Not as good as it's predecessor, but a satisfying end to the trilogy

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2012)

This is what we've all been waiting for. This is the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan's astounding Batman trilogy. First there was Batman Begins in 2005. Then in 2008 we were given The Dark Knight which blew everyone out of the water and broke new ground as to what a superhero movie could be. Now in 2012 Nolan is finishing it off with The Dark Knight Rises. It begins eight years after The Dark Knight. Batman hasn't shown his face since taking the fall for the death of Harvey Dent. However, a new villain now threatens Gotham. The super strong super evil Bane shows up with the intentions of burning Gotham to the ground in order to restore the power to its people. It's quickly evident that Batman is the only thing that can stop this mad man, so the caped crusader gets himself back into the action for the most explosive, brutal, and deadly fight he's never been prepared to face.
For a film of this stature everyone is going to have their expectations. Nobody is going to walk into the film not expecting or not desiring something. The Dark Knight Rises may not meet those expectations. I think this is what has made a lot of critics anticipating the film too highly very disappointed. But I say these critics are much too nitpicky. No matter what your expectations of the film, you should still find it absolutely awesome, because that is what it is. The Dark Knight Rises is simply just awesome. It starts out a little slow while Bruce Wayne is busy not being Batman. But then, about thirty minutes into the film, we see Batman and the coolness meter of the film just explodes at that point and we remember that we are once again in Christopher Nolan's darkly badass Batman universe.
It's obvious that Nolan wanted to make his last hurrah with Batman something bigger and heavier than he had ever done with the previous two films. That is why The Dark Knight Rises is so explosive, so cool, so sprawling with characters and plot, and almost three hours long. The trilogy had to go out with a bang, and it most certainly does. It's possibly the largest and most involved production Nolan has ever put together, even more so than Inception. That epic scale production value is utilized perfectly in the film as we are left without desiring any more explosions or any more epic fight scenes than what we were given. As far as the Batman and Gotham action goes, I couldn't have been any more satisfied.
Now, the one thing most people will go into this film wondering about is, will it be as good as The Dark Knight, arguably the greatest superhero movie ever made. After seeing the film, my answer to that question is no. The Dark Knight Rises is great, but when you compare it to it's predecessor you can see that it is lacking a few things that would have made it even better. One of the most glaring omissions is obviously The Joker. Now, there's clearly no way the Joker could have returned for this film due to Heath Ledger's tragic death. The problem is that there will simply never be a Batman villain as perfect as Ledger's Joker. That being said, Tom Hardy as Bane is incredible. However awesome you think he might be in the film, he's more awesome than that. He's a villain that fits in perfectly with what The Dark Knight Rises is and every line of dialogue he speaks is all but perfect. He's not as perfect as the Joker, but certainly comes in at a close second.
The biggest thing missing in The Dark Knight Rises that could have been accounted for is that psychological aspect that fueled The Dark Knight so brilliantly. The Dark Knight was as much an explosive action film as it was a psychological thriller. The Dark Knight Rises chooses to go a much more exclusively action route. There are elements of the Batman psychology throughout the film, but they don't enhance the story like The Dark Knight.
Overall, it's the thing that keeps The Dark Knight Rises from being as smart and as groundbreaking as its predecessor. This film just doesn't have the same kind of control and doesn't convey the same kind of expert filmmaking as The Dark Knight. When watching The Dark Knight you just get the feeling that you are watching a perfect Batman film. It couldn't be any better and it couldn't be put together with more finesse or ingenuity. When watching The Dark Knight Rises you feel like you're watching a film that is trying to achieve that perfection, but gets too caught up in the action to deliver in all other aspects.
The Dark Knight Rises is a fantastic end to such an amazing trilogy of films. It's, in some ways, the least inspired of the three films, but it's the most explosive. It ends the trilogy just right, delivering on the action so that we don't have to miss out on anything in this Batman universe. It's missing those things which made The Dark Knight the greatest superhero movie ever, but it makes up for it by just being an awesome film. It is a more than satisfying end to one of the greatest trilogies I've had the pleasure of experiencing in my life time.