The Best Movies of 2012

4. The Dark Knight Rises

An ambitious, sobering superhero flick sans much of a superhero, Christopher Nolan's Batman conclusion is a fitting end to his gritty trilogy. New additions Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard hold their own opposite Christian Bale (Bane's semi-unintelligible preaching notwithstanding), while Nolan's cinematic sleight of hand unspools twists and ultimately a sense of renewed hope in Gotham.