At the time of writing this The Dark Knight Rises review, it is impossible to view the finale to the story of Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego, Batman, as just a movie. The film arrives on a wave of massive hype, yet it is still trying to outrun the long shadow of its predecessor, The Dark Knight - a film that not only set a new bar for what a comic book movie could be, but also blew away critics, snagged two Oscars, and excited fans to the tune of a $1 billion worldwide box office. TDK also changed the course of the industry by launching the “full IMAX” trend in filmmaking, and even coerced the Oscars to expand its Best Picture category to include more nominees (after Nolan’s film was snubbed).
In that sense, it’s almost impossible for The Dark Knight Rises to meet the level of expectation facing it – but has Chris Nolan managed to end his Batman legend on a note that will at once please fans and critics, tie off the story in proper fashion, and still deliver the biggest and best blockbuster movie experience of the year?
The answer to those looming questions is…sort of. The Dark Knight Rises does bring Nolan’s trilogy full-circle to a well-earned conclusion, and features a number of big blockbuster moments and will likely please many fans (and critics) – but it also stumbles in its execution of said conclusion, never really captures the sheer spectacle of films like The Dark Knight or Inception, and will ultimately leave some fans (and critics) cold with its very unique take on the Batman mythos.
Christian Bale and Michael Caine in 'The Dark Knight Rises'
Combining elements of Batman comic book storylines like “Knightfall,” “Knight Quest,” “No Man’s Land,” and “The Dark Knight Returns,” we pick up eight years after the events of The Dark Knight and are re-introduced to a Gotham City where organized crime has been effectively curtailed – thanks to the strict mandates of the “Harvey Dent Act.” Of course, that progress has been made based on a lie about how Harvey Dent died – a lie that has nearly crushed the spirits of Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the latter of whom has all but vanished into reclusion, as his “true” face, The Batman, is no longer needed (or wanted) on the streets.
However, the sudden appearance of a costumed thief (Anne Hathaway) heralds the rise of a great evil from deep within the bowels of Gotham: Bane (Tom Hardy), a ruthless and cunning terrorist who has come to the city to enact a plan that will take everything both Bruce Wayne and Batman have been fighting for, and twist it into a weapon used to destroy Gotham and the souls of its people. Bruce tries to don the cape and cowl again, but his time away has made both his spirit and body soft, while Bane is as hardened a villain as they come.
With foes at every turn, and his city under siege, Bruce Wayne must rediscover the strength within that made him Batman in the first place – and this time, he’ll need help from friends like Gordon, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), the unscrupulous Selina Kyle (Hathaway) and rookie cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), if he hopes to win the war against an army of criminals and mercenaries that Bane sets loose on the streets of Gotham.
Director Chris Nolan has crafted his most visually sophisticated Batman movie yet, and from a directorial standpoint, The Dark Knight Rises is a pretty stunning achievement. From the set pieces, to the brilliant visual iconography, to the action sequences that seem to never stop and almost always thrill (at least somewhat), the film is just visually impressive. With a significant chunk of the footage having been shot using IMAX cameras, TDKR isn’t just visually impressive; it’s visually impressive on a massive scale. No question about it: pay for the IMAX upgrade, because without it, you’re only getting half of the experience this film offers.
Batman Begins was a standard superhero origin tale (as uniquely constructed by Chris Nolan); The Dark Knight was more of an intricate crime drama than a superhero flick. In terms of story, The Dark Knight Rises is very much a war drama – a fact that may be off-putting to some viewers looking for “the comic book movie experience.” Those who still (stubbornly) cling to the notion that the Nolan Bat-films should be more pulpy fun and less gritty drama will find that this finale delivers even more of what they disliked about TDK - the dark and gritty tone, the lengthy and convoluted story – this time without the balance of a villain (and performance) as stunningly charismatic and fun as Heath Ledger’s Joker.
Bane (Tom Hardy) in 'The Dark Knight Rises'
As for the villain we do get: Tom Hardy’s Bane isn’t as lively as The Joker – and some fanboys will say not as complex or engaging as his comic book counterpart – but he does serve his purpose here, which is to function not as a unique character so much as an exaggerated vision of our worst fears about terrorism, embodied in a man. Hardy manages to bring the villain a bit of depth using just his eyes and body language as tools of expression – an impressive performance that may get largely overlooked due to the (sure to be pervasive) sentiment that Bane isn’t as “cool” a villain as someone like The Joker.
Anne Hathaway offers the biggest surprise performance, shedding her own doe-eyed persona to fully inhabit the character of Selina Kyle, a master thief who plays by her own set of often ambiguous morals. Selina (better known, but never referred to in the film as “Catwoman”) steals virtually every scene she’s in, thanks to a mix of sultry allure, sharp wit, and impressive physicality. Hathaway definitely leaves her own stamp on the character, delivering in both the action and dramatic moments required of her.
To his credit, Nolan’s “Catwoman” is easily his best-written and casted female character to date – an area where the acclaimed director has been continuously criticized. By comparison, Marion Cotillard’s Miranda Tate is pretty much a standard Nolan one-note female character (despite some effort to develop her), and doesn’t prove to be as interesting as she could’ve been.
Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) in 'The Dark Knight Rises'
Joseph Gordon-Levitt steps up to offer a compelling performance as John Blake, an obscure Batman comic book character refashioned here as a young cop who struggles with the idea of working within the system of law and order, leading him to ally with Batman and Commissioner Gordon. Levitt has the tendency to seem boyish in a lot of his roles - Inception, (500) Days of Summer - but in this film he broadens his range as a mature tough-as-nails cop with a big heart and sharp mind. In the middle act of the film – where screenwriters Chris Nolan, Johnathan Nolan and David S. Goyer threaten to let things meander too far – Gordon-Levitt (with a helping hand from Hathaway) manages to carry the film, despite the fact that he’s wearing a simple police uniform, rather than some elaborate superhero costume.
The returning cast members are split down the middle in terms of what they’re given to do in this final chapter. Christian Bale gets to exercise much more acting muscle outside of the mask this time – and in many ways, Dark Knight Rises is a Bruce Wayne story, rather than a Batman story. Bale brings his character to a close with a nuanced and carefully-layered performance, and if there are any who still doubt that he is the best Bruce Wayne/Batman we’ve seen, it’ll be hard for them to prove that point once they’ve had a look at Dark Knight Rises.
John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) in 'The Dark Knight Rises'
Michael Caine trades his usual comic relief schtick for a surprisingly earnest and emotional turn as Bruce Wayne’s butler/confidant/surrogate father, Alfred Pennyworth. Here we find an Alfred worn down by his own failure to spare Bruce the life of darkness and pain he’s fashioned for himself – and in that sense, Nolan and Caine delve deeper into the character than any other depiction – on the comic book page or screen – ever has. It’s a rewarding venture.
Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon) and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) are given far less to do in this film, as their functions in the narrative – moral support and guidance for Bruce Wayne/Batman – are largely delegated to some of the new players (Levitt). Other character actors make appearances in some minor roles, but by and large, the ensemble works very well. Hans Zimmer’s music for this film only captures a fraction (albeit, a large one) of the greatness found in his Dark Knight score, while conversely, the photography and cinematography of longtime Nolan collaborator Wally Pfister are better than ever.
The Nolan Brothers and David S. Goyer’s script for Dark Knight Rises will probably be the biggest point of contention amongst fans. As stated, this is a war drama (with obvious shades of A Tale of Two Cities influence) but the story is able to incorporate real-world socio-political subtext into its narrative, without leaning on it too heavily. This is both a good and bad thing, since that timely subtext provides substance to go along with this pulpy world of superhero fantasy – but ultimately, the filmmakers decide to elevate the pulp over other food for thought, negating much of what that rich subtext tries to introduce.
Batman and Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises'
Of the three lengthy acts in the film, Act 1 is something of a rushed affair (handled with the usual Nolan break-neck-speed editing techniques), while Act 2 is a montage of events that push the new characters center stage, while the established primary characters are relegated to the background (a transition that, again, will leave some fans cold). Act 3 of The Dark Knight Rises brings things to an end in spectacular fashion, with big blockbuster set pieces and a poignant, rousing, conclusion that will leave fans celebrating the character so many of them have loved or been inspired by.
While Nolan’s Batman finale isn’t perfect, and may not be the greatest installment of the trilogy, it does manage to solidify this three-part tale of the Batman legend as one of the best ever told – in any medium – while also delivering (one of) the best blockbuster movie experiences of the summer.
The Dark Knight Rises is now playing in theaters everywhere. It is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.
For an in-depth discussion of the film by the Screen Rant team check out our Dark Knight Rises episode of the SR Underground podcast.
Please Do Not discuss Dark Knight Rises SPOILERS here! For discussion of the film, head over to our Dark Knight Rises SPOILER DISCUSSION page. For the “True IMAX” Experience, check out this list of 70mm IMAX Theaters.
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Our Rating:
4 out of 5
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Saw it on IMAX today it was a good experience I enjoy the film to say the least. The back story in the trilogy was accurate one of the Best Trilogy of all time (top 5). NOLAN is brilliant he did a great job I`d say give him an Oscar although there were some scenes that left me skeptical. Dr.Crane was unacceptable I think he was silly no need for him in this film. SELINA on the Batpod shooting BANE was the most loud sound from a bomb in film history I jumped ..lol I am only hoping for the next Director to take notes and don’t ruin this fantastic character known as Bruce Wayne/Batman there is more to tell I believe and will love to see more characters. JUSTICE LEAGUE will be awesome for BATMAN no doubt about that.
One The Wayne Enterprises is built on Military Tech.
The Tumbler is a two part Vehicle, the Batpod.
The Bat is also a two part stealth helicopter, the Batwing
is shown to have a cockpit that can transform into a Submersible vehicle should the air vehicle “THE BAT” be shot/blown down.
Plus the new Batcave with the Bat vehicle was hiding under the water fall and not in the open.Thats why The Batman managed to get out of there so fast, and also escape the bomb radius, And he didn’t swim back?…He outsmarted everyone.
Now with Bruce having lunch happily with Selina Kyle, Thats Alfred dream…And for “US” just to have a teste of it.
Just remember hes good on telling stories on all 3 films.
Very, very (very!) poor film. The more I think about how poorly scripted, acted and directed it was, the worse it gets.
One of the dumbest films in a long time. Even Prometheus was barely worse!
An insult to any viewer over the age of 13 / IQ of 80.
Amazing flim best of the trilogy!
In ur dreams
Don’t u dare.the best of the trilogy.
I’m just thinking out loud do those other Tumbler’s that Bane had stolen do they have a two part Vehicle, like the Batpod but differnent style…Just wondering?
Realist. That is not all. No one ever has the final word. Have you ever known Batman to fall any distance? In Nolan’s universe, he can glide. He also has all manner of ropes, pulleys and gadgets. The idea of him falling 3 stories is quite laughable.
Plot holes? The Police give up chasing bike-robbers who are threatening the city’s finances to go after Batman instead – pretty ridiculous. Suddenly, there are HUNDREDS of Police cars…..like something out of the Blues Brothers. Absolute farce. Then the Bat Wing just happens to be parked down that alleyway…..
The Police decide to raid the sewers (with their ENTIRE force) on the day that Bane & Co decide to make their move. Granted, the LOS may have been fore-warned*, but the timing was awfully convenient as by that stage, they were READY to make their move.
The LOS seemed to know everything – there’s no way they could’ve known when Blake was extracting cops from that manhole. Then Batman shows up 2 mins later. Was it advertised?
Wayne recovers from his horrendous back injury in a matter of months. Gets back to full strength. Escapes and arrives back in Gotham (wasn’t he broke?!). And guess what? There’s a mere 18 hours left on the clock! Seriously?
And why was there a countdown timer on something that was meant to be a power source? And since when can the instability of an element be defined to the nearest second?
It is questionable why the LOS decided to drag the whole thing out for 5 months when they knew the bomb would blow eventually – why risk failure? And was this their final mission? By staying in Gotham, they were effectively wiping themselves out. It makes no sense.
Love how Batman took time out to spray some petrol in the shape of a bat on the bridge. Not sure what he used, how he did it or when he fitted that one in.
Catwoman shows up just in time (another coincidence) to blast Bane. And she handled that bike pretty well considering she’d never been on it before.
Oh yeah, and another thing. Hundreds of criminals armed with automatic weapons and a few tumblers. What do you do? I know! Gather ALL of your men into a narrow street (i.e. a choke point) then run straight at them. By rights, none of them should’ve got past the tumblers.
I could go on and on. It was a good film. But not a great film – the worst of the trilogy. It was fundamentally flawed in so many ways. Yet the majority seem unwilling to acknowledge it for whatever reason.
Yep. I totally agree.
He fell off his penthouse to save Rachel in TDK. You don’t see anyone complaining about that. I credit this first beef you have to the fact that it is the final of the trilogy, so you are over-analyzing it even though no one analyzed TDK this bad.
Batman is gone for years. The chief of police is a guy looking to make it big. What’s bigger: capture the Batman (making big headlines and being the guy who got Batman and cashing in the PR, much like Obama did with Osama lol), or catching some bank robbers, hitting the news, then it being forgot about in a matter of weeks. The chief ordered all cars available to go after Batman. So they did. There were a lot of police cars, yes, but I believe that was more to emphasize how badly they wanted Batman. And the Bat? Well that’s just Batman making sure to find his way to where he parked it… How is that hard to fathom?
The LoS were trying to make the police feel they needed to go down into the sewers in full force. They convinced the police they had an “army” in the sewers that needed to be dealt with and they banked off of the police chief’s unwillingness to really try to send search parties originally. My thought is that the LoS formulated the execution of their plan as they gauged the police’s reaction. The police played right into the LoS’s hands. They effectively tricked the police into going down into the sewers during the time their master plan was being executed. I think the LoS having all this information (most likely from henchmen of the sewer army dispatched into the city for recon) is more believable than some of the s*** that the Joker was able to do… Just saying. If the police in the sewer thing happened in the comics, no one would question it. Movies are all about timing. The LoS had it down, and I would expect them to…
The LoS could easily have moles, scout teams, etc. that could find out about this plot… Maybe there’s a few LoS cops in the sewers feeding them information? It’s a comic book movie, man, have a little imagination. Does Nolan need to spell absolutely everything out? And what? Batman has good timing again? It isn’t far from where Batman lights the flame on the bridge.
It took Batman 22 days to return to Gotham… Needless to say he had plenty of time. Once again, it’s a movie and it’s BATMAN. Batman is always impeccable in his timing. Always has been. His back was broken, and he comes back regaining health quickly (from an injury that, from the perspective of a friend of mine in med school, should not be fixed the way it was.. unless it was his lower back. Then there was a slight possibility it could be done. And it was) because he is BATMAN. I’m sure you can at least let that one slide… Yes, the movies are grounded in reality, but it’s a movie. Even if something only has a slight chance, it can always happen right? That’s what so many movies are based off of man…
It was calculated to the second by the scientist. Bruce Wayne read the man’s paper and put in a timer on his machine just in case. Do we really need to hover over such a small detail?
They didn’t believe they could fail. The LoS’s mission wasn’t just to destroy Gotham. It was to break Bruce Wayne. That’s why Bane did what he did to Bruce. “Why didn’t you kill me?” “Why, that would be too easy. I am going to break your soul.” “There is no true despair without hope.” The LoS gave Gotham hope, the world hope, and Bruce Wayne hope to instigate true despair.
Theatricality. Something Batman takes very literally as Rahs put it very well in the first movie. It goes with being a symbol, letting people know Batman has returned. How long did it take? It’s Batman, it could have taken him maybe 15 minutes.
She had time to mess around with it while she was waiting for the signal to blow open the tunnel. It was dark when she was given the bike. It was morning when she was at the tunnel… She had plenty of time. As for her timing? Dude, it’s a movie. She found her way back and made it in the nick of time. Happens all the time in any movie…
They didn’t have time to get organized and make a plan. They knew it was running out. They desperately and quickly got everyone together and made for a charge. Sure, they could maybe have come up with something a little better, but what they did is believable.
I’m willing to admit that the movie does have flaws. Too many good timing moments? Maybe. Wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to line up in the street to attack? I guess. Probably seemed like a good idea to them. It’s tough getting them all together.
Anyway, I’m happy to discuss this further. I welcome any disagreement you have. You are entitled to your opinion, I’m aware of that. I just hope that you might see some things about the movie a little differently with another person’s perspective.
this film would have been a lot different if H.Ledger would not have died. I think the film came out great. Was it rushed, yes, but i think that nolan wanted to tie it up in this third film. Had he been able to keep the joker, i believe he might has well made a fourth movie. to be honest, after TDK, I felt we would be in store for 6 movies, but things happen that just make people change there mind and move on. I found out that Nolan had wanted to have the riddler in his film. Along with Bane and Tilia, also catwoman, you would have to figure it would take atleast a COUPLE movies to take place so it didnt fell rushed. I for one thought that maybe had H.Ledger lived, Nolan would merly intoduce H.Quinn, Riddler, and Tilia into his 3 film, with the first since of the TDKR coming at the end of the movie. Nolan did a great job with the film, now that hes done i’ll be waiting to see what he works on next. wish it was TMNT, seeing how Michael Bay is just in love with Aliens or somtheing. But I can Live with Inception 2, or Extraction.
I wish people would move on from TDK & Ledger’s performance as the Joker.
Late to the party because three straight hours of down time during (matinee hours) was hard to find. Everybody who saw the movie before me didn’t want to give anything away, so I knew it would be good.
I can count he list of third sequels that don’t suck on one hand and still have two fingers left over: Goldfinger, Return of the King, and Prisoner of Azkaban. One thing these films have in common and that is that they were adapted from already successful books that were part of a series. This is the very first ORIGINAL decent third sequel!
Nolan played fast and loose with the source canon, but the character threads meshed together so well that you didn’t care that Bane was now an Afrikaner and not a Latino. IMO, despite the seeming finality of Bain and Talia’s farewell were never on a suicide mission. A nuclear blast spreads far and wide, but it doesn’t go that deep. Bain wouldn’t have taken all that time and trouble to build an extensive underground lair only to be caught on the surface when the bomb went off, and he wouldn’t have passed up the chance to survey his handiwork and savor the pain of not only Batman, but also GCPD’s finest, as they re-emerged into the ruins of Gotham. Likewise Talia was likely on her way to the top of the highest parking structure in town, where she and her henchman would’ve parked the bomb, rapelled down the side, and vanished down a convenient manhole.
They would’ve gotten away with it too if the Catwoman hadn’t turned hero on them. Some say Bain went down too easy, but I say that was in keeping with Nolan’s “realistic” vision. You can be the biggest bad-ass on the planet, but a pair of vehicle-mounted 20MM anti-tank guns is still a whole lot badder, and there won’t even be enough of you left to have a decent “death scene”.
Bright eyes,
Any Nuke set off at ground level is going to leave a pretty large and deep crater. Deeper than they could hide. He broke Gotham with Conventional weapons.
Depends on the horizontal, as well as the vertical distance from ground zero, in the time it took for Batman to fly ten miles out to sea, Bain and Talia cold have easily driven half a mile underground, also wether Bain constructed a hardened bunker, which he certainly had the time and resources to do.
Now that is very true, but they didn’t show them preparing for it, so one would assume it didn’t get done/built. But, the bomb itself was on the truck and moving around plus he was no where near sticking his head in the sand.
they couldn’t have outraced the detonation on foot or a vehicle.
Greatest superhero moive of all time better than dark knight
Batman begins 7.5/10
Dark knight8.5/10
Dark knight rises 10/10
The hype for this moive was so much that some people would say this moive is terrible unless it was perfect and the funny thing is it was pefect the only flaw was the banes cheap death.
You are absolutely righr.
So I have finally watched the Dark Knight Rises.
This film is definitely difficult to review and would most likely need other viewings to fully realise how I feel about this film. But overall I enjoyed it…a lot.
By no way am I saying this film is perfect by any means, nor am I saying that others who did not enjoy the film are wrong to think so. I am someone who views the film as both a fan of Batman, comics, and Nolan’s series and as a normal moviegoer-cinema lover. Both sides enjoyed the film and both saw things that I felt needed improvement.
I will go deeper into it when I have more of a chance but I would give the film a 4.5 out of 5. Another rewrite and some switching around position of characters and their purpose (i.e have a certain character reveal his/her true motivation earlier and thus explore that character more and his/her relationship to other characters) and some throwaway liners to address the seeming plot holes.
I felt this film overall completed the character arcs and the trilogy storylines in a satisfying fashion but understand some gripes that others have. I felt it tried to much to reach back to Batman Begins and limited in not mentioning elements from the second film. I loved the Trilogy as a whole and the IMAX experience of the Dark Knight Rises was phenominal.
For reasons that would take alot of space & time i might discuss my likes & dislikes of each film in TDK trilogy. For now here’s how id rate them by stars.
Batman Begins- 4 stars
The Dark Knight- 3 stars
The Dark Knight Rises- 3 1/2 stars
Another rewrite would have done the film wonders as it was it was the excution of story details on print that made this film stop short of a masterpiece that it could have easily been. Maybe just a four star after another viewing but no less and that alone is impressive being a third part in a trilogy coming after the success and hype of The Dark Knight(2008) and Batman Begins(2005). While it may not be the best in the trilogy, the film is easily the most successful visually and emotionally with subtle themes and epic set pieces that elevate this film (along with its predecessors) into a league of its own in the genre. The cast is impressive as usual, inlcuding newcomers to the franchise, and is visually the most sophisticated and the largest in scale. The script suffered in a few areas and the film does ask for some leap of faith despite the positives, but even while not reaching its full potential The Dark Knight Rises is a worthy conclusion and cements The Dark Knight Trilogy as far ahead of its competitors in scale, beauty, sophistication, entertainment, and heart & mind.
Agreed, The Dark Knight Rises wasn’t the best of the trilogy, but it was more than worthy for the series. I thought Bane really shined, but Selina Kyle stole the show (maybe because I was expecting her to be oh so bad.) The twists and turns in the last twenty minutes could hardly be handled! I just wrote a comparison review between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Feel free to check it out…www.haydensmovies.com
This movie was by far the worst in the series. I got the overall feeling that Nolan really didn’t try very hard to make it good. After TDK came out he did state that he had no desire to make another one. His heart obviously wasn’t in it and the end result shows it.
What killed it for me weren’t the many flaws, ridiculous scenarios, or even the impossible ones. It’s a superhero movie! Of course Batman can get his back broken, heal it in a few months, climb (and fall twice) out of a giant hole, make it back to Gotham (which is completely closed off) with no resources, and still manage to beat the %$#@ out of the guy who “broke him” in the first place. My problem with TDKR is the lack of Dark Knight in the movie. He’s only in the movie three times! You could easily turn this into just another action movie by taking Batman out completely, changing the names, and a few plot details. Oh well, at least I still have The Man Of Steel to look forward to next year! Overall, it was still an entertaining three hours of my life and not a total waste of film.
I’ve read some reviews that expressed disappointment over the Miranda Tate twist at the end. I think this is misunderstood and that it was a brilliant resolution to a theme that was introduced in ‘The Dark Knight.’ The disasterous resolution of the love triangle between Bruce, Rachel and Harvey resulted in the deaths of Rachel and Harvey. In ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ we see the results this has had on Bruce. Unable to move on with his life after Batman. His life after Batman was Rachel. We are again introduced to a milder version of a love triangle here, where two women earn Bruce’s trust. Miranda Tate, who has done everything to earn Bruce’s trust, and Selina Kyle, who has done everything not to earn Bruce’s trust. Anyways, this love triangle is resolved with one betraying Bruce/Batman and the other proving that she is everything Bruce thinks she is. This love triangle paradigm is resolved successfully and we see Bruce being able to move on with his life after Batman.
So the movie again yesterday and while I loved it the first time, I loved it all the more the second time.
My first time seeing this movie i thought that it was amazing, but did think that some scenes were a bit rushed and and some were dragged out. After watching it a second time, I totally disagree with my original interpretation and woudl up this movie to 4.5 star movie because as a final installment in a trilogy it is damn near flawless.
Only thing I could argue may be a problem is that if you havent seen or remember the first two batman movies you may have difficulty following. I saw the movie this time with my girlfriend and she really didnt remember the first two movies but it took me 2-3 minutes to fill her in and she was fine.
Gotta say though what an excellent film. It is remarkable what Nolan has accomplished with this franchise and all the haters out there, yes thsi is a long film, but so was LOTR and one of thise won best pic. Doubt that NOlan will get the recognition he deserves from the academy but to me, those people are a bunch of idiots. I mean DiCaprio has never even won an award there, who cares
And 3 reasons why this will end up making less money in the Avengers:
1- Avengers was the first actual blockbuster release of teh summer (even tho it wasnt summer at the Time)…
2- Avengers was in 3D and 3D prices were thru the roof
3- Avengers was less violent and dark and more geared towards children. I know many pl that would not take their younger ones to the TDKR but took them to the Avengers
this is all bulls***! the reviewer, the commenter!! Batman isn’t real!
Saw this movie for the first time a couple weeks ago at the IMAX in San Francisco while visiting home. If I had seen it in any IMAX theater nearby here Orem, UT where I currently reside I would have never had realized how grand an experience this film can be. I honestly don’t know how I can bring myself to see this movie on any other format. Critics, especially on websites like this, should alert movie goers of the differences that exist between true 15/70 IMAX screens, and the overpriced “IMAX” auditoriums that are popping up in every regular sized cineplex across the nation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BQyLjWXiTl0
Just a comedic review of The Dark Knight Rises.
To all:
The late Ledger’s, The Joker lives in us all.
We’ll will look at life just like he did.
So EDC “Every Day Carry”
All 3 Nolans trilogies of TDK’s is out of this WORLD!!
If you haven’t heard anything about “ The Dark Knight Rises,” you’ve probably been living in a cave for the past few months. This amazing superhero thriller has been making box office records since its opening weekend. Although a tragic shooting was involved with this movie, it’s a movie that’s worth seeing.
The movie itself is very well done. Intriguing the viewer, the script does not bore you, and it’s complemented by flawless acting. The special effects are done perfectly, with explosions that never bore the audience and plenty of good fights. Gotham, the fictional city in which the story takes place, has so much detail that you often forgot it doesn’t exist.
This movie has very interesting characters: Bruce Wayne/Batman, Bane(the villain), Robin John Blake(Batman’s sidekick), and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Wayne, a billionaire socialite looking to protect Gotham, is an appealing character who never really says much, but is easy to understand. The villain of the story, Bane, has a brutal style of fighting that’s only purpose is to cause the victim excruciating pain. He communicates with people in such a manner that makes it impossible to read his emotion, making him an even better antagonist. Batman’s sidekick, Robin, wants nothing more than to protect Gotham and its orphaned boys, making him an excellent character that you grow to respect. And lastly, there’s Selina Kyle, a cat burglar who steals jewels, who offers a character that isn’t violent like the others and prefers to run away from dangerous situations, much like a cat would do. Throughout the film, she works her way into Wayne’s trust and eventually wins his heart.
Overall, “The Dark Knight Rises,” a wonderful film with a good combination of action, romance, and suspense, will definitely keep you entertained. So be sure to stop by a movie theatre and check it out. You won’t be disappointed!
this needs to come out on dvd,This was the best movie of 2012 and to me it beat avengers it made u think alot and there was constant action.
well, I think christian bale as batman didn’t die,he was escaped in right time before expolited. so in the next sequel batman and robin will rise up together and might their enemy is thalia al ghul as poison ivy would be together with Mr. freeze or riddler,I believe it cause alfred told bruce wayne as fast story might has explained before Bruce and Alfred debate Batman’s future in tense, tender exchanges and alfred leave bruce wayne. alfred said “I see you “Mr. bruce wayne” sitting front of me in italy”
How do you follow up one of the best comic book-inspired films of all time anchored by an immediately iconic performance? You go bigger. You raise the stakes. And you put an exclamation point on the end of it. That’s what Christopher Nolan did to close out his awe-inspiring take on the legend of Batman and that is why this is the best movie i have ever seen!!
What an epic conclusion to the best trilogy ever!!
The climax was fantastic!!
Absolutely loved it!!
Tom Hardy was really good as Bane but not as good as Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight
The movie has a lot of memorable moments such as Bane hijacking the airplane in the beginning and the prison scene
Absolutely fantastic direction from Christopher Nolan kept us thinking all the time
And the background score by the legendary Hans Zimmer , its just Amazing!! My favorite one is The Fire Rises
I can watch this film again and again!!
I am just disappointed that this is the last Batman movie directed by Christopher Nolan
The Dark Knight Rises succeeds in surpassing 2008′s ‘The Dark Knight’ to become the best of his three films. Whether that will be enough to secure his Best Picture Oscar is frankly irrelevant – because what matters is that this is Batman’s best picture.
I wanted to really like this movie but….
First the sound track by Hans Zimmer. Like the previous entry. A brooding gothic masterpiece that adds dread.
For the film. Obviously the death of ledger hurt Nolan’s directing vision. He toned the movie down to a point of dullness. A plodding end to a trilogy with promise.
The Dark Knight Rises as the final part to the trilogy was by far the best of all three in my opinion. Batman Begins was a very good movie, whereas The Dark Knight was an awesome one, and then Rise which was a great movie. Batman Begins opened up a chapter for Bruce Wayne/Batman to find himself about what he can do for his city, and for himself. At the end of Begins opened up the chapter of Joker. In TDK Joker was the bad guy played by Heath Ledger (R.I.P); Joker is who/what that made this movie. Christian Bale was great, but Joker played his role extraordinary which the fans loved. The Dark Knight Rises then came with the bad villain called bane. Both Joker and Bane were great villains, but the thing that sets them apart is that Joker is just wild loose cannon of a bad guy who just don’t care, whereas; Bane will just acknowledge you then kill you. One of the acknowledgements he gave which I thought was interesting which spiced up the movie was when he stated “What a lovely lovely voice,” and then he blew up the stadium. TDKR is thought was the best of all three of Christopher Nolan’s work among the three, because the plot line was just too great. People say they didn’t like it because there weren’t enough fighting in it. TDK I feel come close to TDKR only because of the role played by the Joker. He had people thinking throughout the movie. On the other hand the Rises was just a great straight forward great plot which allows Wayne/Batman to find himself back in the game to give the city of Gotham their trust and strength back up to date. This also allowed him to change Selina Kyle (Ann Hathaway) from being all about herself, to actually do something good for her city. Nolan has done a great job with the Batman trilogy, and I hope that the next writer/director take some notes on it, and not give us cartoon like work.
referring to what I was saying about the montage. You know 3-4 months has passed when they start talking about how many days are left, 23 days, THEN you see Bruce escape from the pit. You then come in 22 or so days later to find that there is one day left until the bomb blows. Then Batman arrives in Gotham to help. Sorry I mistyped that point.
@ John Q
Can’t believe you’ve just said that.
Was that suppose to be funny? I suppose compassion for those who lost loved ones is a lost art.
Despite the fact that you are entitled to your own opinion about the film, that comment was uncalled for, inappropriate, and just down-right terrible and cruel. It makes me sick of what you had just said.
The offending comment has been removed And the offender is being banned.
We will NOT condone that kind of talk on this site.
I thought that TDKR was going to be epic, and after TDK could hardly contain myself. When I finally got the chance to see this film, I clearly felt that it was an epic let down. I thought that some of the nuances and fight sequences was well done, but not enough to save this film. There were so many things that did not add up and so many holes in the story that was unbelievable. The pace was so slow and the dialogue was not even enough to keep me interested. I am not saying TDK didn’t have its issues, or even BB, but this one left me so irritated. Wether you are basing this from the graphic novels, original comic books or whatever, the pieces just do not fit. Talia protected by Bane? What about the whole titan formula that made Bane the brute he is. There is no character development of Bane at all. It felt really rushed and that the storyline was often trying to stretch itself beyond what it was. I thought that both the Batman video games, Arkham Asylum and Arkham City had much better plots and character development. Make them into movies, since it seems that the franchise is finished and went out with a thud instead of a bang. Why can’t DC get there act together to make films as great as the first two installments. I even felt that Green Lantern was more entertaining in is obsurdness. It’s just my opinion.
Can you give some examples of the plot holes that you noted? I’m interested in hearing.
First off, the film opens up after eight years, and it is explained that Bruce Wayne had given up the bat and took to being a complete recluse in his mansion. He was aged and hobbled using a cane to get around. A man that was completely consumed by rage and desire for justice, just turns it off because Rachel Dawes was killed? That is not even close to being the character that we have grown to love in both the comics, graphic novels and film adaptations. Why not explain some angle of how Batman had continued to fight crime in the span and possibly try to explain the injuries that left our hero in such a bad state. Are we to believe that he was left injured like this do to his seclusion in his mansion? Did he trip on a skateboard? Then there is not one mention of the Joker throughout the whole film, but they constantly speak of Harvey Dent. I truly believe that what the Joker had put Gotham through, it would have at least earned mentioning, more so than Harvey Dent’s death at the hands of Batman. Then Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson) makes an appearance in a dream sequence and leads you to believe that Bane is his son. Find out truth later, that he was the protector of Ra’s daughter Talia. Never in any story I have read or heard of do these characters evr coincide in their histories. They do not explain how Bane got to the state he is in, and never explain the mask he wears. They make it seem as though he cannot take it off or he will die, so how does he eat, drink, etc… It is just not well written and I for one have been a long time fan of Nolan’s works and thought it was not up to par with what his first two films laid out. It wasn’t the worst film I have seen this year, Prometheus was much worse, but it still just did not give enough to be considered a great film.
You must have missed a LOT when you watched the movie.
Batman didn’t stop only because Rachel was killed. That was one of the biggest reasons he was beaten down, yes, but also he had to run away because the city considered him a murderer. Also, the legacy of Harvey Dent that he created helped clean up the streets, so he was needed even less. His job was done, he wasn’t needed, wasn’t wanted, and ON TOP of that, yes Rachel died and he felt almost no meaning in life.
You seem to forget that he screwed up his back when he fell those 3 or so stories with Dent and landed on his back. After being shot. And apparently Bruce Wayne never really walked around for all those years, and the lack of use of his legs (on top of the regular damage from being Batman) messed up his cartilage (as shown and explained in the x-rays before he visits Gordon in the hospital).
Joker caused all the chaos, sure, but Dent’s legacy had the greatest lasting effect. Also, are you really pissed that they didn’t mention the Joker?? Especially when you know the real-world reasons behind it (i.e. out of respect for Heath Ledger)??? I’m going to go ahead and comply with Screenrant’s policy by refraining from personal attacks here.
Sure Bane and Talia may not have coincided in the comics. But neither was Joker the same Joker as the comics, nor was Harvey Dent, nor were a lot of things in Nolan’s world exactly the way they were in the comics. It’s called creative license, and this is one of the very rare cases when the director doesn’t completely crap on the source material – he just changed it JUST a little bit to make it work into a meaningful, original story. So appreciate it.
Bane got into that state when he helped Talia escape, and the prisoners tore his face up afterwards. The surgeon (who kept talking to Bruce Wayne in the different language tried to fix him up but screwed up, leaving Bane in a state of constant agony. The mask numbs the pain to tolerable levels so he can function. How does he eat, drink? Well nobody explicitly said he can never ever take it off for an instant. Also, why are you concerned about whether he can eat or drink? This is a world where a grown man is dressed up like a giant bat so he can punch people in anonymity, and here you are focusing on a completely irrelevant point of how a guy can eat and drink because he has a mask on.
Thank you for your time, and that is all.
LOL…I don’t know why some people complain about so much irrelevancy. I mean stuff like SPOILERS…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….How did he make his journey back from point A to point B after recovering and climbing out of Bane’s prison and so on and so on…..
funny how falling 3 stories and landing on a dirt pile screwed up his back, yet he fell some 30+ stories and landed on a car in TDK and was just fine with that. This movie sufferes from lazy story-telling, but because the storyteller is Nolan, everybody just accepts it, and answers any question about the contrived plot devices with “because he’s batman”
well, I’m not buying it. I call shenanigans!
He’s Batman and he had 22 days to do it. He has extensive experience traveling the globe without divulging identity or spending money… He was traveling the world (and criminal underworld) for years in Batman Begins…
Hey Kofi,
How can I get on the payroll to explain everything and counterpoint everyone like you guys are paying Justin to?
Ugh.. frigg’n Gov PC.
“…are paying Justin to do?”