What I think Nolan forgot how to do

Rating: 7/10 (22 July 2012)

When Christopher Nolan went and made Batman Begins, I had no clue who Christian Bale was and my first reaction to the Tumbler was less than flattering. I thought it looked like something cartoony and hugely weird.
I was taken for a ride.
The Dark Knight Rises is no Nolan movie. He didn't think this through. It is either poorly written or poorly edited. Nolan is a brilliant visual artist and Tom Hardy does a respectable Bane. I loved the voice. And I stayed away from the first 6 minutes till the actual movie.
#SPOILERS#
But where he messed up. He forgot how to make the villain. Literally. You only forget what you had when you lose it. In Batman Begins, we find out Liam Neeson was Ra's. He spends a few minutes explaining it, and in a few seconds transforms the weight of villainy unto himself. Nolan executed that to perfection - thank you Liam Neeson, for a legendary performance - and managed to make the bad guy really scary and a worthy villain. He lost it here. Talia's backstory works beautifully into Banes life, but Banes death takes away every-thing he built up for 3 amazing hours right before.
Nolan needs to review his performance here. This was shoddy and not what I thought to see from the director of 'The Dark Knight' and 'Memento'.
#END SPOILERS#
Nevertheless, the movie is admirable. Bane is amazing as he is and the voice took me on a trip. Marion Cotillard was beautiful and Anne Hathaway was most interesting. Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman are just having some fun doing stuff they could in their sleep, and why Bale didn't ask Nolan what was wrong with him is beyond me. The movie is forgivable and as a friend said afterwards, 'Sure, it makes a good box set'.