A very epic finale

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2012)

This is a very tough end to the Nolan's Batman trilogy. It does well to show the extremely gruelling hardships that Batman and the other protagonists endure throughout the movie, and is a fitting conclusion to the overall story. It feels different from both the first and second movie, brilliantly creating a trilogy of excellent films that all have unique strengths whilst at all times flowing very naturally from one to the next.
The movie takes place 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight. We never actually hear what became of the Joker - the audience can think what they will of that. We are however, introduced to a tired and broken Bruce Wayne, who is very much a reclusive living in the aftermath of Harvey Dent's "White Knight" legacy, where Gotham is enjoying a fairly peaceful era. We soon encounter a very agile, sexy thief by the name of Selina Kyle, who has some sort of connection to a masked villain by the name of Bane. Bane, throughout the course of the movie, makes it rather clear he doesn't like Gotham City very much. Violence ensues.
This feels like a much grittier Batman movie compared to the previous two. The violence seems much more brutal, and does a great job to make you feel rightfully uncomfortable when the victims are the heroes you care about. I spent the first half of the movie feeling extreme admiration at the previous movie (The Dark Knight), since it's because of the superbly chaotic events from that masterpiece that the protagonists in this one are so tired and haggered. The characters are still recovering from the scars left by the Joker (and Two-Face), when Bane shows up with his mysterious agenda.
This movie shifts the focus back to Batman's journey. The second movie arguably had him chasing the Joker who drove that story forward, without any time to think or develop. This movie sees him going through hell to try and save his city, and himself.
All the actors do a fantastic job in their roles, and all the characters are written terrifically. Major kudos to Anne Hathaway, who I was admittedly terrified of seeing for fear that she wouldn't be able to adequately portray the role as necessary, but my gosh, Nolan's direction has paid off to nullify that fear in spades. There's even a practical way that Cat Woman's "ears" have been incorporated into the movie that is fantastically fitting to the serious nature of the movie.
My only real gripe with the movie - and it's something I find common amongst a lot of Nolan's work - is that the hand-to-hand action scenes, whilst indeed seeming quite brutal in this film, don't really show much ambition in their choreography, and more seriously, have sub-par camera work that often chooses not to show some of the punches or other angles that you feel would be key. I'm not saying I would expect some kind of lavish Jackie Chan fight scene, but when you see an extra-ordinary character like Batman having a fight, you expect the fight to be presented with a similar extra-ordinary standard.
This is a rather long movie, but never really felt like it should have been anything less. The story was engrossing from start to finish, and whilst not being as tight or inventive as it's predecessor, it admirably told the painful journey that Batman goes through to save Gotham, whilst expertly weaving all the supporting characters through it's fabric in a satisfying manner.