[Note: Check out my full, spoiler-free review of The Dark Knight Rises here. And for more reviews of new releases, check out The CL Movies Site.]
I've wanted to talk at length about The Dark Knight Rises since the second it was over, but that was on Tuesday, and I would have been killed by my friends and office compatriots if I breathed a word of spoilers. What follows below the fold are some additional thoughts on the movie without concern for holding back details. Please consider yourself fully alerted to the spoilers before continuing.
Also, a note on the shootings in Colorado late Thursday night: It's a horrible tragedy. As someone who spends a lot of time in movie theaters I am mortified on many levels. I have no idea what motivated James Holmes, but I do know that blaming the movies in general, or Nolan's Batman flicks specifically, is wrong. No movie can inspire a person to commit this kind of unspeakable crime. That motivation must come from within the deranged individual. It would also be wrong to allow one moron lunatic with a gun to come between you and a movie you've been dying to see for weeks, months or years. The lasting message of The Dark Knight Rises is one of hope. Don't let Holmes dampen yours.
Now, on to the spoilerific nit-picking:
This article appears in Jul 19-25, 2012.