I have never been a fan of the Batman genre action movies. However, The Dark Knight Rises might just change my mind. My date really enjoyed it, as I did, and the other patrons were riveted to the action. There was none of the usual rustling of candy wrappers, teenage noise, or cell phone use during the movie.

Plot - The good guys and bad guys were identifiable, with a few surprising plot twists, certainly enough to keep you guessing. The plot had a good flow, although the movie probably could have been cut shorter and still told a good story. The clever use of computer generated images, mixed with live footage, made the plot convincing. I'm not sure that I understood the ending, oh well, the rest was great so I don't really care. At least the stage is set for a sequel.

Characters - Not much to say here. There were no scene stealers, nor any actors that outperformed the rest. The Catwoman character was nicely portrayed, as was the Batman character. The rest were, well, in the movie.

Cinematography - Just when you think you've seen everything a computer can generate, a film like Dark Knight Rises comes along and redefines coolness. There were some scenes with eye-popping special effects which made me stop and think "wow, how did they make that"? Unlike most recent action movies, the special effects in Dark Night Rises actually complimented the action scenes without being grossly overdone. Nice touch.

Rating - I don't remember hearing any gratuitous swearing, nor any overtly gory scenes. There is plenty of violence, don't get me wrong...but once again, Dark Knight Rises didn't punish the viewer with grossly exaggerated mutilation. I would think a 9 or 10 year old could grasp the action without being emotionally scarred, but kids younger than that might be effected. My hat is off to the director/producer team for not using gratuitous swearing, gore or sexual overtone. Very classy, thank you.

Technical production - Wow. Beautifully mixed special effects, a cast of several hundred people, cool new vehicles and weapons and Gotham City camera work make Dark Night Rises much better than an average action flick. The production work is technically one of the best movies I have seen in a long while.

Sound - I normally don't comment about movie sound, unless the sound track is sonically abusive. Dark Knight Rises was artfully made to punctuate the special effects without making my eardrums ache. Again, thank you to the production staff. Well done.

The Dark Knight Rises raises the bar for 2012 summer blockbusters. It is well designed, well executed and masterfully presented. Like the other patrons, I enjoyed watching, and will likely purchase the movie in DVD when available. I recommend this as a family movie, for kids 9 or older. I also recommend watching it in theater, as it is a feast for the eyes and ears.

Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing