A worthwhile conclusion with flaws

Rating: 7/10 (26 July 2012)

Lets be honest here: there was NO WAY this movie was going to be better than The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight is arguably one of the best action movies of all time, and Heath Ledger's performance has pretty much solidified that movie into the iconic status of Alien, The Matrix, and other classic movies. But really it didn't have to be as good, just good enough would have sufficed. Well, did it achieve it? Ehhhh... sort of.
First and foremost, people are going to ask whether the villains are as good as in The Dark Knight? The villains made the second film and not just from superb acting but from their schemes and mindsets as well. Nolan created fully realized characters in that film. Ultimately, this film can't reach those impossibly high standards, but both Bane and Cat Woman are still really good. Cat Woman is sexy, slick, and most importantly--smart. Some of the best writing, in terms of clever moments, occur with Cat Woman doing her cat burglar thing. Early reports were that Cat Woman stole the show, but I didn't feel anything especially riveting about her performance: good, but not great. Bane, to me, is a far more interesting villain. His ruthlessness and cunning are on full display, and his voice has an interesting menace to it. But (and I don't think I'm alone here) half the time, I was struggling to hear anything he said. When grouped together they do a good job, and I was generally interested with the movie when they were on screen. Overall I was pretty impressed, I think Nolan did the best he could under the circumstances.
But the villains are only one aspect of of a good movie. The Dark Knight succeeded with a (mostly) intelligent script that had twists and turns galore, and this is the sticking point of this film. Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of memorable scenes such as the Bane and Batman showdown and plenty of the intelligent scripting that Nolan is know for, but for every smart move the story makes, there seems to be a misstep as well. The Dark Knight wasn't perfect; it had its share of awkward moments: I can still remember Batman falling with Rachel from a skyscraper and slamming into a taxi with nary a scratch. Still, this film seems to have more of those types of awkward scenes: Batman getting his spine realigned by a kick in the back (seriously?), the Bane airplane scene (wouldn't you pull of their face covers before they get on the plane?), etc. All these things could have been forgivable, but the plot was just kinda plodding. I'm not saying there were superfluous scenes cause I don't think there were. I do think the film is poorly paced though. There are long stretches where I just lost interest in what was going on, never the sign of a great movie. Also, I, personally, didn't enjoy some of the directions the film went into. Bruce going bankrupt, and his crippled demeanor just felt out of character for the brand. I know this probably doesn't bother other people, but for me, it was jarring. Lastly, the action sequences lacked panache. I know I might get a lot of flack for this, but I don't think Christopher Nolan does action sequences particularly well, excluding the excellent driving sequence in The Dark Knight. In this film, the hand-to-hand combat never felt visceral, and the driving sequences felt lackluster in intensity. I also thought the "war" at the end of the film was handled a little haphazardly and lacked the epic quality Nolan was trying to achieve. When you add all this up, it sufficed to say the film has its problems.
The Dark Knight Rises feels a little messy, but at its heart, it is a pretty good movie the completes the themes that Nolan has revisited the entire trilogy. Whatever problems I have with the film, I do feel that it has something to say and completed the story arch that began with Batman Begins. Overall, I think this film will be remembered as the weakest of the trilogy but not a debacle, just a disappointment with enough to still make it a worthwhile film and conclusion to the series. I will concede that its ending was pitch perfect. The Dark Knight Rises gets a 7 out 10.