The Dark Knight Rises

I can now die happy!!  there are s select few things in my life that if I was to die right after witnessing them, then I would walk into heaven (or hell, I have no idea yet) with my head held high.  A few of these things are included in this list: having Enya sing me a lullaby to sleep, eating high-quality Meat Loaf with Meat Loaf, going to a Metallica concert and punching someone in the face, and to be one of the lucky judges on the "Iron Chef" TV show.  unfortunately none of those things have happened yet, but I was able to witness one of the next best things... SEE BATMAN!!  The final part of the Dark Knight Trilogy takes place about 8 years later, with Bruce Wayne living as a wealthy hermit in mourning of his dead girlfriend, and Gotham is (once again) receiving the crapper from some nut-job with a mask and a British Accent.  Will Batman suck it up, grow a pair, and defend the city?  Or will he mope in his large house, with lots of money being used to buy pointless but cool things?  I don't know, but either way his choices don't sound too bad.

The Good:
I'm not going to lie, Nolan had me worried with this one.  This Director has made a huge name for himself by delivering mind-bending action packed movies that take the genre in directions it has never been before.  Everyone thought "Batman Begins" was just an all around cool movie, and then when he made "Dark Knight" everyone knew the bar had been raised for Comic-book movies; people wondered if it could get any better.  not too long after "Dark Knight" he made "Inception", which was without a doubt one of the funnest and most captivating "theater" experiences of all time, and it was after that movie that I thought there was NO WAY he could out do himself again.   Well, obviously I was wrong, Nolan didn't just give us a descent ending to the trilogy, but he gave us a powerhouse conclusion that shines as one of the greatest films ever made!  Brilliant acting from everyone involved, and the story-line flowed so nicely you forget that your butt has been in the same place for 3 hours.  The part I was most impressed with was the Villain Baine.  Heath Ledger as the Joker is what made the last Batman movie so memorable, and I have to agree he was one of the greatest villains I've ever seen on screen, but that isn't to say that Tom Hardy's Baine doesn't measure up.  As the villain of this film, Baine raises the stakes to a higher level as he threatens to tear Gotham apart, and not toy with it like the Joker did.  The part of Baine's character that made him so creepy to me is the fact that while he's doing all these gritty things to Gotham, when he speaks he sounds like a pleasant British dude.  So the Whole time I'm watching Baine, I kept on thinking that's what Patrick Stewart would be like if he was pissed off.

The Bad:
Baine reminded me a little of Darth Vadar, so I kinda wanted to quote some "star wars" stuff during a better part of the flick.  Also that guy who did all that crap during the midnight showing needs to be put in a prison full of guys that haven't seen a girl in years.

The Ugly:
Not that I had any beef with "The Avenger", but "Dark Knight Rises" succeeds in being my favorite summer movie this year.  At the same time I don't think I can compare the two, because they are very different kinds of comic book movies.  "Avengers" was a more campy/fun experience, while "Dark Knight" was a more "this is freaken serious so wipe that smirk off your face" kind of movie.  I thought they were both amazing films, but since I'm obviously a fan of the Scary/horrific stuff in life, Batman steals the cake.  Go see this movie, and then you'll feel like you can die happy.

6 out of 5