No sequel can compete with the DARK NIGHT but this is as close as you can get. Perfect ending to the trilogy. I say A

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2012)

"You can watch me torture an entire city and when you have truly understood the depth of your failure, we will fulfill Ra's al Ghul's destiny... We will destroy Gotham and then, when it is done and Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die." Eight years after Batman defeated the Joker and Harvey Dent's anti-crime bills became law Gotham is almost crime free. Bruce Wayne has become a shut-in and the Batman hasn't been seen in as long. When a psychotic ex-prisoner named Bane appears in Gotham and threatens to destroy Batman and the city Bruce is left to make a difficult choice. I have liked every Batman movie that has been made (except Batman & Robin) and this most recent trilogy has been amazing. They have all been really rich in story and they feel like movies and not just comic-book movies. I said when THE DARK NIGHT came out that no movie can live up to the hype of that movie but that came as close as you could. That movie set the bar for the franchise to an almost unreachable height and no sequel can really compete with that movie...but this one came as close as you could. While not as psychotic as the Joker, Bane is a great companion villain to him and is more calculating then the Joker was. There are many sub-plots going on but the movie doesn't feel jumbled at all. I have to say for Nolan to end this the way he did shows huge guts and if the studio was smart this would be the end of the franchise. While the Tim Burton movies were fun and good the Nolan trilogy had much more substance and I really don't think that the Batman character can benefit from a new director and style. He said this is his final Batman and as much as I hate to say it this should be the final movie in the franchise as well. In Hollywood though its the money and not the quality that dictates what is made. Overall, a perfect conclusion to the trilogy. I give it an A.