"The Dark Knight Rises"

Adaptation, , Crime, Sequel. Rated PG-13. 2 hours, 44 minutes.

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After being a recluse for eight years, the Batman decides to come out of retirement to save Gotham City in “The Dark Knight Rises.”

The third installment of Christopher Nolan’s excellent Dark Knight trilogy is one of the most anticipated movies in recent memory, so this is a movie that will be highly scrutinized over the next few months. “The Dark Knight” was about as close to perfection as a filmmaker could get, in large part due to Heath Ledger’s legendary performance as The Joker. So TDKR will undoubtedly be compared to its predecessor for years and years.

Personally, I think the two movies are pretty close to equal, the only exception being that no one can match Ledger’s Joker. That is not to say that Tom Hardy’s Bane is not intense and terrifying. Or that Anne Hathoway’s Selina Kyle is not conflicted and sexy. Both are great in their roles and add a lot to the universe Nolan has created.

All of the old favorites are back as well. Christian Bale continues to show that he is one of the best actors in Hollywood with his third portrayal of Bruce Wayne. Michael Caine brings you to tears multiple times as Wayne’s surrogate father, Alfred the butler. Gary Oldman shines once again as Commissioner Gordon, and this time he is given a brash, up and coming cop by the name of John Blake to play off of. Blake is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Gordon-Levitt is actually the best addition to the cast. He’s on the verge of becoming a mega huge movie star and has the talent to back it up. After this and “Inception,” I am extremely excited to see what we’ll see Nolan and Gordon-Levitt work on together in the future.

Speaking of Nolan, he continues to see how grand and epic he can make these movies. Four years ago I though “The Dark Knight” literally felt like the biggest movie I had ever seen. Then “Inception” came around and rivaled its grandness. No doubt here, TDKR is on an even bigger scale. But when your movie takes place in the world’s biggest city, it has to match that scale. The film is also two hours and 45 minutes, but it never drags on. In fact, sitting in the theater, knowing that this is the conclusion to Nolan’s trilogy, I really didn’t want the movie to end and it could not have gone on for too long.

I have a couple complaints about the film though. I won’t get into one of them because it involves giving away the entire ending. The other has to do with Bane’s voice. It’s not that I had a hard time understanding what Hardy was saying. But it sounds too over the top and cartoony. It didn’t seem to match up with this menacing and imposing figure Hardy is portraying. Bane’s voice is a minor complaint, although I do have quite a problem with the ending, because I don’t feel it is something one of the main characters would do.

Despite my issues with the ending, this is still a fantastic movie, and I would recommend seeing it more than once.

P.S. Watch out for a reference to Detroit while Bruce Wayne is researching Selina Kyle’s criminal record!

OVERALL RATING: A

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Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures

The Dark Knight Rises movie poster