Dark Knight Rises Review, in IMAX

Welcome everyone; Googleplex here. For several years now I've been eagerly awaiting this final chapter in this new take on the Dark Knight. Even after leaving the theaters for The Dark Knight questions came up as to what direction the next movie would go and what villain would be introduced. While the combination of Bane and Catwoman certainly wasn't my first choice it does lead to one incredible adventure... in IMAX!

Before the actual review I'd like to address the incident that happened in Colorado. It's a trajedy that they lost their lives that night when they were only trying to watch a good movie. My prayers go out to all those effected by this moment.

So as for the movie itself, does it live up to the hype built up from one of the greatest comic book movies ever? Let's find out.

The story takes place 8 years after the last movie. A robbery at Wayne Manor starts off a chain of events that results in a diabolical plan to destroy Gotham causing Bruce to once again don the cape and cowl to take on the responsibilities of Batman once again. The first thing you will notice in the start of the movie is that they really took the time to figure out where our heroes would be after The Dark Knight. Gordon has to deal with maintaining the lie that the man who tried to kill his son is basically the second coming of Christ, Bruce becomes a shut-in and we learn how important Batman was to him as it was to Gotham, and a major plot point for Alfred involves the letter from Racheal that he burned. I have to say though while the side plots make the story seem rather complex, this is a rather basic tale only told in a brilliant way.

While the story was always guaranteed to be great (it is Goyer and Nolan writing it) the cast is where the movie really shines. Each of the cast members who return bring an upgrade to there performances from before, namely Christian Bale who cements himself forever as a genuine performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman (his bat-voice is more tolerable in my opinion). A complaint I have is that there wasn't enough Alfred in this (they have a good story reason for this but I'd still like more of him). Now for the rest of the cast. Joseph Gordon Levitt does a superb job as young cop John Blake who plays a job as sort of a believable side kick to Batman, even though he's technically not Robin. Anne Hathaway stole just about every scene she was in as Selina Kyle/Catwoman and in my opinion is even better than Pfieffer. Bane's the villain that every batfan has been concerned about and let me tell you this is the Bane from the comics, despite the mild changes to the source material. He's brutal, strategic, and combined with Tom Hardy's performance we get a character along the lines of Darth Vader.

For those of you that thought Nolan couldn't do action/fight scenes let me tell you he's out done himself in this movie. The first fight between Batman and Bane, don't wanna spoiler it, was like watching a UFC fight without rules and with gadgets. In fact as someone pointed out to me afterwards the movie can seem a bit too action packed to the point where character development gets a bit laxed. This isn't surprising though as this is the last part of a three part story.

If I had to choose an issue I had with the movie it would have to be the ending. I'm not going to spoil it but it's just to the point where I don't know what to think after watching it. Though I will say two things about the movie's ending. First is that Nolan was right about getting a lump in your throat. Second when Bale said he'd be up for a sequel, I could see how it could work but I'm glad that that's not the case since it's very complete to the series. I don't know it just seems too complete if that makes sense. Maybe if I watch it again the ending can grow on me.

As mentioned before I watched it in IMAX which is a must for this movie. The IMAX screen definitally heightens the experience in a way that 3D tries and fails to do. Also as a side note I live in Pittsburgh and got to see the movie in a theater right next to the football stadium used in the film. Probably biased on this but it was kinda fun watching that scene when you're from Pittsburgh since you know the stadium more and can tell a lot of the players they used.

Now as for how the movie compares to The Dark Knight. it's really something you have to judge for yourself. In my opinion it's The Dark Knight that takes the cake but The Dark Knight Rises has it's moments and in areas like action it definitally excells. Think of this as the Return of the Jedi of the franchise, not as good as the last installment but still incredible. A must watch for anyone who enjoyed the previous Nolan Batman movies.

Thanks for reading. Like if you like and comment on your thoughts on the movie if you saw it (please no spoilers). Also please check out my other articles as I've recently done a retrospective look at the previous Batman movies. Hope you enjoy and tune in tomorrow for my look at the best action scenes in comic book movies. See you then.