A perfect end to a perfect trilogy

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2014)

Having been a huge fan of Chris Nolan's previous two Batman films, couldn't wait to watch this when it was released. And The Dark Knight Rises didn't disappoint. The conclusion to the trilogy is fitting for the franchise, for Batman, and for Bruce Wayne (though I have read rumours that Nolan might come back for another film in the series or maybe a Batman/Superman film - hope some of this is true!).
The film starts with a frail Bruce Wayne having pretty much retired and living a private life eight years after he eliminated the Joker. The peaceful Gotham City where police officers feel they will soon be "chasing overdue library books" is rocked by a series of events orchestrated by the ferocious and calculating villain, Bane.
The pace of this film is slightly slower (and heavier) compared to the previous two films, partly because there are a lot more characters in this film, and Nolan being the master storyteller that he is, gives each character enough time in the film. It could seem a bit lengthy at 3 hours of thereabout because of this. Lucius Fox and Alfred return in their usual roles of being Batman's brains and soul respectively. Michael Caine's performance as Alfred is simply remarkable even though his screen time is somewhat limited in the film. Gary Oldman excellent in his role as Commissioner Gordon he is one of the many standouts in this film and his and Batman's (Bale) chemistry is superb . Christian Bale, as usual, has done a great job portraying the battles within Bruce Wayne - overcoming his hears and rising from being as good as dead to come back to save his beloved city. His character comes a full circle from the first film as Thomas Wayne's words "why do we fall down Bruce" echo through this film and Bruce seemingly understands their meaning here as he prepares to pick himself up and "rise".
New characters added a refreshing touch to the series. Anne Hathaway is brilliant in her role as Selina Kyle. She lightens up the serious macho overdose of the film with her flair and flamboyant ways. Bane, with links to the League of Shadows, brings a dark element unlike any Gotham has witnessed before. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays John (Robin) Blake perhaps a younger version of Jim Gordon. He seems to be set to take over the reins from Commissioner Gordon, but eventually chooses to stay free of the shackles imposed by structure and protocols by the GCPD. Marion Cotillard (I thought she was brilliant in Inception) plays a convincing partner and love interest of Bruce Wayne.
The conclusion is definitely a lot heavier in terms of content and pace compared to the previous two films. This film requires focused attention to the dialogue and sequence of events, previous 2 films seem somewhat lighter compared to this one. The fact that Bane's voice was muffled with his mask doesn't help in this regard, it only increases the level of focus one needs to have which watching the film. In addition, the film has more characters with their place in the film. Chris Nolan has spent a fair amount of time with each character to fully bring out their roles and let the audiences savour the nuances of their personalities, inner conflicts, and goals. I personally think the running time at 164 mins was needed to be this long and I thought it increased experience of watching the film.
Some scenes make Batman seem too human, like the street fight scene with Bane towards the end. Batman is a superhero and it feels somewhat strange to see him battle his enemy bare hands in the middle of a street-fight. It's still an awesome scene though. That being said, there are plenty of new toys in his arsenal and the Bat, in particular, is awesome!
Yes, the performance of Heath Ledger and the compelling storytelling of The Dark Knight are hard to match, but TDKR is an appropriate and epic conclusion to what I think is one of the best series of super-hero films made to date.