Rent The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Reasonably satisfying conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, but not the best - The Dark Knight Rises review by RP

Well, over the last few days I've seen three of 2012's comic-based superhero 'blockbuster' movies: 'Avengers Assemble', 'The Amazing Spider-Man' and now 'The Dark Knight Rises'. And - from low score to high score - that's my order of preference.

'Avengers Assemble' was too silly and took itself too seriously. The Spiderman remake/reboot unfortunately suffered from the 'remake syndrome' - by definition, it wasn't very original, although it did offer some novelty and a degree of humanity to its tale of a comic book hero. But I rather liked Christopher Nolan's third Batman film, even though it's too long at over 2½ hours, there's too much scene-setting and not enough Batman action until well into the film, the entire nuclear-bomb-in-the-city plot is both old and not very well done, and the film is full of plot holes. A bullet-proof batsuit that doesn't stop a knife? Remove the core of a fusion reactor to make a bomb - in minutes? Batman escapes from an underground prison in India (I think) and returns to Gotham in minutes? But these are minor issues...

I guess the reason I liked it is - in common with the other Nolan-directed Batman films - it's so dark. And it has a 'proper' baddie, in this case Bane (Tom Hardy) who's a nasty piece of work. Not up to Heath Ledger's psychopathic depiction of The Joker in 'The Dark Knight' but definitely bad, unlike the wuss Loki in 'Avengers'.

Ann Hathaway makes a good second-string baddie/goodie as Catwoman and steals just about every scene she appears in. Add supporting roles from Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard etc and that's a fine cast you've got there...

[Aside: perhaps sadly, I did watch the end credits and noticed rather a lot of Nolans in it, as well as small parts for Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Tom Conti, Mathew Modine, uncle Tom Cobley and all]

I enjoyed it and I'll give it 3/5 stars - a reasonably satisfying conclusion to Nolan's Batman trilogy, but not his best.

The end of Batman - The Dark Knight Rises review by Pete W

By the end of the film, you realise that Bruce Wayne cannot continue as Batman.  As with most Nolan films, it needed about 45 minutes editing out.  Kudos to Tom Hardy for acting as Bane throughout the whole film in a mask which means only his eyes are really visible.  Nice role for Catwoman too but I'm old enough to remember Eartha Kitt in the role and she nailed it.

Superb Final Film of a Great Trilogy - The Dark Knight Rises review by GI

The final film in Christopher Nolan's epic Batman trilogy is slightly overshadowed by the class of the previous film but it remains a great action adventure film that brings the stories from the two earlier films together and makes a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. The story picks up eight years after the conclusion of The Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has retreated into seclusion having taken the blame for the crimes of Harvey Dent. But when a very powerful criminal, Bane (Tom Hardy) takes over the city and holds it to ransom with a huge nuclear bomb Wayne has to return to his alter-ego and bring Batman back. Unfortunately he finds he's now broke and that Bane is no pushover. The regular cast - Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman - are back and new characters played by Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard amongst others enhance the story. And it is a great one too, from the opening set piece that rivals anything in a James Bond or Mission Impossible film to incredible action scenes scattered throughout. Hardy is superb as the powerhouse bad guy, hidden behind a mask that keeps him alive and with a very original accent. It's great stuff and makes the whole trilogy worthwhile viewing. Nolan's ability to make big budget, spectacular action cinema for grown ups that feel like intimate crime films is what makes these so special.

A great conclusion to a fantastic trilogy filled with emotion, beauty & wonderful performances - The Dark Knight Rises review by Timmy B

I was never a big comic book or indeed Batman fan. My sole reason for watching these films was down to my love of Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker before he got involved with Gotham, primarily due to the magnificent Insomnia, which still today is for me his best film.

The Batman films themselves are brilliant, as they perfectly weave a completely credible story with great performances. Christian Bale is and always has been a magnificent Batman/Bruce Wayne, his emotional delivery as the orphaned child who becomes the thing that scares him in order to right the wrongs of the world. In this film we get a monster of a villain in Bane, a muscle-bound super strength psychopath who presents himself as a revolutionary but in truth is just wanting to kill everyone who isn't associated with his army. Anne Hathaway is also wonderful as Selina Kyle/Catwoman.

After the incredible Dark Knight, most people were probably thinking that there was no way Nolan could top that. And one of the best things about this film is that he doesn't even try. This is, as much as it is a sequel, a film that does firmly go in a different direction. The Gotham we go back to is one that has changed significantly in many ways since the events with the Joker. And I did massively enjoy and get swept up in this film's epic scale, on a par with the David Lean masterpieces of old.

Everything else is perfectly in check. Amazing stunts, stunning cinematography from Wally Pfister fresh from winning his Oscar for Inception and finally an incredible soundtrack from Hans Zimmer.

A brilliant film and an outstanding finale.