The Dark Knight Rises

The Observer“An intelligence, epic thrust and visual grandeur...” The intellectually challenging final film, The Dark Knight Rises, sets out to reconcile issues raised in the first two. It brings Wayne's story to a suitably epic conclusion while at the same time offering the dramatic imbroglios, action set pieces..

Little White Lies“Seriously epic and epically serious...” Never has the existential crisis of putting on the mask been examined so intimately. To that end it is Bale – so often overlooked throughout this series – who delivers the standout performance, undoubtedly his finest in the role...

Time Out“Epic feast of a movie...” There’s nothing here to match the intensity of Heath Ledger’s Joker, and the movie feels weaker for it. But that was a one-off, and the show must go on. We’ve been witness to something truly impressive...

Guardian“Batman delivers in spades...” No such worries for the film itself. The Dark Knight Rises may be a hammy, portentous affair but Nolan directs it with aplomb. He takes these cod-heroic, costumed elements and whisks them into a tale of heavy-metal fury...

The Telegraph“The scope here is unashamedly novelistic...” Riffs on sequences from Lang’s Metropolis and Eisenstein’s October and there are extensive borrowings from Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities in the film’s second and third act...

Total Film “Seamless interweave of genres...” Director and his co-writer/younger sib Jonathan have cooked up their most ambitious scheme yet, bunging faith, idealism, social revolution (via Charles Dickens!) and a combustible crisis that could backbone an entire season of 24 into the blender...

Empire“Superhero filmmaking on an unprecedented scale...” Rises may lack the surprise of Begins or the anarchy of Knight, but it makes up for that in pure emotion. A fitting epitaph for the hero Gotham deserves. Nolan’s Batman is at its best in the more intimate moments...