Dark Knight Rises Is a Dark, Epic Blockbuster

The Dark Knight Rises reviews are in, and no, we won't give anything away—except the glowing accolades from reviewers. TDKR is predictably dark, brooding, and intense, but elevates the world of capes and gadgets to great storytelling:

• "For once a melodrama with pulp origins convinces viewers that it can be the modern equivalent to Greek myths or a Jonathan Swift satire," writes Richard Corliss in TIME. "TDKR is that big, that bitter—a film of grand ambitions and epic achievement."

• "This last installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy makes everything in the rival Marvel universe look thoroughly silly and childish," writes Todd McCarthy in The Hollywood Reporter. "Entirely enveloping and at times unnerving in a relevant way one would never have imagined, as a cohesive whole this ranks as the best of Nolan's trio."
• TDKR is "a satisfying saga of revolution and redemption that ends the tale on a note of thunder," writes Xan Brooks in the Guardian. It "may be a hammy, portentous affair but Nolan directs it with aplomb."
• "The Dark Knight Rises is plot-heavy, obsessed with process, laden with expository dialogue and flashbacks that bog down the momentum," writes a rare dissenter, Christy Lemire, at the AP. "The feeling of frustration and disappointment is unshakable."

See more at Rotten Tomatoes. (More Batman stories.)