Deeply Satisfying, emotionally engaging, memorable and thought-provokingly EPIC CULT FILM.

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2012)

I watched TDKR two weeks ago but I wanted to watch it once more before I wrote a review. With TDKR Nolan slightly diverts from his style for most of the first half and employs a more conventional Three Act tale and given the treatment it feels like two separate films where towards the end he shifts back to what he does best. Like his other works Nolan doesn't waste time in explanations but lets his audience get a grip on the story by themselves letting his characters take the space they are meant to be in.
Anne Hathaway is a revelation as the Cat and does look every bit of what she promised to be in her costume, her performance was chilling, playful and fun yet dark. Marion Cotillard is very good if not brilliant given her restrictive role but still a pleasure to watch with that lovable French accent and she does what she does best, charm you, though her character is a little half baked. Joseph Gordon Levitt surprises yet again, playing the faithful ally and lovable cop Blake and he is proving to be worthy of every penny the big studios invests in him but it is Michael Cane who steals the show with the little role he has and those copious amounts of tears.
The rest of the veterans i.e. Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are as good as they always were. Tom Hardy delivers a class act, his character is certainly underplayed, but that doesn't stop him from being menacing, with such precise fighting skills,expressive eyes and body language,he is what we expected Bane to be. Nolan yet again has created a Super villain for the world to fear and remember. Given that the belief systems and ideologies of Bane and Joker are completely different a comparison isn't valid in anyway.
The 2nd half of Rises though slow,is necessary given you see it as a Batman film and not just a Nolan film. Nolan successfully pays tribute to many elements from the original comic book series like the epic combat between Bane and Batman or the deuteragonist like nature of Selina Kyle aka The Cat or the beautifully constructed 'Pit' among many others which will surely be a treat for Batman addicts.
TDKR suffers from what many other films in a series usually does, that it depends heavily on its predecessors.Rises,bases itself a lot on film 1 and 2 of the Nolan's Batman trilogy and thus counting on the memory of the audience. For those who don't know: 1)'Batman Begins' is officially followed by 2) The anime Batman-Gotham Knight, which are events unfolding after the incidents of 'Batman Begins' 3)and before 'The Dark Knight' and then 4) The video game Arkham City which establishes Joker's death thus making it very clear why he can't be in Rises. Gotham Knight also establishes a prototype of the vehicle we come to know as 'The Bat' later in Rises and the subtle reference to 'The Killer Croc' (who is shown to be living in the sewers in Gotham Knight) by Blake in Rises.It doesn't stand on its own but I guess Nolan and WB always meant it to be this way. Nolan's Batman thus is meant to be a complete whole-some experience.
Nolan does take a serious gamble with TDKR's 2nd half by hoping the love for his work will pull the audience through Act-2 thus leading them to the stupendous 3rd act/showdown but he does resort to shock value more than once and does things which you don't expect him to but Rises itself isn't anything like what Nolan has done before (which shouldn't be a dampener for his fans) and though he departs from his usual techniques it still remains a brilliant film.
In many a way The Dark Knight Rises feels like a modern adaptation of Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities where thematically The Poor/Oppressed forms one city and The Rich another (referred again and again in TDKR as the old city and the new city).The bold nature of the film comes from the fact that it dares to explore themes like evident class differences,the falling social structure and the brewing anger amongst the poor and not to forget 'the show trail' and surprisingly it all works to the films advantage.
A couple of things clearly stands out in my mind like the performances of Anne Hathaway, Michael Cane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy's eyes and body language as much as the brilliantly written dialogs. Cat's over-growing protectiveness and did she just shed a tear for The Dark Knight? Blake's faith and hope and Alfred's father figure act and a surprise character twist makes TDKR a humbling experience as it brings forth emotions and surprises from quarters you don't expect it to,thus making it certainly very memorable for me.I guess this should and can be expected from Nolan by now.
The traditional route that Nolan takes was perhaps the only way of delivering an Epic that TDKR. It is spectacular, visually orgasmic and mind-boggling though at times confusing. The recurring theme in the background score takes it to an altogether different level and Zimmer delivers once again. Despite its flaws in narrative style, technique and its inability to properly state the time-frame (though established with subtlety in the film) and its dependence on the audience's memory The Dark Knight Rises is as emotionally engaging as it is expected to be and it is sure to become a cult classic soon.The ending itself is a sheer delight to watch and though it makes you wonder what happens next it is satisfying enough to make you not ask for more, certainly in a good way. It is the ending justifies the means adapted. As they say 'The end justifies the means', this film is surely rising!