The Dark Knight Rises.... but not above it's predecessors

Rating: 7/10 (30 November 2012)

What made the first two batman films in Nolan's trilogy great, was due to the well paced storytelling. Another aspect was the great character development, and the clear motivations that each character had with one another. This is where the previous films succeeded and where TDKR struggles the most. It's not that this isn't a decent film, but these two major issues keep it from reaching the same level as Batman Begins and TDK.
The Dark Knight Rises however has many things that work well. Just like the previous batman films the movie itself looks great, and sounds great, so no complaints there. The stock market scene was good, and showed off Bane's brutality quite well. The masquerade scene between Selina and Bruce showed the audience the dynamic between the two, as well as their screen chemistry. The sewer scene where Bane and Batman first brawl is well done for the most part, and Alfred and Bruce share a scene that reveals a long overdue discussion. The casting of TDKR is also good, and I will briefly go over the characters old and new.
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman is very good for that part. Although changed in appearance, this is the closest she has ever been to her comic book counterpart. Hathaway and Bale also have pretty good screen chemistry, which in my opinion never really happened much with Rachel in the prior movies. The romance between these two sadly, never really evolves into anything special. Bane played by Tom Hardy does the best he can with the part. Bane is one tough dude there's no denying that, but he isn't as clever, or as interesting, as I believed Nolan wanted him to be. I am however happy that Nolan didn't play it safe, and had Batman get broken by Bane. It's what Bane is most iconic for, and would have been seen as a missed opportunity, had he not broke batman. It does put the batman out of commission, which in turn doesn't allow for as much screen time for Batman.
The most developed new character is John Blake played by Joseph Gordon Levitt, who acts as the film's moral center, and Levitt and Bale both work good together on screen, which is important considering the ending. Jim Gordon, Alfred, and Lucius Fox all return, and do their roles just as well as in the previous films, but with less to do.
The biggest problem with TDKR, besides being rushed, is that it has too many unnecessary characters, which manages to do nothing, but take away screen time from the important ones. Miranda Tate aka Talia Al Ghul's
could've been cut in my opinion. She is meant to be a plot twist, which I know many others saw coming a mile away including myself. Maybe its due to the fact that I'm not a big Marion Cotillard fan, but this character irritated me the most. She steals Bane's prison back story, and manages to makes Bane seem much less imposing, which is a mistake. The pointless and awkward relationship is so forced between Talia and Bruce, that it borders on ridiculous. For me that was time that could have been better spent on Selina and Bruce's relationship, which could have made the ending with them more meaningful.
Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/ Batman is still interesting, and emotional. Bruce has plenty of hurdles to overcome in this last chapter, both physically, and emotionally. People complain about Bale's Batman voice, which I'll admit is too much at times. He is however, the best all around Bruce Wayne/Batman, because he plays each one so differently. He plays three roles basically, the "real" tormented Bruce, the cocky fake Bruce, and the angry but heroic Batman. That is no easy task for any actor, so I appreciate his commitment to the role, as well as keeping it interesting.
Despite TDKR long runtime of 165 minutes the movie does move along pretty well. The plot is different from the last two movies, in the sense that it's less of a crime film, and more of a war film. The only real problem is that Nolan tried to go too big with it. The whole city under siege thing was too over the top, and unbelievable. The plot is interesting enough, but requires too much suspension of disbelief, which sorry, I'm not willing to do. The ticking time bomb was very cliché considering the interesting ferry boat dilemma from TDK, or the unique, and thrilling fear gas climax from Batman Begins. I'm not saying that this isn't a valid threat to a city, its just the fact that it has been so overdone.
The most disappointing thing to me in TDKR is the anti-climatic, and abrupt conclusions to the films antagonists. The lead up to Batman, and Bane's final fight was what everyone was waiting for, and the end result is a relatively quick fight, followed by Bane getting blown away by Catwoman. Talia's death is no better really, expect the manner in how she dies is very similar to Ra's Al Ghul's death, which was a nice touch. I give credit to whoever didn't laugh when Talia dies in the most poorly acted death I've seen in a while, Nolan really should have demanded a more believable performance out of Cotillard.
The most redeeming quality this film has to offer is the last five minutes of the ending. The music starts somber, and tragic, then slowly becomes the triumphant score the fan's know, and love. I am glad that Bruce wasn't killed off, even though some fans argued that would be more definitive. The ending wraps up everything pretty well but, could have been more meaningful, if the character development was a bit stronger. TDKR may not be as streamlined as the prior films, but is decent conclusion to a great series.
7/10