The Dark Knight Rises

"No!" She said firmly turning to face the gathering shadows of the winters night. Loose strands of her hair trailing in the cool night hair looked silver and alive in the fluorescent light. "This time I can't. It's too long, too much to deal with. I can't watch this torment. I won't."

Consequently instead of going to see Batman with my girl, I went with a friend instead. On a Bat-man-date.

To be fair I may have over dramatised what my lovely actually said. She may have said that 2 1/2 hours was a lot of angst to sit through.  But is it? Was it?

Well lets look at the synopsis of the final in this trilogy. Please note that if you have not seen The Dark Knight there are a few spoilers.


Eight years have passed since the events of  The Dark Knight Batman is retired and Gotham city is safe  under the Dent act. Created by Commissioner Gordon who used Harvey Dents death to enact a crimes act to put away Gotham's worst criminals without parole. No one but Gordon and Batman knew the truth about Dents psychosis and death. Bruce Wayne has retreated  away from the public eye after a experiment in fusion power went wrong. After investing billions into a clean energy source for nothing he hides in Wayne manor and mourns the death of his love Rachel. 

But things are stirring in the shadows of Gotham. A mercenary lurks in the sewers, a jewel thief steals information, and a scientist is kidnapped. bane has arrived and it might be time for the Dark Knight to return one last time.

But was it angsty?

At the beginning Bruce Wayne was a little emo, but thankfully that ended quickly enough. Yes it was 165 minutes long, (that's 2 hours 45 mins in old money) but the pacing was pretty good. The action and the drama was well placed and by the climatic finale I was still riveted and not wriggling with frustration.  Christopher Nolan beat the odds and finished the trilogy strongly. And like most good trilogies the third film made sense of the second film. But I won't say why here.

With such an  ensemble cast you expect good acting, and I was not disappointed. Michael Caine stole every scene he was in. Like a fine wine he just seems to be getting better with age.  Christian Bale was a little wooden at times, I think this was his worst performance out of the trilogy. But the performances by the other cast were all wonderful so it was barely noticeable. 

 Anne Hathway is a great catwoman. there was a lot of concern over her casting but I think she was a fantastic choice, not all swoony over Batman, but smart and strong. Gary Oldman and adds flair and strength to the film and the role of commissioner Gordon.

Morgan Freeman has that class of acting where you drop him in a scene and suddenly you are instantly invested. Just add Morgan and you get great results!
I have been a massive fan Joseph Gordon-Levitt since Brick, his performance for me filled the gap I felt in Bales lacklustre role.

And Tom Hardy's transformation? I didn't recognise him as Bane for ages. I didn't pay too much attention to the hype as there were many spoilers about.  But from the skinny guy in Layer Cake to Bane was a revelation.

There was pathos, bad guys getting the slap, gadgets, spectacle, Ann Hathaway looking snogalicious and some grand acting. The Dark Knight Rises was a good end to the trilogy and it is worth the hype. Christopher Nolan really pulled the trilogy together.If you like superhero movies I recommend you see it on the big screen. I also recommend that you go early in the evening and maybe have a pint first to get your Batbuzz on.

8 Batmonkeys from me

 I'm Bat-monkey