Very good movie, but doesn't rise above The Dark Knight

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2012)

Just back from seeing The Dark Knight Rises. Not going to go into the details, will leave that to the 6 page spread in Empire or Total Film. But the initial reaction coming out was that, though very good, it was not quite the ride the The Dark Knight was. Was I expecting too much going in? Well, I was expectant, but don't not overly so. The premise was good, 8 years later, drawn back to tackle super villain. Thought it was good up to when Gotham was actually taken over. But for me it started to loose steam from here. The escape from the 'hole' section was good, but the final fight (cops v villains) and the chase of the bomb lacked real grit and punch. End was decent, but it felt a bit too long - maybe it tried to pack too much in and lost out as result. Catwoman still doesn't do it for me, and she was integral to the story. The cops came across as a bit too lame and the kangaroo court scenes with Cillian Murphy a bit concocted. The Joker was the ultimate villain, and though Bane was a 'good badie', was always going to be difficult, if not impossible, to follow Ledger. So, going to give it an 8, though maybe 7.8 might be closer, I wouldn't give it 7. What a trilogy though. Fair play to Nolan.