Oh Dark Knight, we hardly knew ye.  In Christopher Nolan’s swan song to the Batman, things look bleak indeed.  It’s a hard, cruel world that doesn’t look a thing like the happy-happy joy-joy world we’ve seen in other hero flicks of late.  And I don’t know if it’s the sadness of knowing that this is the final film in the Dark Knight trilogy or just a longing to escape from the colossal blergh that is the state of our world today.  Maybe all the adrenaline from The Avengers and The Amazing Spiderman has me longing for more high-octane action, when all along Bruce Wayne has been quite a bit more low key.  Whatever it is, The Dark Knight Rises latches on to that distress and despair, churning out a film that oftentimes hurts to watch.  But Nolan’s risk in creating a dystopian fantasy pays off, as he has created a haunting film that will sit in your mind long after the credits unspool.

Gotham is no longer the shining light that Batman has wanted to save all these years; it has turned in on itself, becoming a gritty, sad city that is limping it’s way to it’s end.  So it’s no wonder that when we first see Bruce Wayne, he too has a limp.  It’s been eight years since his battle with Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and Wayne still carries the physical and emotional scars.  With the Batman branded a criminal for killing Dent (Batman’s heroics swept under the carpet so Gotham can still have Dent to believe in), Bruce Wayne has become a recluse.  Jokes of his descent into Howard Hughes craziness are bandied about in society.  But when new villain Bane makes the scene, threatening to destroy Gotham itself, Wayne must shake off his melancholy and once again take action.

Bane’s reasons behind his wish to have Gotham come crumbling down sounds lofty; he wants to give the city “back to the people”.  But his true feelings are that the city should “be allowed to die”.  Anarchy becomes the rule of the day, with criminals roaming the streets and Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) holding court.  As Alfred begs Wayne to consider the personal consequences of any actions, Wayne Enterprises cuts Wayne off from decision making and even his mother’s pearls get stolen by a cat burglar.  (Yeah, you know who.)  This is Bruce Wayne and Batman’s final act.  Will good prevail?

There are some exciting twists and turns in the plot, but as much as I long to drop the dime and spoil ‘em I won’t.  Fans who are well versed in Bat-lore (or who can clearly remember the last two films in this series) will have a leg up on the average viewer, but no prior knowledge of Bane, Catwoman or any of the other characters is necessary.  The story gives you all the information you need, and the art design and special effects make even the view from the cheap seats mind-blowing.

Christian Bale gives his usual whole-heart performance as Bruce Wayne, aka Batman.  It’s getting to the point now where if he didn’t give a grand performance that would be remarkable.  His is a shell-shocked, worn out Batman who has to search for a reason to go on.  Bale climbs into Batman’s skin and makes you feel that unease and sadness.  Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne’s butler/father figure/confidant Alfred has a terrific onscreen chemistry with Bale, and their scenes seem purely organic.  Caine even has a touch of the ol’ Alfie inflection, which is probably his un-burnished voice but made me smile nonetheless.  As Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Anne Hathaway — an actress I adore but had my doubts about for this role — gets Kyle’s bad-girl-with-a-heart-of-gold vibe down pat.  I even got a bit of a Han Solo feel from her, as this Catwoman is more of an antihero than her better known incarnation as Batman’s adversary.  Tom Hardy’s Bane is a dazzler of a villain, but with that mask it’s tough to get more than the most extreme emotion out.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt as beat cop John Blake, Marion Cotillard as Wayne Enterprises investor Miranda Tate, and Morgan Freeman as Wanye’s business manager Lucius Fox all give great performances but it’s the Bat that takes center stage, and this film never lets you forget it.  In a superhero movie that’s the way to go.

As I mentioned earlier, this isn’t the Biff! Pow! actioner folks are used to with the Marvel movies.  This is the DC Universe, and it’s a little bit darker here.  That’s a good thing; too many hip wisecracking superheroes could cause some serious shark jumping, though the somber tone can easily slip into navel-gazing if it goes on for too long.  At times The Dark Knight Rises feels a bit aimless, as if it’s a movie in search of an idea.  Luckily Nolan pulls it all together for the grand finale, and as the final scene drew to a close I wasn’t the only one that wanted to see more.  Leave ‘em wanting more folks.  That’s what every good showman does.  And it’s a grand way to send off Batman…for now.  Because just as nobody knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, who knows what plans lurk in the hearts of movie studios?  I can only hope that whomever picks up the baton from Nolan takes the tale and runs with it.