STRENGTHS: It'll be hard for another film in 2012 to beat The Dark Knight Rises in terms of sheer scale and spectacle (the only likely contender being Peter Jackson's The Hobbit). The finale to the Dark Knight Trilogy is a veritable showcase of superior blockbuster movie making - and unlike, say, a Michael Bay Transformers movie, Chris Nolan provides actual substance to go with all the flash. With the best performance yet by Christian Bale in the central role, and a cast of new talent - Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt - all stepping up to the plate and delivering, The Dark Knight Rises is, in technical terms, a masterfully-crafted comic book blockbuster.
WEAKNESSES: Like The Avengers, Dark Knight Rises isn't just a movie - its's a cinematic event. Unlike The Avengers, however, Dark Knight Rises arguably did not live up to the hype. Granted, the hype hanging over it was nearly impossible to ever live up to, but there is a definite sense that while it will undoubtedly be looked upon as a great film - at the end of the day, many people will not regard Dark Knight Rises as the best film in the trilogy. Whether it was too serious, overstuffed, or was simply missing that key villain (The Joker), Dark Knight Rises just couldn't fully recapture (or surpass) the magic that many felt when watching The Dark Knight.
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