The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

   I have been looking forward to this film for so long. Literally the second The Dark Knight (2008) finished, I was ready for the next film. After four years of anticipation, I am so glad it lived up to my expectations. It was great. I personally think it's the best film of 2012 so far, in a year that has been so good for big blockbusters - Marvel's Avengers Assemble, The Muppets, The Hunger Games etc.
   Despite the opening weekend being marred by the shootings in Aurora, The Dark Knight Rises grossed approximately $162M in North America - a few million dollars shy of the estimate takings, but still a promising start to a healthy return for the studio - after investing $400M on the film's production and marketing.
   So, moving on to the film itself - I thought it was fantastic. I could've quite happily have re-watched it, immediately after. There was not one aspect of the film that I thought lacked in quality. The acting, the effects, the storyline itself were all impeccable, in my opinion. Sure, the storyline was a traditional 'City in trouble, Superhero saves the day' plot, but that's what it should be.
   Nolan as a director was fantastic yet again, he really made the film distinguishable as his. It retained the darkness yet polished style the other two films in the Batman trilogy, also a style that I felt carried through to Inception (2010). Dark Knight Rises, had certain 'wow' shots, particularly the scene in the football stadium - I felt the film got the balance right between C.G.I and real footage, it wasn't over the top like in say, Transformers or other non-stop-action blockbusters. It's also worth mentioning that not only did Nolan direct the film, he also produced the film and co-wrote the screenplay.

Bane (Hardy) and Batman (Bale) get ready to fight in the City's sewers.

   The acting was incredible, Tom Hardy was astonishing as his role as Bane. I personally think that Hardy was as strong as Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight, but I'm not sure many will agree with me. They were two very different roles, but I think Hardy excelled as Bane. The physical aspect of the role, in my opinion gave another dimension to the villain. Whereas the Joker was more psychological, which worked well and Ledger deserved all the praise he got - but I personally felt that Bane was a more straightforward, traditional villain, and I felt it worked well.
   The entire cast was great as an ensemble, Michael Caine proved that even at 79 years of age, he's still a fantastic actor - reprising his role as Alfred. Anne Hathaway was stunning as Catwoman as well, much better than Halle Berry was in the 2004 film, and much more attractive as well - I'm sure every red-blooded male watching the film enjoyed seeing Hathaway in leather, bent over Batman's motorcycle. I am actually struggling to pin-point single actor/actresses in the film, as the entire cast was spot on - Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Christian Bale as Batman himself, were all fantastic and looked comfortable in the roles they had made their own in the previous two installments. The last person I will mention is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I personally thought was fantastic in both 500 Days of Summer (2009) and when he worked in Nolan's Inception (2010). Despite not having a huge role to play in the film, he still didn't look out of place in a cast of big stars.

      Anne Hathaway as the leather-clad Catwoman      

   Storyline wise, as I said earlier, it was predictable - yet the plot twists weren't always so apparent. The ending itself will have many people in gasps of shock, especially Gordon-Levitt's final scene - which has the audience wondering of a possible fourth film in the series, if not more.
The final fight scene between Bane and Batman was probably my favourite part of the film, I felt that it epitomised the fight between good and evil - with Batman fighting side by side with the police of Gotham City, as he tries to save the civilians. It showed that despite some of the ups and downs in the trilogy, such as when the Batman is blamed for Harvey Dent's death, the people of Gotham know he's a hero and a good guy after all. There's also an emotional Alfred scene or two which I thought were great, Caine's acting as Alfred is flawless and he really connects with the audience, despite not being in the film the whole way through. I am struggling to find a word to describe his acting in the Batman films, other than 'cute'. To see how much he cares about Bruce Wayne provokes quite an emotional response from the audience.
   All in all, I thought the film was fantastic, I seriously suggest that you go see this film. If it wasn't for The Hobbit's release due in December of this year, I would already say that no other film will be as good as this in 2012. The acting, the plot twists, the camera work, it's all fantastic. I would, however, suggest watching (or re-watching) the other two films in the trilogy, to truly get the most out of The Dark Knight Rises, as there are certain aspects of the film which would be better understood if the rest of the trilogy was fresh in your memory. A great job by Christopher Nolan and a great way to wrap up the trilogy (or set up another film?). I loved this film. 10/10.

 All pictures used are © Warner Bros Pictures