The Dark Knight Rises

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2013)

*Review Contains Spoilers*
PLOT: Taking place eight years after the previous film left off, this film has a secluded Bruce Wayne return from his hiatus as Batman to face a new threat to Gotham City, a powerful masked menace named Bane.
MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed this movie. I knew coming into this picture, that it would not be able to top the previous installment, The Dark Knight, and I was right. However, this movie was still a very good watch, action packed, and a good ending to the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. I enjoyed the fact that Bane was an actual threat in this picture. The only live-action Bane we had been given was that of the Jeep Swenson one in Batman and Robin from 1997. This Bane however, was a huge improvement. And rather than be bossed around by someone else, he is the one making the rules. I found all the character contribute something to the story, even Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway, when I had thought that would not have been the case. I liked that they put Talia al Ghul in at the end and also revealed that John Blake played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in fact Robin...or at least would be.
PROS/CONS: Honestly, Bane looked fit, and in that sense, threatening, but not as much as he should have been. When I think of Bane, I think of a ominous towering, muscular man. But, by having that, you may sacrifice acting skill. I find that the story was lacking in some sense. There were plot holes. If the League of Shadows wanted Gotham to be better and "fixed", why change what the Dent Act had done? It solved all the problems. Bane and Talia's whole idea was in reality, a complete waste of time. Also, because this film's plot goes back to the ideas of the first film, Batman Begins, which basically makes the second film, in some ways, useless in regards to the story arc. Nitpicking as well, I did not like that the built up Bane was eventually defeated by a cheap shot delivered by Catwoman from the Batpod.
OVERALL: 9/10