The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The third act of the story has the character at rock bottom. The villain has the upper hand. The hero, with the help of their allies, works together to save the day. The plan seems to be falling just short and the hero comes in and makes the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the people. The Nolan movies as superhero movies are meh, but as stories…they are top-tier. The best superhero movies have spectacle and punches you feel. The Batman trilogy brings a man with fancy gadgets to a realistic level. I call BS on the back recovery timeframe, but this movie is about Bruce trying to come back, failing miserably, then coming back even stronger. The trilogy tells a fantastic story and deserves to be seen all together. The three-act structure that was crafted is second to none. It’s up there with the OG Star Wars trilogy in terms of storytelling quality. This one fell short of the Dark Knight, but it is a must to get the whole story of this Batman.

Story - 17%

Characters - 16%

Pacing - 16%

Spectacle - 17%

Entertainment - 17%

Total score: 83%

Grade scale:

90%-100% = must watch

80%-89% = solid, but could be better

70%-79% = Not terrible, watch if the characters or story interests you

60%-69% = only watch for completionist reasons

0%-59% = just skip it, I find the positives and they don't exist here