Marvel, eat your heart out.

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2012)

Reminding us all why Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" films are a cut above all other superhero movies, Nolan unleashes the final chapter of his Batman vision, "The Dark Knight Rises", on the world. Christian Bale is back as Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) and so is the great Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as the outspoken butler Alfred. But along for the ride this time are the likes of Tom Hardy (Warrior) as Bane (who surprisingly isn't as muscular here as he was in "Bronson") Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) as Catwoman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50) as John Blake (but he may also go by a different name, wink, wink) and Marion Cotillard (Midnight in Paris) as Miranda Tate. And even with this star studded cast, Nolan's vision is still the real star of the show, because along with the larger than life visuals audiences have grown accustomed to when watching a Nolan film, this masterful writer/director's plot construction abilities continue to impress. With "The Dark Knight Rises" he has created one of the most complex superhero story lines ever and not only ties up all of the loose ends by the end of the film, but ties them up with a flair and veracity that has become synonymous with a Christopher Nolan film. In fact, "The Dark Knight Rises" contains the perfect ending to a damn near perfect trilogy (screw you David Letterman). An ending, in fact, which makes up for every single Joel Schumacher, Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, George Clooney, Chris O' Donald, Jim Carrey and Arnold Schwarzenegger piece of crap.
The Plot: Set eight years after "The Dark Knight", when Gotham is basically a crimeless city and Bruce Wayne has long since hung up his Batman persona. In fact, Bruce Wayne has been reduced to a crippled (from years of crime-fighting) recluse. Yes, Nolan goes out of his way to demonstrate that Wayne is a destructible human being, lacking superpowers; thus, making things all the more compelling when Bane, a 'roided up freak, comes to town with plans to blow everything to smithereens. Side Note: This aspect is sort of comical only because Bane's platform, coming into Gotham, is to punish the rich and powerful and give the town back to the people; sort of an ultra-violent manifestation of the Occupy Wall Street movement of recent years...well, I thought it was funny.
Anyway, there are really only a few issues which hinder this film: 1. The voice Hardy has chosen for Bane is something audiences will have to get used to. And while at times his voice does verge on something of an annoying Sean Connery imitation (it doesn't help that because of his mouthpiece, much of Bane's dialogue is indecipherable) the more Bane is on the screen, the better the actual film becomes.
2. This movie starts off extremely (EXREMELY) slowly! Yes, I understand that Nolan is a master of dialogue driven set ups; and while the second half payoff is very much worth it, for almost the entirety of the first half I found myself waiting for the next explosion...or for Anne Hathaway to say something clever.
3. And maybe the least important, "The Dark Knight Rises" runs into the same PG-13 problem the first two films did; a la using odd edits to hide the on-screen violence. All I will say is that in creating a PG-13 world, with gunfire but no blood, no matter how dark Nolan wants these films to be, "The Dark Knight" series seems like it will never be his entire vision. Not to say, Nolan doesn't do a magnificent job with working within his restraints.
With that said, these are very miniscule issues when the cold facts are that everything else about this final chapter works and works rather brilliantly. Bale gives probably his best Batman performance yet. But let's face it; very few people come to "The Dark Knight" films to hear Bale talk in a deep voice. Since its inception (no, I couldn't think of any other word to use) Nolan's versions of Batman have lived and died on the strength of the villain(s). And while nobody can even hope to touch Heath Ledger's Joker, Hardy as Bane is a worthy successor, mostly because of a brilliantly constructed back-story. But even more impressive than the Bane character itself is the performance of Hathaway, who steals the show as Catwoman, basically carrying much of the dullish first half on her shoulders and reviving it often (take that Halle Berry!).
Final Thought: Is "The Dark Knight Rises" better than "The Dark Knight" (the previous film)? Well, in this reviewer opinion, it's neither better nor worse, it is simply different. Here is the real question: Is "The Dark Knight Rises" better than the "The Avengers"? You bet your ass it is!
Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland
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