by Jesus Ibarra

Special coupon for Dinuba Platinum Theatre at the end of this review.

It is the year of the comic book movie, and The Dark Knight Rises marks the last most anticipated comic book movie of the year following Marvel’s the Avengers, and Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man. The Dark Knight Rises is also the anticipated finale of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy which sought to give Bruce Wayne and Batman a proper sendoff. This review will be a bit short because revealing anything more might constitute some spoilers.

And what a sendoff it was. This movie was not as dark as The Dark Knight, and Tom Hardy as Bane wasn’t nearly as compelling as Heath Ledger’s Joker. However the overarching plot was truly epic in scale affecting all of Gotham and having other consequences reaching beyond the city. But what truly made the movie excellent for me, and actually better than The Dark Knight, was that I finally believed Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Since the beginning of this trilogy I always felt like I was watching a Christopher Nolan film that just happened to have Batman in it. But this movie showed some great character moments and development that highlighted Bale’s incredible acting ability which finally let me see his Bruce Wayne. The other part of the film that did it for me was Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (Catwoman although she is never called that in the film). Finally we got the best translation from the comics to the screen of the troubled cat burglar. And her chemistry with Bale is absolutely fun and satisfying to watch. I was so happy they finally got the Selina and Bruce relationship right. Among other things the plot had some holes but overall it was coherent and well paced.

Again I was amazed by Christopher Nolan’s ability to make practical effects look AMAZING. There was little to no CGI, and when there was you couldn’t tell.

And again be prepared for an ambiguous ending of sorts that Christopher Nolan is known for. This is definitely one of the must see movies of the year and the rare good third movie in a comic book trilogy.

Check out the trailer on the movie website.

The Dark Knight Rises is now playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6. Showtimes can be found on their website.

Print this coupon and enjoy a special discount for Kings River Life readers only!

Jesus Ibarra is 20 years old and an ongoing contributor to our Teen Talk section; with a love of all media, he’s always on the lookout for the best finds.