An epic conclusion

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2012)

The Legend Ends. The first 2/3 of Christopher Nolan's trilogy single-handedly changed what a comic-book movie could be. Instead of a campy-fantasy flick, Nolan painted a darker, and more importantly, realistic, view of Gotham. It's crazy to think there have been four modern live-action portrayals of the caped crusader, and Nolan's first crack at it alone blew all of them right out of the water. He was the first to show us the origins of Batman, and proceeded to craft one of the most gripping movies I've ever seen in The Dark Knight. After all of these accomplishments, how could any more be expected of Nolan? Well, expectations only ever increase in the movie industry, and in this case, we are lucky for that. After seeing this last chapter twice, I still believe The Dark Knight is the best of the three (and best comic-book inspired movie of all time), but The Dark Knight Rises shocks and awes in an epic ending to the story.
It's been 8 years since Batman defeated the Joker and took the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes. Since then, Gotham has thrived, and Bruce Wayne has fallen into seclusion. Both of these things come to a swift end when a ruthless terrorist named Bane makes his way to America's greatest city. Gotham might still call him an enemy, but the Dark Knight must return and face his most dangerous adversary yet.
Enough can't be said of Nolan's approach to the Batman story. While The Dark Knight Rises has a different feel than both of the other films, it still contains an unequaled dedication to character and theme. The Dark Knight Rises team had to go into this one with Bane as the villain (following one of the best villain performances of all time by the late and great Heath Ledger), as well as Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman (no one has ever made this character credible as far as I know - and I love Michelle Pfeiffer). Yet somehow, Nolan and company's careful crafting of the story brought us a worthy villain for this epic conclusion and a Catwoman subplot that actually added to the film. The theme is also as interesting as ever - according to IMDb trivia, Nolan's aim thematically was fear for Batman Begins, chaos for The Dark Knight, and pain for The Dark Knight Rises. While it's definitely a dark trio, it's expertly executed and is a major reason we actually care about this Batman.
A review of a Nolan film wouldn't be complete without mentioning the cast, as he always seems to stack the deck in his favor. Christian Bale of course "finishes" his stint as Batman perfectly - and moreover has to be more dynamic than in the other films, as his body has broken down in the 8 years since he last donned the bat-suit. The surprise in this one is Michael Caine's third performance as Alfred. Obviously Michael Caine giving a great performance isn't a surprise, but he is given much more to work with as he's Bruce Wayne's only remaining family, and makes the most of it. Lastly, the inclusion of Nolan's Inception team in Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt paid off in spades. JGL was especially fun to watch as a "hot-headed" cop that believed in the Batman.
The film isn't perfect, but in all honestly, I think that's only because it has to be measured against The Dark Knight. Nolan created a thrilling and thought-provoking ending, and it has truly been a pleasure to watch it unfold. Thank you for making Batman respectable, Mr. Nolan. 10/10