The Dark Knight Rises

Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy | Dir: Christopher Nolan

U/A; Action

Rating: **** (out of Five)

In the four years since 'The Dark Knight' the fandom for Nolan’s Batman trilogy has grown to astronomical levels - you’d have to live on a different planet to not be familiar with these films. Nolan’s lavishness in imagination and passion for real emotions has made the first two parts transcend from mere films to spiritual experiences. The Dark Knight Rises is also not just a movie, it’s a moviemaking miracle and a buffet of eyeball orgasms – one that contains enough visceral thrills and proof of Chris Nolan rising as the superhero of the movie industry. It’s a sprawling epic, the darkest, most complex segment of Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

The first two were character triumphs on their own, but it is obvious that Nolan was saving all the goodies for last. The Dark Knight Rises obliterates the bar with gritty physical effects sprinkled with CGI. The effects are so realistic it’s impossible to distinguish between real and CGI, and are seamlessly woven into the sweeping exhilaration of Wally Pfister’s cinematography. It is in your best interest that you keep away from story details before watching the film – know that the plot takes eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, and Bruce Wayne has turned into a recluse, as the villainous Bane not-so-silently plots an apocalypse.

Christian Bale as Batman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action thriller 'The Dark Knight Rises'.u00a0