Deh-Shay, Deh-Shay, Bah Sah Rah. Bah Sah Rah

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2012)

The Dark Knight Rises is the most anticipated film of 2012. When a film builds up this much hype there is always the risk that it would at best disappoint, a worst be a totally failure. But Christopher Nolan is a great director and has not let use yet. The Dark Knight Rises deliveries.
It has been seven years since the events of The Dark Knight and Gotham has had a great period of peace thanks to the Harvey Dent Act. But Batman has not been seen since Harvey Dent/Two Face and Bruce Wayne has become an absentee lord of Wayne Enterprises with the company being a shadow of what it was. But a new threat has emerged, a powerful, strong mercenary Bane (Tom Hardy) who has been forming an army in the underground of Gotham and Bruce has to don the cape once more. Yet Bane is Batman's greatest challenge, both physically and intelligently and be he brings a new form of chaos to Gotham.
The Dark Knight Rises is the most epic of all of Nolan's Batman films and was made on a grander scale. This is a film is played out like a war and is the most action packed of the series, with great sequences from the airplane attack to the final battle. They were incredibly well shot and edited and intent throughout. The action uses practical effects for the most part with CGI only used to add to the scene.
But there is more to Nolan's Batman films then action. He is a great thematic director who continues the look of fear and chaos and how Bane uses an ideology of Anarchist-Marxism as a mask to goals. He is a man leading a revolution of working and underclass wanting to overthrow a distance, richer wealthy elite who are unaware of what is going on in their ivy towers. Bane is the man who success in turning Gotham into a anarchist state but is still really in control. He uses the ideas of hope as a way a method of control and breaking someone's spirit.
The Joker was always going to be a hard act to follow but Bane is a compelling, interesting villain and his strength is that he is physically stronger then Batman and Tom Hardy was an excellent performer as the villain. He was not quite as good as Heath Ledger, but he was different, which was what was needed. People have complained about the voice but I understood what he was saying throughout the film and had very expressive eyes to display his emotions. Anne Hathaway too was an great addition to the series as Catwoman, a character who has her own motives and self-interests, a criminal and a expert fighter, but she too has a certain set of motives that makes her a more complex character. Bale plays a different Bruce Wayne, someone who is out of the game and not realising the challenge he is facing. The whole cast was strong, no matter how big or small their roles were.
Knightfall was a one the big influences of this film, particularly Bane breaking Batman's back and freeing the criminals of Gotham for his army to take control of the city. Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns too is a clear influence, particular early on in the film where Bane is forming an army of youths, that Batman has been out of action for years and that youth of the city doubt he exists and at the end *SPOILERS* Batman forms his own army to take on Bane.
The Dark Knight Rises is strong end to the series but overall it is a shame that the Nolanverse has to end at all and there is so much more I wanted to see done with the series. It is going to be tough for whoever has to reboot the definitive Batman series.