"I was wondering what was going to break first; your spirit, or your body."

Rating: 9/10 (25 July 2012)

Rumored and I suppose confirmed by both Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, this is to be the final bout for the Caped Crusader. My first impression after viewing the movie is that it is indeed epic. Each movie is different and amazing in its won respect and while I still feel 2008's "The Dark Knight" stands as the pinnacle of emotional upheaval for the trilogy, TDKR definitely takes the cake for most monumental. It'll be hard to do this review without spoilers, but I can get it done. Firstly, I'm very pleased that every cast member has decided to return for the finale. Christian Bale, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine all reprise their roles and do fantastic jobs. There are several new faces, among them Matthew Modine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard being as sexy as she is entertaining. Ann Hathaway is a pretty good Catwoman, delivering a less sensually driven performance than Michelle Pfeiffer (don't get me wrong I still love "Batman Returns"). Everyone knows of the terrible raping of the Bane character in Shumacer's "Batman and Robin", reducing the iconic villain to a lumbering dimwit. Tom Hardy finally gives justice to the character on the big-screen and damn does it feel good. He has the physical presence as well as the cunning aspects from the comic book; done just excellently. They couldn't have made a better choice for the final villain honestly. And yes, there are lots of cameos, so be prepared to wet your parents.
Secondly, I'll quickly go over my sole gripe, being that I wish Hans Zimmer had delivered more new compositions for the piece. This may be due to the resignation of James Newton Howard who had collaborated with Zimmer on the previous two films. Put it this way, both Catwoman and Bane receive ample treatment and have terrific themes. There are lots of quieter moments as well, but for Batman himself it's mostly recycled music which is still quite empowering just not what I expected. However, it's not a great deal to me because by the second film there already was a decent amount of recycled cues, making it pointless to dwell on.
My main applause for this movie is to the incredible story. If you're an avid reader of graphic novels, like me, you'll notice the screenplay uses elements from many iconic Batman comics. "Knightfall (1993) obviously being the story that debuted Bane, Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns" (which depicted Batman going back to his work after a long hiatus) and also the "No Man's Land" story arc. Using these, the arguable cream of the crop of the Batman universe, a great epic is told. The action is really taken to new heights and the scope of it all is astonishing. Never before and maybe never again will you see Batman pushed this hard. We truly see Gotham at its knees and to make it all the better, believe it or not, there are still quite a bit of physical effects at work here. CGI is still secondary to good old raw effects.
This a great movie with some really hard-hitting action, some strong emotions and an epic vision. They even manage to sneak some very well done plot twists, making this a truly satisfying finale. May Batman's rest be a peaceful one from the big screen, even if only for a short while.