Just a touch below The Dark Knight

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2012)

Well it is here. The conclusion to the best super hero trilogy ever. Period. Even though I still think that the best single superhero film ever made is Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie, the subsequent sequels and even the reboot attempt by Bryan Singer failed. Spider-man 2 also should be in the conversation as one of the best, but Christopher Nolan's trilogy is the most consistent in quality of the Big 3 superhero franchises. TDKR was inevitably going to suffer the comparisons to its predecessor because that film is as perfect of film of its as there could be. The new film is more ambitious than its 2 predecessors as is usually the case with 3 acts in a trilogy.
The film picks up 8 years after the events in TDK. I will not discuss any plot points, but all can say is that even though I don't think it is the masterpiece that TDK is, it is close. The biggest difference between the films is the villains. The villain in the new film is Bane, played by Tom Hardy. He is physically imposing but the fact that he has a mask doesn't help, you only see the actor's eyes. Also the fact that he speaks in an electronically assisted voice that at times is hard for the viewer to understand, takes away from his menace. With the villain lies the biggest difference between TDK and TDKR. The fact that Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker was one for the ages, That performance was unforgettable, and any actor's performance in the new film would fall short. The performances by everyone else in this film are uniformly good. I think that Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman deserves a lot of credit for creating a 3 dimensional, complex, heroic character. No one has been better in the role. Michael Caine as Alfred is great again, and has some of the best scenes in the trilogy here. I would love for him to get an Oscar nod. Anne Hathaway is very good as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. She is funny and sexy and has great chemistry with Bale. Everyone in the cast is good, Christopher Nolan is very good at choosing his actors.
The only other thing that I though about the film is that it did feel a little long. Both its predecessors were about 140 minutes, this film is 165 minutes and I think could have been cut a bit. The truth is that even though it isn't better that TDK, it is a terrific film. It is a grand, emotional ending to a a great Batman trilogy. I think that Christopher Nolan took the comic book film to a new level. He treated this story great intelligence and elegance.
It is in no way a disappointment.
Grade: A-