‘The Dark Knight Rises’
Hot take: The Dark Knight Rises is the best of the Nolan Batman films. Batman Begins is ambitious, but falls apart with a messy third act. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece, but grim, gritty and about one act too long (by the time we get to The Joker’s trolley problem with the ferrys, we get it, you maniac). The Dark Knight Rises is a blast throughout, and the only Nolan Batman movie that’s actually fun to watch/seems to understand that it comes from comics. The whole flick, which pits Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) against the hulking Bane (Tom Hardy) plays like a ’90s Batman comic crossover, complete with the destruction of Gotham City, multiple villains, and twists a-plenty. Are there quibbles with some of the plot choices? Sure. But it’s the only one of the trilogy that I revisit with any regularity.