Gotham City and an aged, injured and tormented Bruce Wayne face their final reckoning

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2012)

Despite IMDb labelling 10 out of 10 as excellent, I've always rated excellent films a 9 just because I know that once in a while there will be that one film that blows them all away. So does that mean I should be able to rate this film 11? The latest Batman films have all been accepted widely, not just as the great action films that they are, nor as the brooding, darkly dramatic features that they have striven to be, but as a testament to the hard work Nolan, his crew and cast have given to these films, they are the films each and every one of us wanted our own favourite comic book movies to resemble.
So when 'The Dark Knight Rises' was released, it should have been obvious to the naysayers and premature critics worldwide that the final instalment would at least deliver the mother of all Batman movies if it did not simply silence those that wanted it to fail. And in the end, '...Rises' both silenced the critics and created the Batman movie to end all Batman movies, this much is true.
Based 8 years after the previous sequel, the city of Gotham has come to rest. All the most dangerous criminals are safely locked away and it seems that the city is peaceful. But beneath the surface, Commissioner Gordon struggles to live with the lies that sent the Batman into exile for the murder of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face.
He is not alone in his turmoil either, a broken and tormented Bruce Wayne has become reclusive and has given up on his life after his final battle and the resulting loss of the love of his life, Rachel Dawes. Not even Alfred can seem to bring him out of his shell and this has proved quite the opportunity for some.
So when an encounter with a certain cat-burglar and the arrival of mysterious terrorist mercenary Bane threatens the city, he puts himself through rehabilitation, steps back into the battle suit and goes out to face off against the monster, only to discover not only that he has far more enemies than he anticipated, but that he is no match for this superpowered villain.
As Batman lies broken and defeated in an unreachable dark place, who will save Gotham from this new tyranny which threatens to obliterate everything Wayne once fought to protect? As masterfully as Nolan constructs the establishing scenes and executes key moments in the final Dark Knight instalment, he concocts a most daring and brilliant plot not only to redeem the Batman and those he trusts most, but to redeem the soul of Bruce Wayne, a man of few choices; to either let his dark past destroy him or to lay his memories to rest and choose to go on with his life! Thanks to the negative feedback on the film long before its release, I couldn't help but be apprehensive for the final part of the trilogy, even though deep down I was confident. Having followed the comic book history of Batman, I was well aware that Nolan was one of very few director/producers to do things very differently while defining the character in all honesty.
It was the character Bane that I was worried about, and Catwoman, but here they are portrayed so cleverly and either with menace or with great irony, but both of them with respect and discipline. Although I couldn't help but hear Bane as Patrick Stewart might have sounded as Darth Vader, you can't take that so seriously anyway. Tom Hardy is massive, brutal and cold blooded as the disgraced 'League of Shadows' veteran, yet his character is also intelligent, secretly compassionate and yet he is something of a chess-piece. This, I enjoyed figuring out for myself, the kind of thing you can't often discuss with your friends.
Also I was apprehensive of the film being majorly based in daylight when the Batman's modus operandi is within the shadows of night but overall it would have removed us from the harsh light of day and the reality that this was essentially a siege situation that the city was under.
But finally, bless you Christopher Nolan, for Blake and for the massive finale. I got a hint of 'Inception', how cunning it was, and although it wasn't exactly a cliffhanger, since this one was final you have created an original trilogy in your own right and one that will go on to have its own mythology.
Hopefully there will be no more Batman movies from other producers. Especially since there will never be another Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale or Gary Oldman.
What a way to lay a legend to rest!