There’s been griping that The Dark Knight Rises doesn’t reach the heights of The Dark Knight; that the villain, Bane (Tom Hardy), is no Joker, who thrived on chaos and was therefore the scariest bad guy of all.

Whatever. The Dark Knight Rises is awesome (as in it inspires awe; not, like, “it’s rad dude”…though it’s awesome like that, too), as are its heroes and villains. On the non-evil side, fighting to save Gotham City, there’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt as rookie detective John Blake, and Marion Cotillard as billionaire Miranda Tate. Somewhere between good and evil is Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman.

The final film in director Christopher Nolan’s trilogy is closer in spirit to Batman Begins, but it’s better than that very good movie, if not equal to The Dark Knight. And really, how could Nolan top his previous Batman film?

He doesn’t, and it was wise to make Bane different from the Joker. Bane is a terrifying brute with enough firepower to destroy Gotham City. He’s also well financed and smart.

Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is on screen more than Batman, but at two hours and 44 minutes, there’s still a lot of Batman. (He’s grown into that scratchy voice, too.)

See it in IMAX. Leave the kids at home.
 
The Dark Knight Rises
Regal 14
PG-13
164 min.