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.

Here, as director and co-writer, he's unrelenting in hammering home the dread, the sorrow, the sense of detachment and futility of a city on the brink of collapse with no savior in sight. Gotham is under siege in ways that tonally and visually recall 9/11; what is obviously the island of Manhattan gets cut off from the outside world at one point. Rather than seeming exploitative, it's just one of many examples of the script from Nolan and his usual collaborator, his brother Jonathan, making the franchise feel like a relevant reflection of our times. Identity theft, economic collapse and an uprising of the disgruntled, disenfranchised have-nots against the smug, comfy haves also come into play.

There's so much going on here, though, with so many new characters who are all meant to function in significant ways that 'The Dark Knight Rises' feels overloaded, and sadly lacking the spark that gave 2008's 'The Dark Knight' such vibrancy. The absence of Heath Ledger, who won a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of the anarchic and truly frightening Joker, is really obvious here. It retrospect, it makes you realize how crucial Ledger's performance was in making that Batman movie fly.

By comparison, 'The Dark Knight Rises' is plot-heavy, obsessed with process, laden with expository dialogue and flashbacks that bog down the momentum and _ dare I say it? _ just flat-out boring at times. Yes, the Batman world through Nolan's eyes is supposed to be moody and introspective; you've got to admire the fact that he is willing to challenge us this way when summer blockbusters so often feel flashy and hollow. And yet at the same time, it takes some giant leaps with its characters which either make no sense, haven't earned the emotions they're seeking, or both.

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