Christopher Nolan is one of those rare, gifted filmmakers that actually gives you your money’s worth whenever you go to see one of his films. “The Dark Knight Rises”, although not his strongest work, and a little clunky compared to its superior predecessors in the franchise, is still a rock solid film worthy of the price of admission. Although the Batman franchise will undoubtedly continue for the foreseeable future, like the James Bond franchise, good luck to anyone trying to follow up on Nolan’s definitive trilogy.

Attention to detail has always been a highlight for this series, and this film is no exception. Each iconic character is true to its origins, but Nolan shapes them in a way that fits within the realistic universe he has created for his take on Batman. Christian Bale’s take on Batman/Bruce Wayne this time around is perhaps the best yet. His character goes through hell and back, and Bale delivers a very strong performance. Anne Hathaway is pitch perfect as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman). Although the script clearly captured the good/bad nature of the character, her performance absolutely seals the deal, particularly as she changes behaviour on tack depending on the situation. Tom Hardy gives a brutal, physical portrayal of Bane, and manages to convey menace despite having most of his face hidden behind a mask. Joseph Gordon-Lovett is fantastic as John Blake, a policeman who figures out who Batman really is and encourages Bruce Wayne as much as possible to get him back in the cape. Marion Cotillard is strong as a love interest for Bruce, and her subsequent change of tone at the end of the film. Series regulars Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine are also spot on as usual, with Caine giving the most emotional performance of all the three films.

The basis for all of this is of course a story that is intricate in its twists and turns, and a screenplay that gives the characters much depth and room to explore. As with the other two Nolan Batman films, this film is not just about Batman fighting a bad guy. It’s about a journey that Batman/Bruce Wayne must take in order to become the hero that Gotham City needs him to be, as well as battling his inner demons over the events that occurred in the previous film.

Having said all this, there are some flaws in this film that are somewhat surprising given the pedigree of talent attached to this film, least of which being Nolan’s directing abilities. The film takes a while to get going. Yes, there is a lot of exposition that is probably needed, but when it takes at least forty-five minutes before we see Batman, some editing may have been required. On Batman himself, he’s actually not in it that much. The structure of the story lends itself to this, but a Batman movie really has to have a decent amount of Batman screen time. The film itself is clinical; contrast this with “The Dark Knight” which was very intense and energetic, the empty feeling you get from “The Dark Knight Rises” is a let down. The only time you do feel anything is when Bane gets nasty in the second half of the film when he puts his plans for Gotham in to motion.

On Bane himself, I don’t think Nolan pushed the character far enough in terms of his villainy; and the voice, although threatening and dramatic, seemed a little unreal and distracting. The big scene where Bane breaks Batman’s back is hardly dramatic, aside from the notion that there’s a guy tougher than Batman out there. But the more absurd thing is that getting Bruce’s back in to shape is achieved by simply hitting a disc back into his spine by a prison inmate while he is in a deep, dark prison. These leaps in logic didn’t exist in the previous two films which makes it odd Nolan made these choices this time around. Back to Bane: conceptually, he does seem to be the perfect choice of villain for this film. The character’s brutality and intelligence contrast well with the Joker’s anarchic and chaotic methods from the previous film, and push Batman in to fresh, and welcome territory.

The Christopher Nolan Batman films have been an incredibly satisfying experience for me. These are the way films should be made; it holds the larger than life parts that make the iconic characters of the Batman universe so enduring, but it also provides a high degree of intelligence and attention to story-driven detail that doesn’t insult the viewer. Kudos to Nolan and his team for making such a definitive version of arguably the world’s most recognised and popular comic book superhero.