The Dark Knight Rises

           Yesterday I saw The Dark Knight Rises. I have seen the first two films of the trilogy, and while I am not exactly a big fan of Nolan’s movies nor for Batman himself, I thought Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were entertaining Hollywood blockbusters, and The Dark Knight Rises is no exception.
           However, this third film felt considerably weaker than the first two, and here’s why. We all know bad guys with firearms in movies never seem to hit the protagonists. It’s plot armor clearly, and some movies pull off the suspension of disbelief quite well, and some don’t. Unfortunately, The Dark Knight Rises falls in the latter. I mean come on, there are bad guys with rifles for some inexplicable reason never fire a single shot at Batman when they are undisturbed with clear sights at Batman for several seconds. Instead, the bad guy just stands around, waiting for Batman to finish off his buddies, and then when it’s his turn, he charges at Batman pointing the rifle at him, but refusing to pull the trigger, only to be punched in the face by Batman. Really? Are you kidding me? Fire the goddamn weapon at him at least. Let the bullet ricochet off his chest armor. Unbelievable action scenes in this third series, in a bad way. Seriously.
           Then there was Bane, who just wasn’t an interesting or compelling villain. The Joker in The Dark Knight was by far and away more interesting and entertaining than Bane, and more so than any other character in the trilogy for that matter. Ledger’s Joker left a deep impression. Bane didn’t.
           And then of course there’s the predictable plot. We all know Mr. Wayne will make that jump. We all know Batman will return. We all know the Cat will stay and save Batman. It’s a Hollywood story after all.
           Ranking Nolan’s Batman film trilogy from my favorite first: The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight Rises. I look forward to Man of Steel with lukewarm enthusiasm.