Much More Consistent and Flowing that 'The Dark Knight'

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2012)

I have received some mixed reactions to this movie from people claiming that it is heaps good and seeing it twice in three days to a comparison with Prometheus, being that the effects were really good but the story itself lacked. Nolan himself was somewhat reluctant initially to create a third movie, believing that attempting to create something better than 'The Dark Knight' would be difficult at best. Personally I think he succeeded namely because I found that 'The Dark Knight' seemed to be more of a patchwork of encounters between Batman and the Joker with Two-face thrown in as a second villain near the end of the movie. This film seemed to flow a lot better with a more consistent storyline that fitted together really well.
Okay, people will probably crucify me for suggesting that 'The Dark Knight' was not a good movie, but I never actually said that. Nolan makes brilliant movies which challenge us as the viewer and leave us with a good feeling at the end. He also tends to be very dark and gritty in his films with all of his characters, including the heroes, having significant flaws. For instance, in this movie, Commissioner Gordon, for over eight years, has been holding the city together by continually promoting what we, the audience, know to be a lie (that is that Harvey Dent was a good man, and that all of his murders are attributed to Batman).
The movie begins eight years after the end of 'The Dark Knight' and due to some reforms that Harvey Dent made (such as locked criminals away with no possibility of parole) the crime rate in Gotham City has dropped dramatically. However criminals still lurk about, as is evidenced by the appearance of Catwoman (who is a much better rendition of the character than Michelle Pfieffer's character in Batman Returns). There is also a glimpse of Robin in this film, though he never puts on a mask and never becomes Batman's sidekick (which seems to retain the idea of Batman being a loner, something that Robin, and even Batwoman, tends to destroy). Anyway, a new threat from Batman's past is arising underneath Gotham, and soon Bruce Wayne finds that his corporation has been stripped of all of its assets, and his armoury has been raided. Gotham then falls under the authoritarian rule of a supervillan known as Bane, and Bruce Wayne is exiled to a prison that is little more than a hole in the ground. However, as the movie progresses, we return to some of the things that we encountered in the first movie, such as the League of Shadows.
I won't go too much further into this film as I have already given away enough spoilers, but also these days I generally do not go as deep into films as I do with books. I guess it has something to do with my disregard of modern literature and that many films that appear these days are little more than mindless entertainment. However this is not the intention with many of the Nolan's movies. In many cases they do explore the nature of our humanity and explores our dark side, as I mentioned with Commissioner Gordon. I will finish off by saying that Gary Oldman is a brilliant actor, and while in many cases he seems to play bad guys (though he doesn't in Harry Potter), he is, and has always been, very impressive as Commissioner Gordon (who plays a much more significant role in this film).