A Brilliant Conclusion to an Amazing Trilogy

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2012)

Having stepped out of the cinema on premiere day, I was overwhelmed by the sheer scale and emotional resonance of what I had just witnessed. The Dark Knight Rises, the final instalment of Christopher Nolan's celebrated Batman trilogy, has not only met my expectations but in many ways has exceeded such.
The film replaces much of the humour of the previous two in favour of a grim, melancholy tone, though this in no way negatively impacts on the final production. Bruce Wayne, both mentally and physically, is a broken man. Having given up the Batman mantle 8 years previously in order to take the fall for the crimes of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Wayne has lost direction in his life, resolving to live a hermit-like existence. His solidarity is broken by the arrival of Bane, a mysterious, physically-imposing mercenary with strong ideological motives, alongside Selina Kyle, an enigmatic cat burglar. Bruce Wayne must once again become the Batman in order to save Gotham City from the wrath of Bane and his followers.
Tom Hardy, due to wearing a large facial mask, develops the character of Bane mostly through his eye movements and uniquely-crafted voice sounding like a blend between Latino and British, which is sometimes inaudible yet I could still pick up the gist of what he was saying. Though he in no manner matches the level of menace and terror created by Ledger's Joker, Bane still proves to be a worthy opponent of Batman, and a terrifying villain nonetheless.
Likewise, Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle brilliantly executes her character, displaying both vulnerability and seductiveness. Her performance in many ways excels that of Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton's Batman Returns.
Regulars such as Gary Oldman and Michael Caine give in my opinion series best performances, their characters Jim Gordan and Alfred, respectively, showing emotional strain and despair after many years of hiding their secrets.
Other new characters, like Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake and Marion Cotillard's Miranda Tate, receive insufficient screen time and probably would have benefited more if they had been introduced in the previous films.
The action set-pieces and battle sequences take The Dark Knight Rises to an entirely new level, with city-wide assaults, car/hovercraft/motorbike chases, riots and hand-to-hand combat scenes dominating the screen, proving this film to be the most action-packed of the series.
The Batman costume itself only makes several appearances throughout the film, the first being nearly an hour into the screening. But, like the depressing tone of the film, this in a way enhances the experience, showing a hero who is well and truly on his last legs. Out of the two possible endings that I was expecting for this film (which I won't reveal here), Nolan gives us an entirely different ending, which may polarise some viewers, though I appreciated it immensely. Ultimately, The Dark Knight Rises is about pain and redemption, themes which I feel would appeal to most audiences.
In my personal opinion, the Dark Knight Rises is not as good as The Dark Knight (10/10), though it is better than Batman Begins (8/10). Having said that, the film is a brilliant, near-flawless achievement, which provides a stunning conclusion to a trilogy that all involved with its production should be proud of.
9/10.