The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Nolan, It's Time to Bring Down the Curtain!

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2012)

The third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's highly successful Batman trilogy, "The Dark Knight Rises" was my most anticipated movie of the entire year. I've been extremely pumped for a third movie, anticipating for Nolan's final film in the trilogy. Now, I'm so happy to report that "The Dark Knight Rises" is one of the best films of the year. Set nearly eight years after the Joker has caused mayhem in Gotham City in "The Dark Knight", the movie brings back Christian Bale, bringing a more likable and challenging charm to the character of Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman, The Caped Crusader, who has been spending his eight years into exile, hiding in the newly enhanced Wayne Manor. After finally deciding to strap on the Bat-suit one last time, he must now face an incoming massacre in the form of Bane, played by Tom Hardy. Bringing in some new characters to the mix, Anne Hathaway plays the sexy Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman, Tom Hardy plays the deadly villain of Bane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an undercover cop with a past...and maybe a future, and Marion Cotillard as a lovely employer of Wayne Enterprises. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman all return, reprising their roles as Butler Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Commissioner Gordon respectively. I couldn't ask for more than to watch all these actors shine on screen. But is it no surprise that this movie succeeds easily in it's delivery? Christopher Nolan's directing once again is incredibly flawless, giving the audiences what they want, in such a unique and stylized manner. He wants the audience to be amazed, on the edge of their seat, wondering what's going on, or what's happening next. His way of storytelling is just magical to watch unfold on screen. Even if the 165-minute run time seems to drag somewhere near the middle act of the movie, it's just a minor flaw that can't stop this movie's momentum. The production design, the effects, the cinematography, the musical score, and the directing is true filmmaking at it's finest. As for the cast, Christian Bale is still top-notch as Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine delivers more back-story and confidence in his character, and everyone from Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, and Gary Oldman is just flawless. But, there are three performances in this movie that makes it definitely shine. First of all, Anne Hathaway delivers one of the best performances of her career, delivering one of the best spin-offs to the character of Catwoman. Although often difficult to understand through a steel mask, Tom Hardy is still great in the role as Bane, and similar to Hathaway's Catwoman, he delivered some of the coolest lines of dialouge, and carried some of the most expectations. But it's impossible to compare this to the brilliant work of Heath Ledger's Joker! Finally, Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers a brilliant performance that stands out as one of the most important characters of the entire film, as he helps to tell the story in such a great way possible. Most scenes are so jaw-dropping, they just want your eyes glued to the screen. Especially the climax of the movie which makes it impossible for you to not smile. Speaking of the climax, out of everything that made this movie great, from the directing, acting, music, effects, cinematography, sound, editing, and writing, the conclusion, the last few minutes, of this masterful motion picture was just perfect. It was an excellent way to conclude this incredible trilogy of movies! No spoilers will be spoken, but the ending is for your imagination to decide. Although at it's often slow parts, "The Dark Knight Rises" really paid off for what it wanted to be. This is an intense, wonderful, and exciting piece of filmmaking that has brought an end to a fantastic series of movies! "The Dark Knight Rises", in my review, "a fantastic spectacle, groundbreaking and masterfully incredible".
In other words, I like to end this review on a serious note. I would like to take this time to send my condolences to the victims and families whom were either killed or injured in the theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado. It really gives me pain to see something like that happen. Innocent people who just wanted to be captured in the magic of a movie, and escape from reality, ended up being killed for no reason. It's also really sad to still be remembering this story, while trying to enjoy a movie! I really feel bad for these recent events, and I for one, truly feel very sorry for this event to have been occurred! It really is a heartbreaking story to know about. So, I would like to deliver some straight apologies to the victims and families that have sadly been involved in this massacre, and say sorry to the 12 dead, and 58 injured. Thank you!