an incredibly executed final chapter in the Dark Knight trilogy that gives its fans everything they could have asked for

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2012)

When I stop and go back to think of films that have been released in the last ten years, I often wonder which films will be remembered ten, twenty, and fifty years from now. When looking back at the early 2000s, what films will we tell our kids "I remember when I first saw that." What films will be the classics that our generation will own and love when we have grandchildren running around with crazy technology we can't understand.
In a film world where there are dozens of blockbusters every summer and hundreds of movies released every year, it is hard to imagine the significance of one film or one franchise. But a film I often come back to is the 2008 film The Dark Knight. It is rare to find a film that critics, fanboys, and casual film goers all seem to enjoy. But this is, without a doubt, one of those films.
And with the release of The Dark Knight, these fanboys and critics and film goers have anticipated the summer of 2012. They have been waiting four years for the final chapter in the Dark Knight trilogy, a trilogy that began with the powerful Batman Begins and continued with the amazing and nearly flawless Dark Knight.
And, my dear readers, I am happy to report that The Dark Knight Rises, the final chapter in this trilogy, does not disappoint.
Set eight years after the end of The Dark Knight, Rises tells the story of the newest threat against Batman and Gotham City. The masked villain that goes by Bane has set out to destroy the city of Gotham. A follower of Ra's al Ghul's League of Shadows before being banished, Bane has set out to seemingly finish the work of Ra's. A beaten down and tired Bruce Wayne looks to be in no shape to stop this oncoming threat, but just like a 70 year old greeter at Wal-Mart, Wayne finds purpose in having work to do.
So Bruce gets himself back into fighting shape (obviously) as he needs to defend the city. To become the Batman once again. To rise as the dark knight that protects Gotham from evil.
Director Christopher Nolan has stated in interviews building up to this release that the three movies in this trilogy each have a different theme. Batman Begins was a story that dealt primarily with fear. The Dark Knight followed a theme of chaos. Finally, The Dark Knight Rises was a tale of pain. Just like the first two films, Nolan hits his theme right on the head once again.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/the-dark-knight-rises/