Uncanily solid for an action movie

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2012)

The Dark Night Rises met up to high expectations. If opening night (midnight showing) is any indication, it will be in the hunt to break box office records. The theater opened all 24 screens for the midnight showing and sold out most or all from what I could tell.
Plot synopsis has been done many times already, so here is my take on how it went. The story line was developed and complex enough to keep you intrigued but not messy. There are a few plot twist that were not telegraphed and mostly unexpected. The acting was very good with rewarding character development, even the characters without a lot of screen time. Christian Bale and Tom Hardy carried the movie surprisingly well with Micheal Cain, Morgan Freeman, and Anne Hathaway putting in terrific effort in forming believable and heart felt characters. I would not be surprised if this action flick gets at least one nomination for best actor/supporting actor.
There are the obligatory explosions and cool gadgets done with the solid FX one would expect from a high budget movie. A couple of the action scenes did have a slightly unbelievable premises but nothing distracting for the average movie goer.
Cinematography and sound were above average and helped make the film feel epic. It is the last movie in the trilogy and it ended in a way to wrap up the story well. The ending did leave a few things to the audience's imagination, but not in a disappointing way.
A solid film that rises above what action movies typically delivers. Great story, great character development, and very good acting. An epic film worth watching and highly recommended.