The Dark Knight Rises - Spoiler Free Movie Review

There is a special place in hell reserved for movie spoilers, especially when there's so much excitement surrounding a release, so I will give you the bare bones and try, very hard, not to gush at any point. K?


Who's in it?

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman & Anne Hathaway

What's it about? 

Easily one of the most anticipated films of 2012, if not of the last 5 years, The Dark Knight Rises is Christopher Nolan's final film in the Batman Trilogy.The movie picks up 8 years after Harvey Dent's death, Bruce Wayne is a recluse - hidden from the world, scarred both mentally and physically from past battles with his adversaries. It will take a event of epic proportions to bring him back to the streets of Gotham, it's handy then that an event of epic proportions is just about to unfold. 

Batman is all too often overshadowed by the baddies in his own movies, there's not an actor alive that could outplay Heath as the Joker for example but TDKR is Batman's swansong and Nolan, quite rightly, gives Bale centre stage. That's not to say he's not surrounded by an exemplary cast. Michael Caine charms as the affable Alfred. Joseph- Gordon Levitt as the slow-burning, almost show stealing cop and Anne Hathaway is surprisingly good as sultry cat burglar Selina Kyle, she almost impresses enough to be forgiven for One Day. Almost. 

Then there's Bane, Tom Hardy is larger than life, a monster in every sense of the word. They took a real chance with this villain's voice (altered because of his face mask) and, for the most part, it paid off. There were moments of incoherence though, some lines too inaudible to make their impact. I can see it being a marmite movie element with film goers. There is enough, story wise, to satiate even the most devout of fans, look out for cameos, for in jokes and for loose ends and previous threads being neatly woven into the plot.

There's an awful lot going on in TDKR, occasionally pacing was an issue but the thumping score from Zimmer assisted brilliantly in moving things along when needed. Characters tread a fine line between drama and all out theatrics at times but, the truth is, these are comic book characters and any petty annoyances are but a blip on the radar of what is a truly spectacular cinematic experience.

The fact that I spent the final 10 minutes of a seven year movie franchise smiling will tell you that Christopher Nolan et al have done something very, very right here. To my mind The Dark Knight Rises is a fitting end to the legend and a more than satisfying conclusion to easily one of the best movie trilogies of our time. 

If you have seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts or when you do see it, do come back and let me know. 

Rating: 

PS

See this in iSense if you can and do so as soon as possible, while the spoilers still haven't taken the batsheen off.

PPS

Some friendly advice for when you do go: Pee first, plan your liquid intake carefully and perhaps try out some lunges (preferably not in the queue) in preparation for a 2 hour 45 minute 'glued to your seat' farewell to The Batman. Enjoy!