Movie Review: ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Fitting End to Batman Trilogy

The Caped Crusader returns to the big screen this week in “The Dark Knight Rises.”

The movie is the conclusion to director Christopher Nolan’s reboot of the Batman franchise. The final film is set eight years after Batman (played by Christian Bale) disappeared after being blamed for the death of Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two Face. Batman, however, is forced to leave his self-imposed exile when the ruthless terrorist Bane (played by Tom Hardy) begins to put his evil plans for Gotham into play.

Mark Hughes of Forbes describes “The Dark Knight Rises” as “the perfect end to the Batman legend.”

“This newest film tries harder, pushes farther, and comes up with the finest Batman film of all time, the greatest superhero or comic book adaptation of all time, and the best film of the year,” Hughes wrote. “Let me be clear that when I say this is the greatest superhero or comic book adaptation of all time, I put no qualifiers on that.”

That sentiment, however, was not shared by Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail.

“The Dark Knight Rises is not as repellently sadistic as its immediate predecessor, but it has pretensions vastly beyond its capabilities, the villains are ridiculous with tactics and agendas that don't make sense, and the bombastic special effects drown out the narrative,” Tookey wrote.

Here’s what other critics had to say about “The Dark Knight Rises”:

“If the film is not quite the achievement “The Dark Knight” was — and maybe that’s the real question — it’s still a fitting end to an ambitious movie trilogy.” – Bill Goodykoontz, The Detroit Free Press

“This is a film that’s bloated and lacking focus in major portions of the film; when critical moments are reserved for characters without the dramatic heft required to carry them it falls flat. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ certainly isn’t a bad film, not by any stretch of the imagination. It just isn’t a good one.” – Scott Sawitz, Inside Pulse

“Nolan is many things as a filmmaker: athlete, visionary, even magician.  But deep thinker: not so much.  “The Dark Knight Rises” is reasonably accomplished as a gigantic superhero movie; as a meditation on capital and its personal and social discontents, it’s strictly from the funny pages.” – Shawn Levy, The Oregonian

“The Dark Knight Rises” also features Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake.

The movie is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.

Showtimes: Great Escape 14

Ready to see "The Dark Knight Rises"? Head to , 2160 Hamilton Creek Parkway. For more theater information, showtimes and pricing, click here or call 678-482-0624.

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