Nolan’s final Batman movie hits gold

This film needs no introduction. By now, almost everyone knows the story of Batman, thanks to the seven-year trilogy Christopher Nolan brought us. Gone are the bam-and-pow days of Adam West, and the cringe-worthy performances of George Clooney. Nolan stripped the character of Batman down to his bare bones, and presented us what has now been dubbed the “Dark Knight Trilogy.”

Nolan has offered us a dark, realistic take on the Caped Crusader, opting to use more obscure comic story lines instead of the popular, more well-known ones. The results were clear as the trilogy stands a thematic, narrative masterpiece, seemingly transitioning from one movie to the next, without missing a beat (excluding the Rachel Dawes recast). 

But enough about the trilogy as a whole, let’s talk about “Dark Knight Rises.” As with each film in the Dark Knight trilogy, the “Dark Knight Rises” stands as a fantastic individual movie as well as a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy. 

The story is obviously much more layered and complex, but the general plot is about Batman’s return to the city of Gotham after eight years of little to no appearance. Gotham is a thriving city with little crime thanks to the Dent Act. A terrorist known as Bane threatens the city and Bruce Wayne must once again put on the cape to thwart the plot.

Christian Bale gives his finest performance yet, showing not only the complexities of Bruce Wayne, but also the age and the weight that Batman carries. Gary Oldman, as Commisioner Gordon, is not as impressive as he was in “Dark Knight,” mostly due to the lack of screentime in the first act of the film, but he still leaves his mark and shows an incredible amount of realistic growth while remaining somewhat clumsy like he was in “Batman Begins” and “Dark Knight.”

Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Tom Hardy portray Selina Kyle, John Blake, Miranda Tate, and Bane, respectively. The newcomers each hold themselves well, particularly Hathaway. While some will criticize Hardy for his Bane voice, Hardy delivers his lines with excellence and portrays a calculated man with a plan very well. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are, as always, fantastic. 

In true Nolan style, the cinematography and music are fantastic. Hans Zimmer reuses some of his original score from the first two films, but also includes a great theme for Bane. 

The film is a masterpiece. It is an entirely satisfying conclusion to the Dark Knight trilogy that represents everything Batman has come to embody in the last seven years. While the film isn’t as great as “Dark Knight” (could it ever be?), it is everything you could ask for in a follow-up. The hope is that Hollywood leaves the Batman franchise untouched for a few decades, but as with anything that makes tons of money, there already seems to be plans for a reboot. 

Final Score:

4 out of 4 stars