A Thematic Paradise filled with Nolanites

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2012)

This summer turned me into a Nolanite, and for good cause too. I missed the premiere by two days, and it was probably the longest two days of my life. I saw it in Imax. Lucky for Chris, Nolan likes Imax camera, so lucky for Chris, I saw what Nolan saw. Also, Cinematographer Wally Pfister put together some fantastic stuff in The Dark Knight Rises.
Tom Hardy continues to be an absolute TANK as Bane. Joseph Gordon Levitt steps into the fray as a "fake sidekick Robin" of sorts.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on the story here, because the thing that I believe makes The Dark Knight Rises such a terrific movie is how well it ties the entire trilogy together. Some people are upset by the lack of Batman himself in The Dark Knight Rises, but I am amazed that Christopher Nolan could make a Batman movie that is so much more about Bruce Wayne than it is about Batman.
In Batman Begins, Batman is a man. Clearly real, and a part of Bruce Wayne. In The Dark Knight, Batman has become a symbol. Finally, in The Dark Knight Rises, Batman eventually turns into a myth, and he's not Bruce Wayne anymore. Batman does not need to be a specific person, because Batman could be anyone. It doesn't matter who's under the mask.
Did I mention the comparisons that The Dark Knight Rises gets away with making to Jesus Christ? A city who scorned the only one that has the capacity to save them from their own filth, and their own sins. Batman takes the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes, and he puts it all upon himself, and in the end, sacrifices himself to save all of those people who just wanted him dead or imprisoned in the first place.
Or maybe the theme of "rising from failure", or simply "rising" throughout the movie. Batman rises from being chased and hated, to becoming a hero, who saved Gotham. Bruce Wayne rises from his old hermit-like, miserness, and tries to do what he thinks is right (become the Batman again), only to get completely owned. But once he realized his mistake, and the reasons that he failed, he is able to rise out of his own depression, and his own selfishness, to become the man that he is being called to be. Or the blatant symbolism in Bruce rising from the jail pit. Out of darkness, into the light, yadda yadda The list goes on and on. The Dark Knight Rises is absolutely rife with symbolism, and this is what makes it such a powerful story.
There is something more here than just a comic book hero film. It's an examination of the human condition, and just how far someone can fall. The reminder is, "no matter how far you fall, you fall so that you can better learn how to pick yourself back up."
It's a beautifully crafted story that I think bears reason to be told many, many times. Or in my case, seen in theaters four times. Beating The Avengers record. All of this to say, DC comics didn't have a chance until The Dark Knight Trilogy. Seriously, share this movie with those around you, and don't just leave it there. Talk about some of the themes behind this movie, because there is so much to be said about failure, and the purpose of failure. Not to mention it's really just a freaking BA movie that captures the essence of Batman so very well. If this doesn't get you excited for Man of Steel, then I have no idea how to help you.
The Dark Knight Rises is a 9/10.