In a few hours the official embargo will lift and the first wave of official reviews will hit the internet. Not sure why but the Toronto Sun has one of the first official reviews posted and here is a taste of what they had to say in their five star review of The Dark Knight Rises.
Bruce Kirkland of the Toronto Sun
For audiences who want smart storytelling with their adrenaline rush, The Dark Knight Rises, which opens late Thursday, is as profoundly moving as it is dynamic. It is as intimate as it is huge, especially in the IMAX format. It is as surprising as it is predictable, thanks to plot twists that you don't see coming. It is as occasionally amusing as it is dark and brooding, and spikes of comic relief are welcome in all the madness.
This franchise is also deeply rooted in the 73-year history of Batman, including the Frank Miller phase. Yet Nolan also layered in original ideas. For example, The Dark Knight Rises is inspired by the French Revolution, with specific references to Charles Dickens' epic historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities. As a result, there is a balance of the familiar and the fantastic that makes the movie both realistic and larger-than-life.
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A technical point: Unlike in the sneak previews, you can actually hear most of what Hardy says as the masked and muffled Bane. Nolan has obviously clarified the dialogue. For that matter, the technical accomplishments of the whole are at the highest levels. This popcorn movie is a cinematic banquet.
The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters July 20th 2012 and stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate.