Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Hello!

               Today I’m going to be reviewing “The Dark Knight Rises,” which is the third film in the batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. To reveal a bit of my bias right off the bat (Pun intended), I love the movie. I’ve seen it 5 times in the theater and bought a sweatshirt with the main villain on it. I would even go so far to say that it’s one of my favorite movies of all time. Now on to the review!

               In the previews for TDKR very little was actually shown about it except for the fact that it’s a new Batman movie and a few shots of the main villain, a masked man named Bane. So going into the theater for the first time, I didn’t really know what to expect. But, as always, Christopher Nolan managed to forge a masterpiece of cinematography. The camerawork in this movie is amazing, shot from the best place to make every scene seem perfect in the context of the movie. I also have to admit that I’m a little obsessed with Bane. In my opinion, he’s the best character in the movie, even if he’s an evil mastermind. But all the characters in Nolan’s newest work are played by actors perfect for their roles. Christian Bale as Batman, and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman? I doubt a better cast could be picked by anyone.

               But this movie isn’t all positives. One thing that Christopher Nolan could have done better is put a few less references to his previous films into TDKR. To understand some scenes in this movie you have to have seen the first or second movie first. Another negative was the length of the movie. A lot of unnecessary content stretched this movie to 2 hours and 44 minutes of runtime. I’m not saying that some fluff is bad, but there is a limit. And a final negative in Nolan’s final installment in the Batman trilogy is the too-dark feel of it. It’s filled with dark humor and bad endings for some of the characters. It’s different from the previous movies, but I didn’t find it too unappealing.

               So “The Dark Knight Rises” had its ups and downs. There were a few bad things about it, but far more good things. I loved the acting, the camerawork, and the storyline. Bane is by far my favorite character, but all of them were excellent. If I could see it again, I would. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give TDKR a solid 8.5.

               Thanks for reading!

Matt Finley