The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway
Runtime: 164 minutes

Synopsis: Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, Batman, with the help of the enigmatic Catwoman, is forced from his exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane.

Performances: 7/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 8/10
Entertainment Factor: 7/10

Verdict: The final installment in Chris Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy is possibly the one that aged the least well with audiences. Most fans nowadays even consider it to be one of the British filmmaker's worst efforts to date. And yes, the film does have its issues, but my problems are fairly similar to the problems I had with "Batman Begins", except that this one's slightly more entertaining overall.

Right off the bat (hehe), Bane was a worthy adversary of the iconic superhero, and Tom Hardy killed it in the role. There was no way that he would even come close to what Heath Ledger did with The Joker, but I definitely wouldn't call his character a letdown. He was menacing, intimidating, and charismatic all at once, and pretty much stole every scene he was in. The action scenes and practical effects utilized were also all impressive and very fun to watch, and the score by Hans Zimmer as always incredibly immersive.

But here again, I felt that Nolan on more than one occasion abandoned the film's dark and gritty tone to introduce a bunch of theatricalities that just didn't work. From cliché dialogue to predictable tropes, I can't say that the atmosphere built by the filmmaker was at all times consistent. However, the main issue I had with the story was the overabundance of storylines, most of which didn't really add much to the main one. The introduction of Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's characters all felt without real purpose other than fan service that didn't really fit.

Overall, I'd still consider "The Dark Knight Rises" to be a solid conclusion to a trilogy that redefined and legitimized the superhero genre. It's definitely not as good as its predecessor, but it's also much more entertaining than "Batman Begins" despite suffering from similar issues.

FINAL GRADE: 6/10