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July 20, 2012

Batman series ends as epic letdown

By CHRISTY LEMIRE
AP Movie Critic

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard

Rating: PG-13

Running time: 164 minutes
Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman trilogy in typically spectacular, ambitious fashion with “The Dark Knight Rises,” but the feeling of frustration and disappointment is unshakable.

Maybe that was inevitable. Maybe nothing could have met the expectations established by 2008's “The Dark Knight,” which revolutionized and set the standard for films based on comic books by being both high-minded and crowd-pleasing. With Christian Bale as his tortured superhero starting from 2005's “Batman Begins,” Nolan has explored the complicated and conflicting motivations of man as well as the possibility of greatness and redemption within society.


 
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