Before I review "The Dark Knight Rises", I'd like to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the shootings in Aurora, CO. I saw "The Dark Knight Rises" this afternoon, and loved it! Of the 3 movies in the trilogy, I think this one is the 2nd best. My favorite in the series is still "Batman Begins", but I'm a Batman nerd and I just love the way Director Christopher Nolan did the back story. All three movies in this trilogy are 5 star movies, so it's splitting hairs to say which one is better than the other. This may be the best trilogy in the history of movies...there, I said it.
"The Dark Knight Rises" begins 8 years after the events at the end of "The Dark Knight". Batman has not been seen in 8 years, and Bruce Wayne has become a recluse. But, beginning with his meeting with Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman), events conspire that bring Batman out of retirement. When terrorist Bane begins a crime spree in Gotham City, The Dark Knight has to rise to save his beloved city, but has he been gone too long and will he have what it takes to stop Bane from destroying Gotham?
At two hours and 45 minutes, "The Dark Knight Rises" is a very long movie, but it didn't seem like a long movie. It moves very quickly and is simply packed with story and action. I know some other reviewers have complained that Christopher Nolan tried to do too much and that, while the movie was good, it would have been great had they left a few characters and plot lines out. Personally, I think the movie was nearly perfect. Yes, there was a lot going on, but it was never hard to follow and all fit together nicely. I did find a couple of plot points a little predictable, but was very satisfied with the ending.
The cast of "The Dark Knight Rises" is fantastic. Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne/Batman to me. He's fantastic in the role, but almost takes a back seat to a few of the other characters. Anne Hathaway is surprisingly good as Catwoman. I've always liked Hathaway in her roles, but I just wasn't sure if she'd make a good Catwoman. Not only was she good, but she nearly stole the show. I say nearly, because Tom Hardy does a fantastic job as Bane. Hardy will inevitably be compared to Heath Ledger, but the Joker and Bane are completely different characters and it's not fair to compare them. The rest of the cast, from Gary Oldman to Joseph Gordon Levitt to the incomparable Michael Caine round out the movie really nicely.
I must admit that I'm a bit bummed that we won't get any new Batman movies for a few years. I'm sure it will get rebooted at some point, but topping Christopher Nolan's epic trilogy will be nearly impossible. If you liked the first two movies, I think you'll be really happy with this finale.
