But the arrival of the incredibly dangerous masked terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy) puts the city in immense danger.
Bane will stop at nothing less than the total annihilation of Gotham City and he wants to see the caped crusader witness it all.
Standing somewhere between the two is a mysterious cat burglar (Anne Hathaway as Catwoman) who serves whichever master best looks after her interests.
Reluctantly Batman emerges from the shadows one final time to save his city.
His faithful butler Alfred (Michael Caine) knows no good can possibly come of Batman returning to his old ways.
But where did Bane come from and why does he seek to destroy Batman and Gotham City?
A captured Batman soon discovers some disturbing truths about the man and his origins and if he wants to survive and somehow find a way to stop Bane, he must mimic the evil man's actions.
With the police force trapped underground, Bane and his evil gang hold the city captive leaving bright, young policeman Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as one of the few people Batman can trust.
And they need to act quickly if they want to stop Bane detonating his nuclear device and destroying the city.
But don't think you have all the answers at this point, there are twists and turns at the end that help answer a lot of questions and pose many more.
Don't be put off by the three-hour length of
The Dark Knight Rises
, it is pure quality from start to finish.
The Dark Knight Rises
(M) 180 minutes
Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
