Film Review: The Dark Knight Rises

(Published in Issue 12 of my publication In Retrospect)

The final instalment to Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises picks up eight years after the attacks of The Joker and Two-Face from 2008’s The Dark Knight when a new terrorist leader, Bane (Tom Hardy), overwhelms Gotham’s finest, including Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). When jewel thief Selina aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) threatens that a storm is coming, Bruce Wayne a.k.a the caped crusader that is Batman (Christian Bale) must resurface from his years of solitude to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. With Bane intending to destroy everything that Bruce has his name to, he must enlist the help of his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and his business manager Fox (Morgan Freeman), and put his trust in a new colleague Miranda (Marion Cotillard) to rise again.

Film Review: The Dark Knight

The second instalment in The Dark Knight Trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan and a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight sees Batman (Christian Bale) enlist the help of his allies – Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) – to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.

Film Review: Batman Begins

Directed by Christopher Nolan and the first instalment in his The Dark Knight Trilogy, Batman Begins follows a young Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) who travels to the Far East to be trained in the martial arts by Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows. When Ducard reveals the League’s true purpose – the complete destruction of Gotham City – Wayne returns to Gotham intent on cleaning up the city without resorting to murder. With the help of his loyal butler, Alfred (Michael Caine), and the tech expert at Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Batman is born.