The Dark Knight Rises

So I finally got down to watching Batman. This time, Batman faces Bane in a high stakes struggle over Gotham (what's new?). The movie is everything one might expect from a Nolan Batman installment, though I guess I still preferred the prequels. The story has hints of the No Man's Land and Knightfall story arcs, with all that entails. I really do appreciate that the director's striking a balance between the creation of an independent narrative and the established comic series. Kudos for that. I also liked the reimagination of Bane as a somewhat intellectual figure with a background in the League of Shadows. Sadly, despite the characters and the story itself, there were a number of inconsistencies in the movie that just took me out of my suspension of disbelief. I did not appreciate that the city did not quite give me the feel of one under siege, nor did Batman/Bruce's difficulties feel convincing enough for me to immerse myself. Overall I did like the movie, but I think this is just not quite up to the standard of the other Nolan Batmans. Perhaps Heath Ledger's death had something to do with this. Regardless, I'd give it a 7.5/10.