The best superhero trilogy ever

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2012)

Christopher Nolan has done it again. With the same team who worked with him on the previous two parts of the Batman trilogy, he has delivered a classic finale to the one of the best superhero trilogy of our times.
This film is a cinematic delight for an avid cinema admirer like me. I could not find a single low point in this movie - direction, story, screenplay, cinematography, editing, music... It takes a master like Mr.Christiopher Nolan to bring it all together.
I have been witnessing a trend in superhero movies. When the superhero craze started, these movies were all about special effects based on superpowers which would WOW the audience. But as more and more of these heroes started hitting the cinemas, the audience were lusting for something new - Not just action and special effects, but maybe some more drama. Their call has been answered. Look at James Bond's latest "Skyfall". It was entrusted to Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to perdition) who has no history with the action genre. But he is known to add depth to his characters and overall plot. Christopher Nolan did the same to the Batman Franchise in 2005 when he convinced Warner bros to give it to an unknown director like him. This was the first time when we saw Batman as a person before the Batman we all knew. This character has emotions, he was afraid before he rose up to the challenge. Superheroes are no longer with (just) supernatural powers. They are humans like us and they feel. They can go down like any of us, but what sets them apart is their ability to rise. The Dark knight definitely rises in this epic finale!
The greatest victory of TDKR is the message which Christopher Nolan has been conveying in this trilogy over and over again - the triumph of the human spirit, the win of good over evil. And this symbolism could not have been possible with superpowers or futuristic gadgets, but only when Batman breaks down and digs deeper to find his inner strength. The Batman had to rise again. Nolan broke down Batman to dust to such an extent that it made the audience actually root for him to stand up. Imagine a superhero being an underdog. Wow! Bringing out the underdog emotion in a superhero story can only be done when a lot of homework has been done on the plot and screenplay.
The other cinematic aspects were upto the mark in conveying this message. David Goyer (written Blade series) assisted Nolan with story while Jonathan Nolan did so with screenplay - David has been with this trilogy since batman begins and Jonathan joined in The Dark Knight. The three of them had a fair grip on what they wanted to convey. Cinematography was done by Wally Pfister who has been with Nolan since Memento and was part of all of Nolan's projects (Inception, all 3 Batman, The Prestige, Insomnia). In TDKR, cinematography was not all about picturesque sceneries, but more about lighting and grandeur (when needed). Hans Zimmer (Music) has gained expertise in providing music for grand & action oriented cinema - Gladiator, 2 POTC, MI 2, Pearl harbour, all 3 Batman, Inception). TDKR was no different.
The actors could not have better chosen. Christian Bale has been maturing like fine wine and aptly displayed Nolan's version of the Human superhero - he displayed weakness, depth of character, fear, arrogance, dug deep to find inner strength and all this, with few extra grey locks. Awesome ! Tom Hardy was a revelation in this movie and carried on the good work from his previous movies - Inception and Warrior. He was brawn, merciless and fearful. Voted in 2009 as Variety's "10 actors to Watch", I'll be waiting to see more of this muscular 35 year old in times to come. Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were the two other actors who justified their characters to the fullest. Joseph is just 31 and is turning out to be the next star. He has already been part of two of Nolan's movies (Inception and this one). Michael had very little screen time but had powerful screen presence.
For a superhero movie, this cinema was emotionally riveting. The Avengers had 5 (or 6) superheroes but came no where close to touching the audience as the Batman Trilogy has. The best part is that this movie, like Inception, ended with possibilities - now what, did Leo (Inception) gets left behind, will Levitt be the next Batman or will Christian make a comeback with Levitt as Robin. Mr.Nolan has set the bar too high this time. Cant wait for a reboot.