A Brilliant,Masterful Epic Conclusion To The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2013)

The Dark Knight Rises is a brilliant,excellent and masterful epic conclusion to The Dark Knight Trilogy. Filled with excellent direction,wonderful performances,great Action and epic storytelling,The Dark Knight Rises is Christopher Nolan at his best.
Set eight years after the events in The Dark Knight,Batman/Bruce Wayne(Christian Bale) has been a recluse and retired as Batman and Gotham City has been at peace as well as safe and quiet. But when a new threat and terrorist named Bane(Tom Hardy)comes into Gotham City and threatens to destroy and demolish Gotham,Batman must come out of retirement to fight and face Bane and save the city of Gotham from destruction.
The Dark Knight Rises is a powerful and unforgettable conclusion to The Dark Knight Trilogy,it is a film that loved since I saw it in theaters and I cannot understand why the film has gotten a mixed to negative reception with most Batman fans. I guess because this film came out after Nolan's other films The Dark Knight and Inception which raised the bar really high when it comes to filmmaking and were universally loved by everyone and comparing this film with the other two this film can be seen as letdown for most people but not to me. The Dark Knight Rises is an Epic in the truest since of the word because Nolan has created a film that is big not only in length(2 Hours and 45 minutes)but in scope as well bringing everything to higher level whether it's the Action or the storyline. The film was so epic it probably would be longer with an overture like the epics of the 50s and 60s. Most of the time the third film in the trilogy is usually seen as the weakest but Nolan is a smart filmmaker who knows that if you are going to complete a trilogy you have to go out with a huge bang and TDKR goes out with not only a bang but with explosions. What I love about TDK Trilogy is that while all of them are three connected films all them are different in story. If Batman Begins is an origin story and Action/Adventure and The Dark Knight is a Crime Drama then TDKR can be described as a War Film. TDKR is War Film in sense where there are armies rising and gangs are controlling the streets with power,guns and tanks and Gotham is divided like a Civil War between the rich and poor or cops and criminals. With the theme of War and control running throughout the film you pulled into a Dystopian nightmare where Gotham City is being held hostage and not the cops or government can do anything about it and the only person that can do anything about is Batman. In TDKR we see not only the physical but also the mental toll being Batman has had on Bruce Wayne. Bruce has become broken down and a recluse and the damage of being Batman has affected his friendships and relationships or lack there of. Bane is such a great villain because where The Joker in TDK wanted to make people evil and corrupt and wanted to burn Gotham,Bane wants the people of Gotham to take control and take back the city of Gotham from the corrupt and the rich and create a revolution and army and still wants to destroy Gotham City. Bane is villain unlike Batman has ever faced before because Bane can match Batman on no only a physical level but on an intelligence level as well. The Action scenes in the film are amazing and like the first two films are done in a realistic way. Each Action scene is handled with a great deal of suspense and build up and this time it is done on an big scale to match the epic feel of the film. When the Action in the film happens you are glued to the screen and mesmerized. The ending of the film lasts about 20-30 minutes and it will blow you away with it's filmmaking and craft. The ending will have you cheering and smiling and it is a great conclusion to this film and The Dark Knight Trilogy.
The cast does an excellent jobs in their roles. Christian Bale is excellent in his final performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne bringing the same depth and intensity to the role. Tom Hardy is simply brilliant and scary as Bane,with using his voice,eyes and body language for the performance. Hardy's performance in my opinion makes Bane one of the best villains in film history. Gary Oldman is great once again as Jim Gordan,with Oldman bringing cynicism and depth to the role. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic as Blake,an idealistic rookie cop. Anne Hathaway is wonderful and sexy as Catwoman/Selina Kyle and has great scenes with Bale. Marion Cotillard does a great job as Miranda,Bruce's other love interest. Morgan Freeman excels once again as Lucius Fox,Batman's weapon maker. Michael Caine is amazing once again as Alfred. Caine's final scenes with Bale are powerful and well-acted. Matthew Modine(Foley)and Ben Mendelsohn(Daggett)give good performances as well.
The direction by Christopher Nolan is excellent and brilliant,with Nolan always moving the camera and having great shots and camera angles and giving the film an epic feel and Nolan does a great job with the Action scenes. Great direction by Nolan.
The score by Hans Zimmer is brilliant and intense and matches the dark and epic tone of the film. A great memorable score by Zimmer.
In final word,if you love Batman,Christopher Nolan,Comic Book films,Superhero films or films in general,I highly suggest you see The Dark Knight Rises,a brilliant,masterful and epic conclusion to an excellent trilogy that you can watch again and again. Highly Recommended. 10/10.