Rating: 4 out of 5
Running time: 165 mins
Director: Christopher Nolan
Release date: 19 July 2012
Genre: Romantic comedy
Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cottilard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
At the end of the last Dark Knight film, we saw our caped crusader taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s crimes and going into hiding from the police. Batman must now brush 8 years of dust off his superhero outfit and again come to the rescue when Bane unleashes chaos on Gotham as part of a plan to destroy the city. Bruce Wayne has also become a recluse and has his own demons to fight in order to restore his position in society
We’re also introduced for the first time to Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman, played by Oscar-nominated actress Anne Hathaway. She reportedly spent a year watching what she ate and living in the gym to squeeze into the skintight catsuit, and her hard work shows. This Catwoman is certainly a different portrayal from the Halle Berry version – less…catlike (which may be good or bad, depending on how you look at it).
The sewer-dwelling Bane (Tom Hardy) is deliciously creepy as the anarchist bad guy behind his voice-distorting mask, and another introduced character, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is perfect for his role as Commissioner Gordon’s new right hand man in the police force.
At 2 hours 45 minutes long, this installment is the longest ever Batman film released to date and you do feel the length of it. Although it is a great movie, it does feel like there are too many plots and too many characters intertwined – cuts had already been made to get it to the length it now stands, however it could have done with a bit more tightening up. Having said that, all of it’s enjoyable and a few twists and turns may surprise you in the end.
Although Nolan has publicly claimed this will be his final film in the series, the ending is left wide open for another (spin-off, perhaps?). Guess we’ll have to wait and see…
Photo / FreeDigitalPhotos.net – Idea go