one would question the validity of trades made in Bruce's name.

• The loss of Wayne's money would result in him being removed from the board.

• Wayne's departure would automatically result in a schemer's succession, and that would somehow 'give control' of the corporation.

• This control would somehow extend to the closed fusion reactor project.

Nothing in this computes. Hey, I'll buy the stadium bit, and the bomb, and the citizen trials because they all make sense in the storyworld. Not this.

The second thing that got me... and this is because I know too much. In 'Iron Man,' it worked to have Tony Stark be a supergenius inventor, whose company also secretly made cool gear even with the perky secretary in charge. It makes no sense to me to have a company run by an avuncular caretaker make military weapons and for those to be sequestered as they are here.

Military systems in general aren't really that sophisticated. All prototypes break. Everyone who pays attention knows about them. They take scads of people to develop. They take 15 years to design. If Wayne had that kind of money (modestly say $800B), other things would be vastly different.

The Marvel universe works better so far as the gear.

Hathaway here is what Uma Thurman tried to be some time back.

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10 /10

Another one

Batman saves Gotham city from anarchy. Awesome car too

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