Online Exclusive: "Dark Knight Rises" Review

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Associated Press Actor Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne in "The Dark Knight Rises."

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“The Dark Night Rises” brings Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy full circle. It also upped the ante from “Batman Begins” and the “Dark Night” in terms of storytelling, cinematography and action.

The story begins 8 years after the “Dark Knight,” with a reclusive Bruce Wayne who is older and physically weak. His alter-ego, Batman, has also been out of sight in Gotham City since the death of Harvey “Two Face” Dent, Gotham’s White Knight. The city has experienced peace since, but all that changes when Wayne’s dark history comes back to haunt him.

While it would seem difficult for any villain to be on par with Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker in the second film, Tom Hardy’s Bane is certainly there. Bane’s mission is not so simple as to rein chaos upon the city. His vision is to watch it burn.

Bane is a merciless terrorist; feeling no pain from a constant intake of painkillers through his mask. While there were certain concerns about being able to understand Bane due to the mask and the awkward accent, it rarely is an issue. Only certain moments arise when it is hard to understand the character.

Then there is Selina Kyle (Cat Woman). Her story does not overwhelm or take from the action of the film, and she becomes an interesting character with as many complex issues as Bruce Wayne; perhaps even more.

Bale’s performance as Wayne/Batman is on par with the previous films. The Bruce Wayne storyline is much more interesting in this film than in “The Dark Knight,” where he almost seemed like a back ground character.

Without giving away any spoilers, there is much to admire with the tightness of plot and storyline to wrap up this trilogy. It is not a perfect film, however. There are certainly some moments and some dialogue that could have been better, but this is certainly not Chris Nolan’s “God Father III” for anyone who may have been concerned about that. It was a fitting end for what turned out to be three solid films intertwining and finally coming together in this movie.

For those who thought “The Dark Knight” may have contained too much violence and adult themes, be warned. “The Dark Knight Rises” has much more violence than the previous installment.

The action scenes are well done. Some of them have already been released in trailers and the 11-minute prologue that was screened for select audiences across the country.

This film may not hit the expectations people may have had. For a film with this much hype, that certainly will happen. But it does tie together many of the loose ends from “Batman Begins” and “the Dark Knight.”

Over all, is a tight film, entertaining and contained a great, complex script. Nolan should be proud of this trilogy, as they are pretty much the best of all the Batman films that have been made.

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