Review of Dark Knight Rises

I saw this one week ago and waited to review it as I wanted to let it sink in a bit. So, in order to review, i had to answer a few questions.

Promotional Poster

Was the movie epic? You bet. Did it entertain? check. Did it suspend belief but still let you believe? Yes it did (kudos to Christopher Nolan and all actors involved.) Were there scenes that were silly or not true to the comics? Of course. All that being said, it was a pretty darn good movie overall. I'd give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, despite the things I did not like about it. That should tell you something.


Let me start with what I didn't like. Bane's mask, albeit very cool, made it really difficult to hear his dialogue. I loved the effect and probably would have done the same thing, but the end result was annoying. 'Robin' John Blake showed up at the end and gave a foreshadowing into the future about where the series might be going if they ever decide to make more of these movies. I thought this was a bit contrived. The story did a poor job of explaining the back story of Bane, attempted to gel a bit too many story-lines into one movie (can you say Daredevil and Spiderman 3?) and had just a bit too many political undertones for me for a comic-book movie (Occupy Wall Street, give the city back to the people, etc), which they claim was coincidence...perhaps, but very coincidental. And, At one point about ¾ of the way through the movie, it was almost laughable that all this bad stuff was happening to Gotham and that you knew Batman was going to win the day. Alfred leaving was kind of silly and the scene about finding him somewhere with a woman having dinner was forced if ever I saw a forced scene. Minor quibbles, right? Again, just my opinions, I am sure yours will differ. 

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman

Now, what I did like! I liked the dark feel of the movie to a certain extent. The overall story was cool, I love Bane as a Batman villain. The wrap up of the over-arching storyline was nice, despite the 'Robin' thing. Loved seeing Talia, too. The acting overall was phenomenal and as much as I do not like Christian Bale, he was really good as Bruce Wayne throughout the entire series. Kudos to him. Finally, Catwoman. Loved her. period. Everything about her, her scenes, Anne Hathaway, her grace, style and charisma should be in discussions for an emmy in my opinion. And yes, even her corny transformation into a 'good guy' at the end. However, I will give you my take on why this could work and why you should justify it if it bothers you. Catwoman’s thefts and stealth mean nothing in an apocalyptic world that Bane created and in seeing the city as such, it minimizes her abilities and everything she is about...though, I did not get her roommate, unless they were more than roommates…maybe? Either way, she was awesome. The special effects were phenomenal and the bat-(copter?) was the coolest thing in the batman movies to date…even better than the Batmobile and motorcycle.

Any thoughts?

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.