If Batman lived, he'd be proud of this trilogy!

Rating: 9/10 (20 August 2012)

I will unabashedly admit that when I chose my favourite Super-hero, I always tended more towards Iron-Man..but since Chris Nolan decided to start making his epic movies about Batman, my loyalties have faltered a bit. In all the three movies, the way he's made Batman swoop through the differing shades of grey, has made me fall more and more in love with the 'realness' of this character, so to speak. And gifting this role to Bale who embraced it such, he almost made it part of his persona, was a fantastic decision.
So obviously, after Batman Begins, the sequel movies always had me expecting the moon, unrealistic but absolutely worth it! Out came The Dark Knight and introduced the world to the purest form of evil, we can experience. The Joker was written with a finesse hard to find in the movies today, and Ledger (silent pause) played it with such passion, I would believe that he could slit a man's mouth right open if he didn't smile. No gory imagery, just pure evil psyche..the Joker carried the movie on his back, while Oldman and Bale were the rocket engines that drove it to its success.
Now with The Dark Knight Returns, it was a conclusion I had wished would never happen (too many sequels were ending, all with Harry Potter and all, my childhood was just zooming past!!) yet in the same breath, couldn't wait for it to come out in the theatres. I live in a middle- eastern country and TDKR had released on the exact date that Ramadan had started, so I waited another month till I could watch it...today on Eid! I was nervous, but I entered the theatre, equipped with my coke and a sizeable portion of popcorn. I had read the reviews, heard my friends talk about it..still the glimmer of hope, that this would be everything I hoped for...and more! I was RIGHT! I loved every bit of the movie, it's grandeur, emotions, raw energy, passion...it was right on...the best conclusion Nolan could've created to pacify my geeky-comic-book needs. A masterstroke to bring back Scarecrow and Ras Al Gul....it unfortunately left me wanting to see some part of the Joker (almost like a child!)... I'd suggest EVERYONE must watch this movie at least once in IMAX, it adds to its magnificence, and is the only tribute technology can pay to such a mastermind of a movie.
All of us owe a big thank you to Nolan, Bale and Oldman for allowing us the honour of living at least 1 and a half hours of Gotham's life, three times! There are seldom any more super hero movies I looked forward to as much as I did to Batman/ Dark Knight. That you can relate to the sentiments expressed in these 3 movies, is something not many other superhero movies have achieved on this scale. Much respect for that.