I'm sitting there in the theater watching what has been one of my most anticipated films in recent years, and there came a moment early on when I couldn't help but think, "That's where it must have happened." Part of the legacy of this movie won't just be how it ended one of the great super hero trilogies of our time, how it was a worthy and satisfying conclusion to an epic Batman saga, but how this movie about good overcoming terror, fear and evil, was itself used for terror and evil. The scene early on with gun fire going off was uncomfortable and difficult because I knew for some, it was a moment when an exciting, highly anticipated event turned into a nightmare. The shootings in Aurora, Colorado are unfortunately now a part of this movie's legacy, making the viewing of it something entirely different than it might otherwise have been. And as hard as that made it, I realized as that moment passed, that I still had to decide whether or not The Dark Knight Rises truly rises as that rare third chapter that's as good as the rest and one that successfully concludes this Batman saga. With a few bumps along the way, I'm happy to say yes, and I'm still saddened that tragedy has tainted the enjoyment of what should have been an entertaining film for all.

The Dark Knight Rises is not as relentlessly dark as The Dark Knight. I didn't have that mounting tension in the pit of my stomach that just never stopped, but it is an intense and driven story with some moments that will make you wince at the brutality of its villain. Bane is much more straightforward as opposed to the insanity and unpredictability of the Joker. However, he's a much more powerful villain, and so the threat he presents has a different kind of danger, a more physical kind of danger. Tom Hardy is fine in the role, but behind the mask and with the distracting voice issues (which aren't entirely resolved), it's hard to take away much from his performance. Still, he does present an imposing force for Batman to fight against, and for this movie he's definitely the right bad guy. He's the one that can set events in motion that require the kind of finality and all out effort that the concluding film in Batman's trilogy needed.

And what a conclusion it is. While things are a little shaky in the early going while all the pieces are being put into place, once the film finds its footing it grips you and doesn't let go. The last hour or so is a relentless, breathless experience, and the final twenty minutes of the movie left my head spinning. Don't let anyone talk to you who's already seen it, don't let some of the surprises be spoiled or the key moments get ruined, so you can enjoy the full impact and emotion of them. And it is an emotional finale, in many ways. I don't really want to say more than that, but this is about as satisfying of a conclusion to Nolan's Batman saga as one could ask for and a fine way to say goodbye to these characters.

While Bane isn't the most memorable character in the film, Selina Kyle just may be. Anne Hathway gives quite the performance, capturing the playfulness and woundedness, the hard edge and vulnerability, and most importantly, the conflict of conscience that Catwoman is so well known for in the comics. I know there's been a lot of debate about how well Catwoman (which she's never directly called in the film) would or would not work in the Nolan Bat-verse, and I'm happy to say that she works just fine. Kyle's motivations for what she does are often ambiguous, but here, at least in part, they're made quite clear. Selina wants a "clean slate"; literally. She takes on a job in order to secure a computer program called "clean slate" that would wipe her record and allow her to enjoy a fresh start. The question is whether or not such a thing, a "clean slate", actually exists. Well I'm happy to say that it does, but it's not a computer program.

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