Having
set the superhero gold standard with his previous venture into Gotham,
The Dark Knight (see below), Nolan set himself a near-insurmountable
task with its follow-up. The Dark Knight Rises, which brings Christian
Bale’s brooding Batman out of an eight-year self-imposed exile to save
the day again, is a perfectly solid trilogy closer containing all the
comic-book bells and whistles you’d expect. But although Tom Hardy’s
masked man Bane makes for a physically imposing – if indecipherable –
villain, he’s no Joker. And while Nolan has since dismissed accusations
of pro-capitalist propaganda, its anti-Occupy Wall Street messaging
suggests otherwise. It might be the highest-grossing film in the
franchise (and his career), but it’s the least essential. (Stream on
Prime Video, Netflix or Now. Rent on YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV or
Sky Store). (Photo: Warner Bros/AP)