The Dark Knight Rises [2012] [Region Free]

They do not make movies like this anymore and they never will again, pure classic deep and moral story telling of sacrifice with pure action. I dislike watching movies, there isn't one modern movie I have forced myself to watch and never fell asleep half way to NEVER come back to it again. Now I am just waiting for the end of the world and for Jesus to come back.

I'm guessing that plenty of people reading this review will have seen this movie and know how fantastic it is. If you haven't, then make sure you watch the first two films before this one - as an end to the trilogy it is brilliant. While it can be viewed as a standalone film, it makes MUCH more sense after you've seen Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and can be appreciated all the more as a splendid piece of filmmaking.Onto the Blu-Ray itself. The picture quality is absolutely fantastic - this is the best of the films to get on blu-ray as it has the most IMAX footage in it (about 72 minutes worth, or a third of the film all told - compared to about 26 minutes for The Dark Knight). When it switches to IMAX, the aspect ratio flips to fill your whole television, creating a fantastically detailed and immersive image. This is only available on the blu-ray - the DVD keeps the same 16:9 aspect ratio throughout. Nolan utilises IMAX well, from simple establishing shots to whole chase and fight sequences. Sequences such as the plane hijacking and the bomb chase sequence are made to stand out all the more with the visual gravitas the IMAX lends them. Sound-wise, this is a film that demands to be watched loudly - if you set the volume low, dialogue (especially Bane or Lt. Gordon when he is hospitalised) can easily be lost. Instead, turn this film up loud, and take this as an opportunity to really give your sound system a workout, to truly lose yourself in the high spectacle of this grand finale to one of the greatest trilogies ever made in any genre.The special features (on a second disc) are fantastic - detailed, interesting and informative, by far the best special features of all of Nolan's Batman films.The steelbook itself is also worthy of mention. The artwork chosen for both the exterior and interior of the case really is superb, encapsulating the spirit of the film well. The case also has a much more premium and moody feel to it, which compliments the film in a way that the regular blu-ray case doesn't - whilst the cover art on that is fine, the back loses any sense of artistic merit in it's use of bright garish colours that boast of the special features contained in the pack. All that is lost in the steelbook feature-wise is the UV copy, which is fine by me as I have found it to be a poor, flawed substitute for a real iTunes digital copy.This steelbook, then, is a worthy collectors piece to celebrate a real feat of film-making, and (when viewed alongside the rest of the trilogy) a series that perhaps represents the peak of Christopher Nolan's career so far - to my mind the greatest living director (with the possible exception of Steven Spielberg). This item comes thoroughly recommended!

For me this is easily the best movie of 2012. Im not a fan of Bond anymore so I cant speak for that. Avengers was awesome and Bourne legacy was good though not a patch on the original trilogy.This though has it all, a thoughtful story of redemption, action and a fitting end to the best superhero reboot of them all. I have to confess on first viewing I was sceptical. The hype was huge and I got swept along. That is always a recipe for disaster where anything less than perfection leaves you feeling cheated and since everyone will want something a little different you will never make everyone happy. I also felt the film seemed to plod in a few areas but miss out vital months where you would have liked to see what led to events. As it is I suspect a lot of cuts were made as this still runs at over two and a half hours.These films are the thinking persons superhero movies. A normal person made super through gadgets and a drive to go beyond the normal confines of dealing with problems. The acting is spot on, the soundtrack is one of the best applications since Gladiator. For a classical score it is rousing and gets the adrenaline pumping or fuels emotion. Its one of few recent soundtracks where I will hear part of the main theme on tv and instantly know where its from.The action sequences are superb. At first I was critical that they seemed slower but this is in context as our hero is getting older, he is nearly out of steam and this is his chance for one last push against someone faster, stronger and more violently driven. I was resentful that my hero seemed to be made to look stupid and weak but this is all necessary for his final redemption. Then there is the message that has underpinned the whole trilogy 'Batman is a symbol' and once you remember that you appreciate the setup.For me, Christopher Nolan has made a superb trilogy that can not be beaten. Yes there were a few things that could have been slightly improved but once you start going back and altering films you end up with the mess that is the current version of Star Wars. It should be left alone now, no more reboot attempts like Spider-Man.In many ways these films have followed the original Star Wars trilogy - Batman Begins was a breath of fresh air, the Dark Knight was the trilogy's 'Empire Strikes Back' - dramatic sobering and emotional, THe Dark Knight Rises is the swan song that whilst not as strong or complete as the others, draws the curtain in a satisfactory way. Dont watch it with stupidly high expectations and you will enjoy it.Some have criticised the transfer but I thought mine looked very sharp compared to the DVD.