Fantastic

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2012)

I caught a midnight premiere of this movie with my sister. The theater was packed and some people were in costume. But this could not distract me from the brilliance, the memorable film that ends the Nolan Batman Trilogy. 8 years after the events from The Dark Knight, Bane takes control of Gotham City in attempts to free them of the lie Batman created to protect Harvey Dent and Batman must return to save his city, but only to be pushed to his breaking point by Bane. With the help of Fox, Kyle, and Blake, Batman fights to save Gotham.
Truly a remarkable addition and finale to the Nolan Trilogy. Christopher Nolan is truly a great and visionary director. Bale is excellent as Batman and has been for three whole films. Anne Hathaway exceeded all expectations and delivered a memorable performance. She's the villain that you hate to love and love to hate. Tom Hardy is also truly phenomenal with his performance as the terrifying mercenary Bane. JGL is also exceptional and has proved himself a worthy talent in Hollywood.
Now, onto the story. The story is very painful, heartbreaking, but also hopeful and inspiring. Bane is taking Gotham by its throat and shaking it around, forcing Batman to step in and take a stand to protect his city. But Bane pushes him to his limit and Batman is broken. The first confrontation between these two is extremely powerful, sad and heartbreaking. We see our hero beaten down to almost nothing and Bane just continues to crush him. It is so powerful and heartbreaking to witness. Selina Kyle also plays her part as the two-faced villain. She is in a struggle in right vs. wrong as all her life she has been nothing and has resorted to thievery in order to take the rich down a couple of notches, becoming a sort of Robin Hood. Batman ultimately helps her see that she has a choice to do the right thing instead of running. John Blake, fresh faced cop turned investigator, also plays a critical part. He is aware of Batman's identity and believes that Gotham truly does need Batman. Batman tells him that Batman is meant to be a symbol, meaning anyone is Batman, but that anyone can do good for Gotham and be a sign of hope. Blake eventually will take up the symbolic role of Batman as Bruce Wayne is "dead". Miranda Tate is a mysterious character who shows up of the blue almost but delivers a surprise twist, revealing herself as Ra's Al Ghul's daughter and Bane's adviser in the plot to destroy Gotham and fulfill her father's destiny and last wishes. The story collides into on epic final battle in order to save Gotham from its "reckoning". Truly remarkable and well thought out story line. It is truly exceptional. Each character has their chance to shine and deliver. Nolan has truly created a masterpiece with his Batman Trilogy.
Phenomenal acting, superb story, exceptional direction and production and everything else. All aspects of this film exceeded its predecessors but did not take them off their pedestal. All three films are fantastic, this is just a fantastic finale. Well, maybe a finale. The ending leaves it open for another Batman movie with Blake as the new Dark Knight (his real name is revealed as Robin and I thought that was huge joke because he is clearly meant to be Batman at the end of the movie). Also, memorable comedic aspects were great to lighten up the film's depressing mood.