So close to perfection

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2013)

Coming after my favorite movies of all time, The Dark Knight, the Dark Knight Rises had everything but great expectations coming for it. After seeing the first few trailers, I was all too excited. Bane seemed like an interesting and powerful villain, Gotham appeared to be in real danger, Batman appeared to be struggling physically and mentally, and it had this dark atmosphere about it. Christopher Nolan, also one of my favorite directors, could not have gone wrong in his final installment to this epic trilogy. So close to being the best movie series of all time. So close indeed.
If you're expecting another The Dark Knight, leave those expectations at the door. The Dark Knight Rises, for about 85% of its material, can fulfill those expectations, if not more (the Batman vs. Bane fight scenes surpass about any fight scene you can think of in recent movie history) but the other 15% unfortunately ruin the other 85. Cheesy dialogue, unnecessary scenes, ridiculous plot holes, unnecessary and silly twist, and sadly, despite Anne Hathaway's best efforts, this movie would have been much better without Catwoman as every scene she was in felt forced and unlikeable.
But when it was good, it was amazing. Unmatched. For the first hour and a half or so I was ready to clap and call it a better sequel than its amazing preceder. Things, however, went abysmally downhill in the second half as things were forced and thrown in for the sake of entertainment or whatever Nolan was trying to do with all the foolishness that was taking place. It did however, have a heart, a great tone for the most part, intense moments that will make you wanna clap or cry, great action and fight scenes, an amazing return by the dark knight himself, a respectable and likable villain for most of the movies duration, and a fitting ending which only leaves us with a feeling that it could have so much more.
I have heard others complain of its running time. To be honest, it could have ran 20 minutes longer and still have been okay. I saw it twice in two days and had no complaint on its running time. Is it worth seeing? Yes. Despite being flawed, it is still at least the third, or second best, depending on how you feel about Batman Begins, batman film ever made. My only warning is that it will let you feel as if it could have been much more. Much more indeed.