An incredible finale to a 3-part, masterpiece story.

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2014)

So, The Dark Knight Rises...
Starting off with the cast, Christian Bale delivered in all aspects and played the part of Batman/Bruce Wayne much better than in the previous films. He showed so much emotion and pain in this film, and for the first time watching a Batman movie, I felt the urge to stand up and cheer him on. That said, his Batman voice was still wrong and at times he struggled to maintain "screen-presence" amongst the other actors in the movie during some scenes. Anne Hathaway was a big surprise. I was very unhappy when they announced she would be playing Catwoman and the costume they provided her with wasn't to my liking either, but after seeing the film, I can safely say I was WRONG. Her performance was very memorable and she stole every scene she was in. Michael Cane... well, what can be said about the man. He just blew away expectations and even made me tear up on more than one occasion. Tom Hardy's Bane wasn't as good as it should have though. He did the best he could and he certainly wasn't a bad villain, but his look and voice just didn't work for me (a few people in the audience even started to chuckle when he gave one of his speeches). That said, his brawl with Batman was incredibly powerful and brutal and I'm very glad that they included the iconic moment from the comics. Joseph Gordon-Levitt also stole every scene that he was in and basically carried a big part of the second act. I can't really say that much about him without spoiling parts of the movie, but he was truly exceptional. Sadly, the other actors like Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Marion Cotillard didn't impress me that much. They served their purpose well enough, but seeing as they were meant to serve as crucial parts of the story, I felt let down mostly.
The story was great as well, but there were definitely one or two plot holes (and I don't use that term lightly) nearing act 3. I think ultimately, the plot of the movie gave in a little due to its sheer scale. There were too many things going on at certain times and that made the focus of the film shift a little too much. Still, for the most part it was great: very entertaining and emotional. The symbolism of the "fire rising" will stay with me for a very long time and the ending... well, let's just say it was one of the best endings to a trilogy that I've ever seen.
The pacing on the other hand, wasn't that great though. It's one of the few gripes I have with Nolan's films (as much as I love his films). The first act felt rushed and the second act dragged too much for my liking (despite some truly epic scenes). A slightly shorter run-time and a bit more focus on the important scenes would have helped it along much more I think...
On to the action! The practical effects were very well done and the CGI was good as well. The thing is though, the balance between practical effects and CGI wasn't always right (too much practical effects in one scene, and too much CGI in the next) which made a few of the CGI moments feel a little too unreal at times. Still, overall it was truly epic. The fight choreography was a big improvement upon the previous films. Catwoman moved and acted fluidly in combat and Batman was, to my surprise, much better as well. His movements still come across as stiff and forced to me, but it is largely due to the suit... His first fight with Bane was almost flawless though.
The score by Hans Zimmer accompanied the film very well (much like his previous Batman scores), but it's not something that I'd buy and listen to on its own. One or two of the tracks felt out of place in the specific scenes they were used in, but the other 90% it was wonderful and definitely helped to bring even more gravitas and emotion to the film.
In short: I think The Dark Knight Rises is the best of the trilogy, and while I might just be caught up in the scale, emotion and "epicness" of it all, I doubt my view on the film will change. Whether I'll still feel the same way about the movie after my second viewing, or even in a few years (for instance, the more I watch The Dark Knight, the less I seem to enjoy it), I wouldn't be able to say, but I can say that at the point of writing this, I'd give it a well deserved 9.5 out of 10.