The Dark Knight Rises: Review By FilmBuff19

Well, after waiting 4 years we finally get Christopher Nolan's third entry into his Batman franchise. And boy does it do justice where most trilogies fall flat. Not only is The Dark Knight Rises a great ending but it also leaves the audiences with just the right amount of everything that made the first two films so good. Now, I'm not saying it's better than The Dark Knight or Batman Begins but it definatley does belong somewhere between the two. In fact I actually prefer this movie over Batman Begins, as I did with The Dark Knight. I just thought everything in this movie was amped up like it's previous sequel. So if I were to put them in order of likability it'd probably go: The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Batman Begins. So, let me give my reasons why.

First off, this movie had a great ensemble of actors. Christian Bale is not really my favorite Batman, but in this movie I ended up liking him this time around. Mainly because of what challenges he faces in this film. I won't go into what those are but all you need to know is Bruce Wayne/Batman are both tested. Anne Hathaway gives a reviting performance as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Her snarky and slick persona gives her version of Catwoman a well deserved revival. But the two characters that stood out to me the most was John Blake and Bane, played by Joseph Gordon Levitt and Tom Hardy. Blake has to be one of the most interesting law enforcers I've ever seen in a movie. He's just a really smart guy. His stradegies alone make for an impressive character. Now, we come to the main villian Bane. I'm sure alot of people were thinking they were going to be let down since they'd been left with Heath Ledger's Joker from the last film. I didn't feel this way at all. When I heard Tom Hardy was playing Bane, I was like "Oh yeah, that's great casting. He's going to sell that role." And he did. Bane is not only the bronze but also the brain. His mind works like a machine. As well as his body for that matter. It made since to me that he was chosen since he would test Batman both physically and mentally. For filling the footsteps of the Joker, Bane makes for a worthy villian to stand in his shadow. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman all do what power house actors need to do in a Batman film, help Batman. And they do it to the fullest of expectations. I would like to mention one other character but I'd rather wait for you to find out yourself because it's a pretty good reveal.

Secondly, the visuals. Oh my god is this a massive scaled movie. Everything done in this film is huge. Down to the actions or the camera work, it's major. That's actually the main reason I like it over Batman Begins. Begins had a few gripping scenes but it never felt this large. The Dark Knight does it well too but I felt this movie went bigger and beat it out in at least that category. Set peices always impress in these movies. Hans Zimmer's score even feels massive. Like he was giving this movie all the build up he could muster. The stakes were increased, the choices were intense, and it's just gives this movie that scale that makes for excellent visuals.

So for what was given to us I'd say I was pretty impressed. It's one of those rare trilogies that gives the audience the satisfaction that was expected. Now of course people are saying that this isn't really the end and there's talk of another sequel. Well if that's the case it's probably not going to be for a fairly long time. However if this is the ending, I can say it was very worth the wait and I'm absolutley thrilled with how this series ended. Christopher Nolan, thank you for giving Batman it's impact back. We could'nt have been more thrilled.