The Dark Knight Rises is MONUMENTAL work by Nolan!

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2012)

Here are my thoughts- Watched the movie -2 straight viewings.The movie is MESMERIZING .Can't get myself out of the Bat universe of Nolan. TDKR is a monumental achievement by Great director C.Nolan.Before saying anything we have to agree on one point that while making this movie he had faced the toughest challenge of living up to the standard of the preceding masterpiece -TDK and ending the most anticipated trilogy on a sound note. I have nothing but superlatives to describe what I just witnessed. Honestly I'm still shocked at how it far exceeded anything I had hoped for. The ending is perfect! Absolute resolution! I'm still soaking it in. yeah, this movie has everything I wanted in a Nolan Batman movie and then some...
ABSORBING.Yes,the movie is engaging to a great extent despite having a long run time of roughly 3 hours.After initial 15 minutes you get sucked into the Gotham universe.This is not a popcorn movie where you can afford munching on popcorn to kill boredom.One of the Very few movies that I have seen with such long playtime but still not becoming dull at a single moment.(Unless you have ADHD)
2.Casting Hardy as Bane is quite intimidating,ruthless.You must appreciate the actor's dedication to his work. He has molded his body physique in a terrific hunk character.You get to see his face briefly for one scene only.With mask on for most of the rest of time,he has given a commendable performance Bane.You can appreciate the furious eyes,the twitching of muscles and the horrifying voice-they have modded the voice definitely since he was a bit inaudible in the prologue(but in the movie-Bane is audible for each and every sentence)He is a classy villain, whose motivations are understandable, and frightening.This is, in my opinion, his best work aside from Warrior. Christian Bale-What a spectacular performance!He has proved his acting mettle too many times and he gives full justice to Bruce's role yet again!He was phenomenal in emotional scenes with Caine.Age just doesn't show up on the actors' face.Best Bruce Wayne in the history of Batman movies!Period.
Freeman,Caine,Gary Oldman are just amazing actors,you can simply expect a seminal performance from them.There was no doubt they were going to do their best! Anne Hathaway -Surprisingly steals the show.She is the best Catwoman I have ever seen!Her character is gifted with many crisp ,humorous,sarcastic dialogs.She has immersed herself in that role fully. M.Cotillard-What a shocking twist!She had perfectly portrayed seductive ,yet negative role of MAL in Inception,and she succeeds in justifying her casting in this film.It's impressive how actor's with very few dialogs in the movie can impact the general outcome! 3.Action: This is the mother of all superhero action movies.The last hour or so is just EPIC.At one stage the city of Gotham is almost torn apart by Bane.The CGI are perfect.The last 15 minutes are full of "edge-of the seat" moments.The Cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful. Many scenes have been shot with an IMAX camera and that extra effort has helped make the film all the more amazing. I can safely say this is the best piece of cinematography I have seen till now!!In last 30 minutes,all the chaos breaks loose and you get the feeling of a new world-war. Bane proves to be a far enormous master of anarchy than the Joker.The destruction he causes is unimaginable.
4.Direction "The dark knight rises" isn't the perfect film but it is definitely the most emotional of all three. You can feel the pressure on Nolan while making this enormously anticipated movie.He has lived up to expectations.He has once again shown he is the BEST film maker of this generation.This man continues to amaze me as a FINISHER.Look at any board maximum people are discussing the END of the movie.Yes!He succeeds yet again in satisfying both classes-the hardcore Batman fans(Who can take a little bit of fantasy into consideration)and the prudent not-so-fan type of viewers. TDKR is much beyond the final ending scenes.This is what most people ain't getting in their heads.
The emotional scenes are directed skilfully.Noaln has always been blamed for lacking emotional content,being too cerebral etc..In this movie he will shut the mouth of such critics.In fact it is "Not-so-typical of-Nolan" type movie,which begins slow,but seeps deep inside your heart.
Yes,there are few flaws.
5.Music- Composer Hans Zimmer has done an excellent job again creating a haunting and beautiful soundtrack to accompany this film. There are not many places where you can appreciate the OST since the movie thrives heavily on the dialogs,still you get goose-bumps when "Imagine the fire" plays at the end.What a soundtrack it is! "Rise" plays at grim moments of the movie.It is Perfectly fitting to the situations of the movie. IMHO,they under-utilized Bane's chant "Dey she Bah-SA-rah". I Would have loved to hear that score at many places.
6.Conclusion&Reception It is a great film which would have been considered amazing had it not been for the impossibly high standards set by it's predecessors. The end leaves you awestruck and speechless, feeling satisfied and knowing that you have just seen the ending to what is possibly the best trilogy of all time. You just don't want to get out of the Nolan Universe of Batman even after the credits stop rolling down the screen. The reception was awesome in the theater.There was huge cheer for the Batman when he appears for the first time in the movie.Huge applause followed the end,when name of the director flashes on the screen for one final time as far as Batman movies are concerned. Thanks to C.Nolan for reviving a dead comic series,a series which was awfully pictured by so many directors till now.You happen to be the best and deserve great acclaim for making The Dark Knight Rises", - "a fantastic spectacle, groundbreaking and masterfully incredible".
Rating - 9.5/10