There was disappointment for The Dark Knight Rises as it missed out on a nomination for Best Picture – in fact, scratch that, it missed out on a nomination everywhere.

Largely thanks to the stellar performance of the late Heath Ledger, its predecessor had taken a grand total of eight nominations at the 2009 Academy Awards, and with another strong critical showing upon its release last year, there were no doubt hopes that the sequel would feature in the reckoning today (January 10, 2013). However, alongside another blockbuster franchise in James Bond, it managed to miss out on all the major categories in a massive snub to director Christopher Nolan, who must have previously thought he’d taken the one much-dated Batman character back towards something approaching artistic relevance.

At least the Bond franchise has something to look forward to on Oscar’s night; Skyfall might have missed out but there will be a tribute to the series reaching its 50th anniversary (although that may well stick in the craw); for Nolan it means a disappointing end to his trilogy directing the caped crusader. It’s hard to say what it was that’s halted The Dark Knight Rises momentum, an unfortunate reason may well be that the shootings at the Aurora Theater during a midnight screening of the film last summer quickly overshadowed the film itself, although commercially it remained strong thereafter. Either way, it’s a pity that Nolan will be bowing out from the franchise with a whimper.

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer