Nolan's swan song of his Bat Trilogy

Rating: 7/10 (21 July 2012)

The wait is finally over. Chris Nolan's final entry into his trilogy of Batman films has finally graced the big screen, and it's a large screen if you happen to check it out in IMAX. What started in 2005 with Batman Begins, hit a high note in 2008 with The Dark Knight, and has stumbled to a close this summer with The Dark Knight Rises. If you happened to catch The Avengers earlier this summer, or even The Amazing Siderman for that matter, you may be expecting another fun ride at the movies. But this is not that kind of film, it's dark, moody and downright depressing at times. It's light on action, save for a few brawls and Batman's newest toy, The Bat, a helicopter that can move in and around buildings with ease, that make up the films biggest action set pieces. It picks up 8 years after Batman had taken the fall for the death of Gotham's beloved Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne has hung up the suit and become a Howard Hughes type recluse. Alfred, his butler and only friend, begging him to see the light of day again. Gotham's streets are free of crime but that will soon change for the worse. Enter Bane, a masked maniac who plans to use terror and a nuclear bomb to bring Gotham to it's knees, only to rise from the ashes anew. Throw in cat burglar Selina Kyle, who makes off with Bruce Wayne's fingerprints and he's got enough reason to dust off the suit. Bane, played here by Tom Hardy, is a worthy adversary to Batman but could have been better suited as the muscle for some other villain. Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle, a modern take on Catwoman is perfect in her role but like most of the female parts in Nolan's films is underused. It's strange to say that in a film that clocks in at almost three hours but there is so much stuffed in here that some things get lost. And don't expect to see a ton of Batman in the film as he doesn't spend much time in the suit. There are lots of supporting characters, some returning from the previous films, like the always likable Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, and some new, like Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake, who has arguably the films best role. This is the last of this series but will undoubtedly make tons of money so we will see Batman again, this film does have a nod to where it could go but it'll remain to be seen who dons the cape and cowl next. But all in all, this was a satisfying conclusion to what has become the best superhero trilogy ever told.