The Dark Knight Rises

This is it. The most expected movie ever. Continuing a trilogy that has set a benchmark on the scale of epicness, 'The Dark Knight Rises' is what we were all waiting for. Helmed by the amazingly capable Chris Nolan, 'The Dark Knight Rises' delivers and delivers well on what we've come to expect from him.

A bare bones story, propped up by relentless action that never lets up for a second and characters that make you empathise with them. The super villian this time around is Bane (Tom Hardy) who comes across as a psycopath trained by the same Ras 'al Ghul as the Batman himself. He joined the League Of Shadows which considered him too insane for its tastes. Bane is shown to have been 'raised by wolves' and is shown as a glorified version of a sewer spawned hard man who survived prison and is the archetypal alpha male. Bane is stronger than the Batman and breaks his back and sends him off to the same prison where he was. The Batman discovers that only a single person has ever escaped the prison whose identity is mistakenly assumed to be Bane.

The usual regulars, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman are present and in fine form. Bane, however fails to measure up to the Heath Ledger's act as the Joker and this plays upon the viewer's mind who goes with the memories of 'The Dark Knight', expecting to find another brutal villain. Bane is brutal all right, but horribly predictable and formulaic.

This is where Nolan misses a trick. While I would be the first to admit that I have simply no idea how this could have been averted but I did think Nolan might find a way out.

This film plays on the usual fear and darkness motifs that have been the hall mark of the trilogy. While certainly engaging and a brilliant film, this falls a little way short from what could have been a true masterpiece. The film does provide a satisfying conclusion and also completes the Bat-verse by introducing a few more characters integral to it.

Anne Hathaway is thrilling as Selina Kyle, the cat burglar in black who aids the Batman in his quest. She is assured and holds her own against Bruce Wayne and even Bane. She is certainly one of the highlights of the film and her acting is understatedly brilliant.

The technical side of things has little to stop raving about with details such as screenplay, cinematography and music taken care of with considerable aplomb. The action is gripping and intense as we have come to expect and rarely lets down for even a second.

Bane's intensity is praiseworthy and Tom Hardy has certainly done justice to the character he plays. His swagger, laced with a tinny English accent is undeniably impressive. However, the one dimensionality of his character is a bit of a let down, especially when compared to the one dimension that the Joker had. It was indeed a creative cul-de-sac that Nolan found himself in.

The end result is certainly admirable, but maybe not as fulfilling as could have been. However, it would be wrong to accord any blame to Nolan and his creative band of merry men, when their only fault was making 'The Dark Knight' before 'The Dark Knight Rises'.