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Rating: 7/10 (27 August 2013)

Christopher Nolan has taken the image of Batman and completely changed the way superheroes are viewed. Making the Dark Knight trilogy as a more realistic take on Gotham City was an innovative way of looking at comic books. Focusing on fear in Batman Begins, Nolan teamed up with Christian Bale stepping into the shoes of Bruce Wayne. Chaos took the place as the main focus of The Dark Knight, and with Heath Ledger's legendary performance as the Joker audiences everywhere immediately became excited for the next pain-based installment in the Nolan universe.
The Dark Knight Rises takes place a full eight years after the last film. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is seen as the hero of Gotham City after his untimely death while the retired Batman is hunted by the police for the murder of the "white knight of Gotham". Only Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) knows the truth about Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. After taking the blame for Dent, Batman is forced into hiding, and Bruce Wayne (Chrsitian Bale) is trying to adjust to life without the mask. He meets an infamous cat burglar, Selina Kyle (Anne Hatheway), who is searching for a way to clear her record. "Cat" woman is performing a small job for a team of mercenaries led by a fierce criminal known only as Bane (Tom Hardy). With help from a hot-headed detective (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a business partner in a clean energy project (Marion Cottillard) Wayne and his alter ego attempt to get back into the crime fighting game to stop Bane, much to the disapproval of his fatherly butler, Alfred (Michael Caine). Other actors featured in the film are Morgan Freeman as the head of Wayne Enterprises, and Matthew Modine as officer Foley.
This film has its flaws. Voices are occasionally difficult to hear and understand, specifically Bale and Hardy. Bale has a tendency to speak lower to the point where it is almost a whisper which makes it difficult to hear his dialogue. Hardy is speaking through a mask and his accent makes it a challenge to understand all of his script. After seeing it three times I was able to understand all of what was said, and the dialogue from Bane is brilliant! At moments in the script the audience might feel as though the dialogue is cheesy, but overall it is not terribly written.
The pacing seems off at times. Fight scenes are well built, but during the more dramatic moments the script and characters seem a bit dry. There are some strange story arcs that could have been taken out to make room for more intriguing plot points. The entire character of Foley was poorly played out in the movie. The potential for a redeeming character is there, but the way it is played out makes the entire development seem annoying and distracting. There is also a strange love scene between Bale and Cottillard. For comic books fans it is an understandable relationship, but there is no reason for it to play out in the movie the way it did. There is a poorly edited sequence of three scenes near the end of the film which confuses the audience, and it took me until the second viewing to understand what had happened.
Tom Hardy as Bane has an amazing command of the screen. Delivery of his lines are even more intriguing due to the accent used. On occasion it is difficult to understand him, but it truly is astounding. There are some great character dynamics at play. Bale and Hardy have great chemistry during their scenes together. Overall the stand out actor in this movie is Tom Hardy. In his movement and voice you see and hear a tremendous amount of character. Most impressive though is the belief the audience can see in his eyes. Every emotion, every thought and every pain can be seen through Hardy's eyes which makes his performance that much more incredible.
The ending sequence is also very well edited. Possibly the best edited sequence in the Dark Knight Trilogy, the last few minutes of this movie bring forth a satisfying and fulfilling end to the film. Comic book purists may be disappointed by some of the character changes that were made, but it is a very well made movie. It is entertaining and satisfying with a few impressive homage's to the comic book universe.