The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

When an imposing terrorist (Tom Hardy, INCEPTION) makes plans to destroy Gotham City, reclusive millionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is forced to revive his Batman persona after eight years. The final entry in director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is a bloated, ear splitting, often incoherent action extravaganza. While there's no denying parts of it are very effective like the stunning opening sequence which could have been lifted right out of one of the better James Bond films or the impressive destruction of Gotham City by Hardy's character during a football game, the film still feels padded out turning what should have been a whizzy action piece into an inflated epic. It's so ponderous as if every piece of dialog or moment reeked of importance. I didn't hate it (like I did BATMAN BEGINS) and I'm glad I saw it but I doubt it will resonate much beyond its fanatic fanbase. The large cast is largely wasted except for some nice work by Anne Hathaway (never referred to as Catwoman) and Joseph Gordon Levitt (the real movie's "hero"). With Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard (very weak), Matthew Modine, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Tom Conti, Nestor Carbonell, Juno Temple and William Devane.