In keeping with the series, a little too epic.

Rating: 6/10 (21 November 2012)

To take the same source material for the campy 1960's Adam West television show and give it the "Lawrence of Arabia" treatment takes some courage and Nolan is to be praised for his ambition. However, "Rises" like the Heath Ledger-fueled middle installment of the series suffers from somewhat from the over-inflation. Parts of the sumptuously shot tale of The Batman's redemption meander and drag and all but scream "something profound is happening in this scene". The grandiosity (the football game scene alone must have cost a fortune) of the production makes certain character interactions banal by comparison. At one point, The Batman and the somewhat campy Bain (at what point did you want him to just take off the goofy mask?) get into a straight-up fistfight and the schoolyard beatdown feels a little jejune and disappointing. The borrowed parts also feel a little beneath the film particularly the opening hijacking scene which is wholly lifted from a 1993 Sylvester Stallone film called "Cliffhanger". The sheer scale of Nolan's vision does a good job of masking some mediocre performances. Again, the angular Christian Bale seems more at sea in the part than Michael Keaton at point escaping from a foreign hell-hole, making it back to a Gotham on the bring of nuclear destruction and arriving in town grinning like a Spanish tourist come to see the latest Harry Connick, jr. musical. Anne Hathaway suffers from a similar illness - her good-nature and bright personality are far better suited to the tween fair ("The Princess Diaries") that made her name. Having said that, you have to go back to Eartha Kitt to find a decent Catwoman although Michelle Pfeiffer's tactic of infusing the character with a dollop of crazy was a good attempt. Poor Michael Caine looks like he is putting on an acting clinic for advanced students. Having said all that, like "Avatar" the film is a beautiful thing to behold despite the bad acting (Bale), dopey characters (Bane), borrowed ideas (the essence of the plot may have been written by Zaccotti Park protesters) and unrealistic ending. In short, rent it on pay per view.