The source of the problem is the whole trilogy mode of thinking in Hollywood I think. Trying to fit too much into a final installment of what was not inteded to be a trilogy in the first place.

There were moments that were excellent, such as the ending which was the perfect ending for Bruce and Selyna. So I'm going to watch it again in iMAX to see if it did work and whether I was just predijudice against the fact they didnt stay closer to the comics in The Dark Knight.

That being said, it was very good, it just didnt feel like a Batman film at times, because a lot of the movie dosent feature him. It feels like they tried to do too much in this film, and ended up creating a rather bloated script that dosent reach the Batman standard of the first two films.

There are reasons why Dark Knight Rises is getting mixed reviews.  It is slow in spots, and there are many who don't even consider it the best movie in the series, let alone, best movie ever.  Glad you like it.  I thought it was good, and wrapped up the series well.  But I consider it the worst of the three movies in the series actually.  Wrapped it up well, but not the best film.  Sorry.  And it isn't just me, it is others.

Check Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/search/?search=dark+knight&sitesearch=rt

Dark Knight clocks in at 94%

Dark Knight Rises is at 86%

So, sorry, it isn't the "Best superhero movie ever".  At least not by consensus.  Doesn't mean it is good.  It is good.  Just others are considered better.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/batman_begins/

Batman Begins is right at 85%, it may be considered the worst by 1%.  Let's consider that a wash.

The Joker made the second film.  Bane doesn't hold up to the same level.

He doesn't need to. Bane is not a mad man, he is a different creature all together. Bane is the cattlist to move the plot forward and is just a mercinary following orders.

The main enemy for the lead hero is an important part of making a film a memorable film.  The Joker by Heath is memorable in nature and stands out.  A problem by saying someone is following orders is that they aren't the main villian then.  Also think a bit about the story of the third movie.  It ties together the series, but rehashes the same enemy from the first movie, so it is closer, but not new.

That was my main problem; they added a lot of stuff (characters and subplots) which hurt the pacing. It felt sloppy. I never thought about it, but you're right on the fact that the film can't stand on its own. You really have to watch the first film to appreciate some parts.

I liked how the series wrapped up though. 

It's officially got the biggest opening for a 2D-only movie ever.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2012/07/23/the-dark-knight-rises-biggest-2d-movie-opening-ever

Problem with the IMDB thing is you get the Ron Paul effect, in that the popularity ranking is higher than it should.  Individuals who really liked the film, end up going on a site like IMDB and throw off the actual ratings.  It is Internet shilling.  They are on a mission.  Dark Knight Rises ended up having this effect.  

In regards to this, I am not going to rain on someone's parade and say they are wrong for really, really likeing it.  What I do take issue with is an insistence, like in the subject header, that this was the best superhero movie thus far, when large numbers disagree and a decent number find Avengers more enjoyable.

This being said, i feel it ended the latest Batman series, which is now a trilogy fine, and generated needed closure, while allowing room for a sequel.  Could be there is expectation angle involved, hut that is that.

Now, want to argue the latest Batman is the best superhero movie series, including this latest one? I am sure many more would argue for that, then they would for this movie being the best superhero movie.  I would be one.

As for why I found Batman Begins better than this.  Well, I found that it ended up really upping what to expect from a superhero movie for me, and put a lot of hope into it.  Dark Knight upped it, and this last one, for me, just wrapped up loose ends, and did a real good job.  I don't feel it stands on its own, like the other two can, so I rate DKR as the worst of the three.  Frame that in the context of myself thinking this is the best superhero series though.   But others may debate otherwise, which is fine.

So, do I say go see it?  Yes, go see it.  It is good, but don't let this hype here get you thrown off, because you may not like it as much.

Absolutely stunning. I love the movie. It was such a great conclusion to the trilogy, and tied everything perfectly in my opinion. Whilst I loved The Avengers for the fact that it was mad fun and funny and full of amazing action sequences, it doesn't give the same after effect The Dark Knight Rises is giving me right now.

The directing (the directing was very similar to Inception and not the Dark Knight, with the fragmented flashbacks and what not), the acting (Michael Caine's acting was godlike, especially at the funeral scene, Bane was amazing and Tom Hardy did an amazing job giving that thrilling and dangerous feeling his character was supposed to give, Christian Bale was amazing and Anne Hathaway surprised me a lot! The whole cast was superb), the storyline (granted, not even mentioning the Joker was a bit disappointing. One would assume a conclusion to a trilogy would mention the major characters that appeared, like Ra'as Al Ghul and what not, but not in this one), the soundtrack (which gave me thrills), and the pacing were all excellent and wonderfully executed.

My favourite moment was the final confrontation between Bane and Batman, with Batman messing up Bane's breathing apparatus and Bane going batshit crazy. Then afterwards Batman delivered the line Bane did earlier in the movie, and then came in Talia with her full story while fixing up Bane's breathing apparatus and Bane, as manly as he was, crying and what not. Amazing. The second best moment was definitely in the tunnel when Batman made an appearance after 8 years. That scene gave me chills.


Overall, 9.5/10. People who were disappointed with this movie were expecting something along the lines of the Avengers, which is being light hearted, funny with action sequences mixed with humour and what not, and they were wrong to expect that. Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is dark,gritty and deep, and delved deep into Batman's personality and all the other characters surrounding him. It took itself very seriously and I applaud that. Amazing movie, A+ trilogy. Once the blu-ray comes out, Ill do a marathon for sure.

Now, bring on Superman!

Ever since the Dark Knight came out I was extremely hyped for its sequel. But after watching the Dark Knight Rises trailers I expected it to be good, if not great but not as good as the Dark Knight.

But after watching the film first day night show...I was extremely disapointed. First of all I went to the most dull theatre in my area (AMC) and there was a show every 20 miniutes and it was still jam packed (haven't seen that for any film including the Avengers, Hunger Games, Harry Potter etc.) So that got me really hyped.

As the film started a 164 minutes of silence occurred. I expected this film to be a Dark Knight part 2 only replacing the Joker with Bane. But I was wrong it turned out to be something else...in my opinion in didn't meet the standards of a typical "Hollywood film".It simply obliterated it. I wouldn't call it a film, "a masterpiece" or "a true work of art would define The Dark Knight Rises in a much more correct fashion. Up until The Dark Knight Rises The Dark Knight was my favourite film but now the Dark Knight Rises took cinema up to a new level that can't be reached again. The Dark Knight Rises is not a superhero film, its an epic film with a superhero that doesn't really have the powers of a superhero any more and doesn't match up to the villan's strength but his spirit and will to do good is more than enough to make him something greater than a hero.

An extra note I would like to make is that I've never cried while watching a film before but on July 20th I broke down into tears at the funeral scene. Commenting and judging specific parts of the film would be worse than a crime as it was a perfect package. It was more than perfect and giving this film a score is something I don't have the will to do.

By the end of the film people were bursting into tears, cheering, clapping something I have never witnessed at my movie theatre. I do believe it would have broken the box office record set by the Avengers however due to the shooting and the cancellation of TV spots..it didn;t.