Click here for the review of The Dark Knight Rises

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Can't! Wait!

Great review James.

That is all. I must now go drug myself until Friday.

"It's like comparing Alan Rickman's bad guy in Die Hard to the adequate, generic one who followed in Die Hard 2."

Are you seriously calling Bane generic and adequate? He seems much more interesting than that

Dude, the review is positive, you can relax.

James,

When preparing for a review like this (and for sequels in general), do you go back and rewatch the previous film(s) to recall the story, characters, etc.? Or do you just watch the film on its own terms and write your review from that?

I guess I'm just curious as to your approach when it comes to reviewing sequels. Since you're a fan of the previous two "Batman" films you surely must have viewed them again before this review. Did you rewatch the previous "Men in Black" films before seeing "Men in Black III"?

Haha, you're right MGames....I'm just an uber-geek when it comes to this trilogy. However, I would never wish death upon critics who gave this film a negative review, as has been happening on rotten tomatoes over the last few days.

does the movie leave the series open to continue with a a new actor and crew?

The more I think about it, it is actually more fitting and I am actually happier james gave this a 3.5/4 (instead of the perfect score). This self contained trilogy seems to fit the perfect mold of a proper story structure.

Batman Begins (3.5/4) = the introduction to the characters and Nolan's world. A perfect build up to part 2, leaving the audience thriving for more.

The Dark Knight (4/4) = the climax. Taking what happened in the introduction and just keep climbing for a monumental build up, but one that isn't finished yet.

The Dark Knight Rises (3.5/4) = the denouement. Finishing the story passionately, elegantly, and powerfully, while leaving the audience satisfied, and not clamoring for more.

CAN NOT WAIT to finish this story.

Do you guys think this will be the best third film since "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King"?

I mean there hasn't been much competition since that film really.

I don't think James should answer a question like this. I mean I think all of us would like to avoid as much information as possible in regards to the ending. Besides, we all know an inevitable reboot will come around within 10 years with a new actor and crew anyway.

The important thing to take away is the comparison. Bane as a presence is far less dynamic than The Joker. Tom Hardy is a very good actor but the costume and situation don't allow for a lot of acting.

Well I can't wait to see TDKR this weekend, but I'd say James doesn't sound quite as positive about it as he did about Toy Story 3. Which for my money is going to be tough to beat as a trilogy-capper.

Good review, James. One of my tiny baby problems with Dark Knight the first time I saw it was that Rachel's death and Joker's escape and the creation of Two-Face left me completely emotionally drained, and it was hard to get back invested in the final 45 minutes of the film. I almost needed an intermission, like 10 minutes of Joker with his head hanging out of the cop car. It sounds like TDKR doesn't have that problem, and saves all its big emotional climaxing for the true end, which sounds awesome. There's a lot of second-act wonkiness I can forgive if the setup is strong and the ending is satisfying--which it sounds like we get here.

It varies. I re-watched the three Raimi SPIDER-MAN movies before seeing THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. I re-watched BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT last week. I plan to re-watch all of the Bond movies and the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy later this year. But I did not re-watch MIB or MIB2.

good lord...and you can't find the time to finish the Best Picture series?

I think that's because JB lost interest in trying to review every single best picture winner, most of them aren't really that good anyways(how the fuck Gladiator won anything I will never know)

Anyways the film sounds great, but I hope Nolan's next effortisn't two and a half hours long.

Glad to hear the open-endedness isn't on the level of Inception. I normally like having endings that are left open to interpretation, but that one still irritates me thinking back on it. Based on this review, I'm getting the feeling The Dark Knight Rises will be my favorite of the trilogy.



I never understood why people expected it to get a Best Picture nomination. First off, I don't think The Dark Knight was actually deserving of it. For the most part, it was excellent, but I had a few issues with the writing (particularly some parts that felt somewhat dumbed-down from what they should have been along with a few ill-timed jokes and the whole ending sequence with Aaron Eckhart's character). Not quite Best Picture nomination quality IMO. More obviously, though, it's a comic-book movie . . . not the type of film that normally garners Best Picture nominations. I'm still amazed that all three LotR movies were nominated (though personally, I thought Fellowship was the best of the 3 and most deserving).

I've been hearing rumors that WB is already working on a series extension or reboot. I wouldn't be surprised at all if a new Batman film was released within a decade of TDKR. Studios don't like to let money-makers get away from them.

There will be a new BATMAN of some sort in either three or four years.

They may have been planning this since just after TDK came out, when Nolan said that he didn't want to make a 3rd film. It's still sad when a studio is so bereft of ideas that they have to keep milking a franchise. I have a sinking feeling that the next Batman film is going to be of the same quality as The Amazing Spiderman.