6. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The expectations associated with the third movie in Christopher Nolan's gritty
Dark Knight trilogy were arguably too high to warrant its fair appraisal, though - for all its flaws -
The Dark Knight Rises remains a solid entry to the series, one that ultimately suffers as a result of its bombastic, deadly-serious tone, but thrives when it gives itself a chance to let loose. For what it's worth, this is arguably the most "serious" superhero movie ever made, and one that embraces its position as a "dark comic book film" to more of an extent than its predecessors.
The Dark Knight Rises takes place almost a decade after the events of
The Dark Knight, with Bruce Wayne beaten and emotionally scarred from his battle with the Joker, and facing a new foe in the form of Bane. Christopher Nolan uses his movie as a way to comment on all manner of things, noticeably that of class division, and as a result there's a lacking sense of fun to be associated with this entry. That's not to criticise what has been attempted here, which - for the most part - delivers as an epic payoff to an awesome trilogy.