The good news is that, despite what some might say, The Dark Knight Rises is absolutely worth a watch, even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor. Just as The Dark Knight took its story from the pages of Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween, Rises is heavily influenced by three other pivotal comics: Frank Miller’s character-defining The Dark Knight Returns as well as two massive storylines from the ’90s, “Knightfall” and “No Man’s Land.” Christopher and Jonathan Nolan use elements of each to tell a multi-layered story that perhaps may be a little too ambitious for its own good but is no less enjoyable to watch (obvious faults in logic aside). This twisting conclusion to The Dark Knight Trilogy is pivotal to understanding how the events of the second movie have changed Bruce and Gotham City as well as what Batman’s legacy truly means when it grows beyond just one man. If you’ve gone searching for The Dark Knight Rises right after the final scene of The Dark Knight, you’re headed in the right direction. But here we get to the bad news: The Dark Knight Rises isn’t on Netflix, an odd omission considering the streamer has just added the first two movies this month. So where can you go to watch the third one? Once have finished the trilogy, you have way more Batman to look forward to on the big screen. Matt Reeves’ The Batman hits theaters on March 4, 2022, while the Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton versions of the Dark Knight will return for The Flash movie out on Nov. 2, 2022. In the meantime, if you’re looking for some cool new Batman stories in the pages of the comics, give John Ridley’s futuristic The Next Batman a look as well as what James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez are doing on DC’s main Batman book.
