Brilliant.

Rating: 7/10 (25 July 2012)

Ledger's terrifying depiction of sadistic villain, the Joker, was critically lauded and won him hundreds of posthumous awards. Nolan had outdone himself as a director, with technical spectacle in abundance and a sadistically dark tone that lifted the film away from any norms associated with a comic-book film, and did to that genre what 'The Godfather' did to Gangster films. The motion picture is considered by many critics to be the best movie of the year, a classic and a sky-high standard for all comic-book films to look up to. The Dark Knight Rises is the final instalment of Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' Trilogy, and delivers an intensely satisfying capper to the best superhero trilogy of all-time.
TDKR was one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2012, and proof lies in its box office performance. Nolan's latest broke the record for highest-grossing opening for a 2-D film, and the third highest opening ever, with 160.3 Million USD - only behind 3D films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Avengers. Although many box-office analysts predicted much higher results, the horror of the tragedy in Aurora has made many moviegoers reluctant to see the film, dramatically affecting its box-office performance.
It also earned rave from critics including Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Lou Lumenick and Richard (TIME magazine). "Begins with a muddled plot with too many new characters but builds to a sensational climax", a 3-star review from film critic Roger Ebert says. Meanwhile, in a perfect 5-star review from Richard of TIME magazine, he goes on to call it a "meditation on mortal loss and heroic frailty". TDKR has thoroughly impressed critics with its all-encompassing gloom and emotional depth beyond the limits of a superhero/comic book film.
When TDK was not even nominated for 'Best Picture', there was such an outrage that the Academy expanded its Best Picture nominee field from 5 to 10 entries to allow more 'mainstream' films to enter. When this happened, I realised that voters had a very big weight on their shoulders - a colossal I.O.U to Nolan. I was under the impression that it was guaranteed a place in the Best Picture race, but that fantasy is looking more and more far-fetched, with reports coming in that it 'failed to impress voters' and that it got 'zero love'. I then experienced an epiphany - that the Oscars are becoming decreasingly relevant in our world. These are the same fools who didn't nominate 'The Dark Knight', who gave the 'Best Picture' crown to 'Forrest Gump' instead of 'The Shawshank Redemption'. I really couldn't care less if this film got a 'Best Picture' nod or not, especially from the pretentious snobbery that is Oscar voting.
As the 6-minute prologue unfolded, I increasingly became queasy when the physically intimidating Bane appeared. Tom Hardy succeeds with his portrayal of Bane, using a voice that is truly ominous (though hard to understand) and a hulking presence that gives him the key to power over anyone. He wrings fear into the audience with the fiery fear that pops out of the screen, just using 20% of his face. Bale also beautifully stepped into Batman's shoes for the third time as the tortured, frail hero - but for me, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman stole the show. Completely electrifying, sexy, sleek and bad-ass, Catwoman provides the right dosage of light mood to contrast the all-encompassing gloom and sombre tone that dominates the film.
Political undertones to the film realistically reflect on and depict political unrest in our world. Nolan effectively uses political sentiments to provide a macro-level perspective on democratic systems. These are one of the major reasons I fell in love with Christopher Nolan - he adroitly subverts our expectations for the apparent boundaries and/or restrictions of a film, even with humble comic book origins. He uses intelligently fractured narrative that intertwines emotional depth with storytelling interrupted with flashbacks.
The frail Bruce Wayne after the events of 'Knight' creates a gritty, bitter and dark tone to the film that effectively deepens the emotional resonance of Bruce's life. Drawing inspiration from critically acclaimed comic series 'Knightfall' and Dickensian classic 'A Tale of Two Cities', Nolan ambitiously creates memorable scenes that'll haunt you well after the end of the film - Bane shattering Batman's spine is truly brutal and succeeds in its pure cruel nature. With Bruce Wayne being attacked financially, physically and emotionally, it requires a heart of stone to not be immersed in the shoes of the misunderstood, publicly hated hero.
A pinch of journalists have criticized the running time (165 minutes) and the sometimes muddled plot of the first half of the film. I agree, to some extent - the running time is indeed slightly bloated, and the plot is (at times) murky. Storytelling takes time to get to the main plot, but once it gets there, it builds to what is a masterful climax that chokes you up and allows you to revel in the epic scale of Nolan's finely-crafted Gotham, whilst creating an unprecedented level of excitement and jaw drops that only this director could achieve.
Despite succeeding in the 'villain' department, Bane is undeniably that bit less menacing, terrifying and interesting than the master of chaos - the Joker. This slight misstep with the villain is symbolic of how impossible it is to top TDK, let alone close the door on The Caped Crusader with a satisfactory note. Most final entries in trilogies are a letdown (with the exception of masterpiece 'Return of the King') because it is near-impossible to meet the widely-conceived notion that the last film must be the best.
With that, TDKR doesn't quite live up to the legacy of the film by which all superhero films are compared to (TDK) but delivers enough spectacle, emotional depth, epic scope and brooding tone to define itself as the operatic final chapter to a trilogy which masterfully raised the standards of a superhero film, forever.