WARNING: Spoilers for those who haven’t seen the film.

It’s time for me to review the last film in my Batman review series.

In The Dark Knight Rises, it’s been eight years since Batman’s murder of District Attorney Harvey Dent. Batman/Bruce Wayne has taken responsibility for Dent’s crimes, and gone into hiding. I like films that continue the story from their predecessor, and this one does it very well by picking up nearly a decade after The Dark Knight. By doing that, we’re able to see the impact of the last film’s events, giving us an understanding of how Dent’s legacy impacts the citizens of Gotham, and has helped put many more criminals behind bars.

I love the cast in this film. Christian Bale is without a doubt the best on-screen Batman, and Tom Hardy is stellar as the main villain, Bane. The other returning cast members are great as well, like Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine. I thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt was very good, and I liked his addition to the story. Anne Hathaway plays an amazing Selina Kyle/Catwoman. The cast members just do so great, and the writing that accompanies them is amazing as well.

The Dark Knight Rises gives Bane more to do than any other villain in the Dark Knight Trilogy. By emotionally connecting his character to the story, you understand him, and while I don’t think he is the best villain of the trilogy, I do think Christopher Nolan did a great job with his interpretation of the character. I also enjoyed the fact that Bruce Wayne doesn’t actually show up until after both Bane and Catwoman, are introduced.

I also think Catwoman was great in this film. I’m currently undecided on whether she was better than Michelle Pfeiffer’s version of the character, who appeared in Batman Returns, but I think Hathaway did an outstanding job. She just felt more real to me, because she wasn’t spouting out weird one-liners like “Life’s a bitch, now so am I” during fight scenes. Her character also isn’t tied into some supernatural entity in some way, like Pfeiffer’s was. I don’t care how cool it would be to have 9 lives, I think that in a Batman film, that’s kind of stupid. Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises is just a normal person. Mind you, she’s still a criminal, but I like that sense of mortality.

Near the end, there’s a huge twist that involves Bruce’s love interest, Miranda Tate. Throughout the movie, it’s said that Bane was born in a brutal prison, and climbed out of it. Ra’s al Ghul then says that Bane is his son, and I totally looked past the fact that Ra’s al Ghul’s child is Talia al Ghul. But I believed that Bane was his son, and when Miranda stabbed Bruce near the end, revealing herself as Talia al Ghul, and that she climbed out of the prison. This was my third time watching the film, and I was still as shocked as I was back in 2012. The action sequences are also fantastic, and the ending of the film was amazing as well, with Bruce presumed dead, but still alive and together with Selina.

Overall, The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most fantastic superhero films I’ve ever seen. It has great action sequences, an awesome twist, and a great cast as well. I’m definitely going to give it it an A+.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman. Directed by Christopher Nolan.