An emotional and intense albeit flawed conclusion.

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2012)

OK.
Let me start by saying that this is a very good film and a fitting conclusion to Nolan's trilogy. I liked it.
Christian Bale was in fine form. He always delivers as Batman/Bruce Wayne but in this he shines. There is so much going on in his mind and he projected beautifully with subtle nuances and facial expressions.
Michael Caine as always was great. The scene with him and Bruce on the stairs made me tear up. Very powerful.
Tom Hardy, as I suspected, displayed raw brutality and yet at times VERY deep emotions. Not easy when your face is covered and all you have is the eyes. He utilized that to a perfect T. Hardy is ALWAYS solid as an actor and this is no exception. What a talent he is.
Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman once again deliver solid performances respectively.
Marion Cotillard was good. With a nice twist of character albeit an obvious one.
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman I honestly could have done without.
Joseph Gordon Levitt did very well in his role.
OK this is the part where I talk about some spoilers. So if you do not want them, stop reading NOW.
JGL plays cop John Blake. But at the end it is revealed that his full/birth name is Robin. Sooooo.....what the hell is that? And he is shown at the end in the Batcave supposedly to take over the mantle as Gotham's hero. So is he supposed to be Robin? I know that sounds incredibly nitpicky but come on, seriously. Robin. He could have been named Richard in the movie or something and it be revealed that his full name is Richard "Dick" Grayson. I mean would that not have made more sense?
That being my first gripe, I only have one more. Spoiler warning still in effect.
It has been said that this film has some leaps of faith, which it does understandably. It's a comic book movie know matter how realistic it's told.
But one leap of faith bothers me mostly because it's involvement in the most disappointing part of the film for me. The resolution of Bane. Catwoman gets the final blow? I don't like that at all. But honestly what bothered me was the fact that she shoots him with the cannons on the batpod/cycle thing. Bane didn't hear her roll up on that thing? It's pretty loud. And not to mention that he was looking at the direction she came from like 3 seconds prior to the shot. I don't know. Just bugged me.
But on the whole. Solid film. Beautifully shot. Scored masterfully by Hans Zimmer. Well written dialog. Good action. Great fight choreography.
My favorite moments in the film were: Spoilers still.
The Batman and Bane fight in the sewers. Such brutal intensity and good for comic fans.
The scene with Alfred and Bruce on the stairs. Beautifully acted by both actors.
The little moment when Batman reveals to Gordon that he is Bruce Wayne.
Also a few great cameos. Cillian Murphy, Thomas Lennon, and Desmond Harrington were the ones that got me.
I won't even bother talking about the fact that the Bane origin and such are way different than the comics. Because it made sense to alter it for the film.
The Dark Knight Rises delivers what it's supposed to.
9/10
One more plus was the Man of Steel teaser trailer. Zack Snyder will finally deliver the Superman movie that has been needed.