The Dark Knight Rises
Bottom Line: The Dark Knight Rises…rises but never falls.
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Alon Moni Aboutboul, Anne Hathaway, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Matthew Modine, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy
Editor’s note: Unless you honestly believe that “Bruce Wayne is Batman” is a spoiler (God help us all if that is so), then yes, this is a spoiler-free review.
I do love films very, very much. Otherwise I would not be devoting so much of my life to writing about them. I do have some cinematic pet peeves, however. My biggest, by far, is the art of “threequels”. It’s as if the filmmakers have a lazy idea that they can construct a great movie, follow it up with another great one, and then–now that they have the audience’s attention and anticipation–burn away all the guarantee for a great third entry with a continuing sequel that works more for money than for story. I could write a book about how frequently this occurs in the film industry. Christopher Nolan makes his epic Batman interpretation a rare exception, though. Admittedly, it isn’t the best of the trilogy; it’s close to nothing in comparison to 2008′s THE DARK KNIGHT, which is considered by many to be the greatest superhero film ever made. As the “superhero movie” begins to solidify as its own single genre, consisting of a fair range in quality like any other genre does, I would not likely hesitate to place THE DARK KNIGHT RISES in the top five.
