Rise!

----------NO SPOILERS----------

Bringing his Batman trilogy to an end can't have been an easy thing for Christopher Nolan. Since Batman Begins, he's taken his audiences on a tour of fine film-making. His films are beautifully detailed, stunningly soundtracked, and they never assume the audience are idiots. It is rare that all three of these elements come together in blockbuster films - normally lack of cinematographic beauty is sacrificed for a impressive special effects. Or even worse, as in the case of James Cameron's blockbuster, Avatar, a fairly mundane plot stops the film developing into anything truly 'great', regardless of its state-of-the-art special effects. Nolan has never given up any elements of truly great cinema to make his summer blockbusters, and that's what we love about him. With stunning visual effects, legendary casts, twisting plots, and a seeming knack for incorporating massive scale scenes as well as much more personal dialogue, it's hard to contemplate just how expensive some of his films must have been. The Dark Knight Rises is no exception to the rule.

Picking up some years after The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne is a broken man, a recluse living in just a small section of the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor. Physically battered and emotionally spent, he is unwilling to be Batman ever again. However, when a mysterious woman steals something precious, he finds the impetus to leave his home and search for it. Travelling back to Gotham, we find it nearly tearing at the seams and unbeknownst to the police force, an army is rising. Tom Hardy's Bane (who is sometimes a little difficult to understand in a loud, bassy cinema - perhaps our only criticism of the film) claims to be Gotham's reckoning, and he is certainly a physical match for Batman.

Just who is Bane and where has he come from? Well, given that the film has only been out two days, we're hardly going to spoil it for you, but to the relief of the audience, Bane's backstory is given - unlike the Joker in The Dark Knight. Perhaps the characters are supposed to be held in stark contrast - Bane is fighting for something and his acts in the film, unlike the Joker's, are not just a madman's random entertainment. In the last few years, it has become apparent that Tom Hardy is set for great things, but the character of Bane has given him even more credibility as an actor. Even if you've been living under a rock for a while, you've probably still seen a picture of Bane. The mask covers much of Hardy's face (to be fair, it could be anyone under there!), consequently, the expressions all come from his eyes. Again, without revealing too much, the emotions are all there, even if you can't see much of Bane's face.

Hardy is just one of many great actors involved (many return for a second or third Batman). We've become acquainted with Morgan Freeman's Fox, Michael Caine's Alfred (who, despite having a significantly smaller role, is possibly even more powerful than ever), Gary Oldman's Gordon and of course, Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne. No doubt Tom Hardy will be the one talked about, but this Batman film is perhaps the first that has given us a small picture of just how talented Bale is. Bruce Wayne, the man, not the superhero is given much more screen time, and his inner turmoil, not to mention a surprising display of emotion between Bale and Caine remind us that Christian Bale doesn't just look great with his shirt off.

Perhaps now isn't the best time to talk about reveals and plot twists, suffice to say, there are some. Perhaps you will guess the story to Joseph Gordon Levitt's character, John Blake, as we did, but we doubt anyone will guess the whole film. But it's all there, set up from practically the first scene. We were also impressed with how neatly the film ended - there were no loose ends or frustrating spinning-top-endings (see Inception) and this we commend Nolan for. We're left in no doubt that this is the final Batman film for Nolan and it does not disappoint.

This article probably hasn't even done the film justice, and maybe in two or three weeks when we're sure you've all seen it, we'll do a more in depth analysis of it, but until then, you'll just have to go out and see what all the fuss is about!

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