Just a notch below expectation.

Rating: 7/10 (21 August 2012)

Initially deprived of this screening, audiences in the UAE had to wait an agonizingly long month more than most other parts of the world. But was it worth the wait? That depends. Batman fanboys will find this movie has the most intricately woven plot structure of the trilogy. The dialogue heavy first hour is questionable, yet makes for concrete character build-up with perfectly punctuated throwbacks to the preceding films as well as Gotham City's DC origins.
It is eight years since our caped crusader was framed by The Joker. Slain district attorney Harvey Dent is a revered hero for eradicating organized crime. Bruce Wayne is now a recluse with his alter ego a fading memory. Wayne Enterprises is on the verge of bankruptcy having invested in a sustainable energy source with disastrous potential. During all this, Gotham's underbelly rises from the shadows, led by a new and powerful insurgent known only as Bane.
This second half, with Bane literally in explosive control, is when returning director Christopher Nolan gives this finale an epic, full-bodied, and raw closure. While "The Avengers" is still fresh in memory, it now seems like popcorn entertainment in comparison to Nolan's colossus here. That being said, this difference in scale is also the jarring disparity between entertainment, satisfaction and disappointment. And believe me, any way you look at it, there are disproportionate amounts of all three, all through the movie. To begin with, a lot relies on bringing the audience up to speed with Wayne's need to vanquish crime. Why he does it, the manner in which he does it, and the whole ethos of hiding behind a mask. In a brutally painful illustration, it dawns on Wayne (and the audience) that Batman is less of a superhero than he is a livid vigilante with endless pocket money. For good measure, Bane also goes to the extent of proving that Batman is after all, an aging mortal. But just as Bruce Wayne has his reasons in doing what he does, so does Bane. This, in my opinion, is where Nolan's co-scripting philosophies hit the mark. Unlike previous antagonists, Bane is not a maniacal villain or even a super-criminal, but as brilliantly depicted by Tom Hardy (and voiced), an oppressed terrorist whose precarious nature would have given Osama bin Laden nightmares!
Cinematically speaking, there are some spectacular moments but refurbished if you will, off Nolan's fantastic action sequences from "The Dark Knight", essentially making this finale an intense action-drama, where drama has the lion's share of the plot. New to the series is over an hour of original IMAX format shot over various locales in UK, USA and India, making this an obvious IMAX choice for maximum viewing pleasure. As expected, aiding supporting roles are a plethora of top talents returning, but with less screen time in favor of new characters, including police officer John 'Robin' Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a breakthrough performance), Anne Hathaway as jewel thief Selina Kyle aka Catwoman, and a pivotal character revealed to be a direct descendant of Ra's al Ghul.
"The Dark Knight Rises" could have been a genre defining finale for Nolan and the team had it not been for the low-beat first half. When the pace does pick up, the story catapults at breakneck speed but results in a rushed ending. Does this say something about a muddled effort in editing the plot's time compression? Probably; how else can you compact bits and pieces borrowed from DC's countless volumes and then present it without any of the original humor. Another personal disappointment is the underdeveloped Catwoman. Hathaway's Kyle is a super thief with a conscience but not one with a curvy catwalk. No purr either. Finally, last minute plot-twists and a butter-finger countdown cliché reiterate the fact that the Hollywood strain is inherent, no matter how you mask it.
All considered, Chris Nolan has closed this chapter on a high note, albeit with subtle opening for an off-shoot, should the next director rise to the challenge. Until next summer, when Nolan's ingenuity is fused with Zack Snyder's visual aplomb in "Man of Steel", we accept the fact that Marvel and "The Avengers" remain undisputed with a definitive edge in all-rounded entertainment for the masses.