Satisfying, but . . .

Rating: 9/10 (2 December 2012)

I don't know of any other movie for which such a great number of people waited worldwide. Did the director do justice to the wide variety of viewers? It looks like that from the 8.7 rating on IMDb and #32 on Top 250 list of all time. But that does not reflect the truth.
Expectations were higher. The expectations were to outdo one's own standards. If we go soft while criticizing a genius, it will be like insulting him. The plot was rather simple. It lacked beautiful complexities of The Dark Knight. A lot in the movie moves only on the symbolic level - Bane, Batman, Catwoman and terrorist capture of the city. The truth is that Christopher Nolan has moved distant from the darker realities that he depicted astonishingly well in his earlier works. People expected more complexity and some surprise. Both were absent.
That said, the movie itself is NOT a mediocre work of art at all. At symbolic level it is exactly what I desired it should be. Some complain that the weapons and all shown were not up to expectations. But did we not like exactly the same thing in the first movie of the trilogy? Some complain that there is not enough 'Batman time' in the movie. But the Batman is present in the entire movie as a longing in the audience. When will he come? When will he get out; how will he get out? The struggle of Batman in captivity and the new philosophical angle to the fear of death were remarkable. And there is not just one Batman but two - one nearing retirement, another getting ready to take up the suit. In the first two movies the drama was external (there were instances of inner struggle for Batman in first two movies too. But to bring heartbeat to the trilogy, the drama had to move within the Batman. And it did.
People who are disappointed with the movie will feel better if they will see it as the conclusion to the epic trilogy instead of a separate movie in its own right. The movie works on a symbolic level. The over- ambitiousness and lack of thinking of the police force might look naive but that is exactly what is happening in many parts of the world. The movie is great symbolic commentary on aspects of social and political ethics. It is also hope and direction for a hot-headed person that he can make a difference in the world. I happen to be one such and thus I related to a great extent to the movie. The fact that the movie and the director are politically sensitive makes it a far more realistic movie than anything with a more complex plot could have made it. For that hats off to the conclusion of the epic. One night I had a dream that I am watching the fourth movie in the Batman series by Nolan. God! I was happy! But the movie was turning out to be crap and I was not liking it. One should see what one is expecting before labeling something as a disappointment.
I expected something interesting from Bane in the end. Villains fell short in the movie which was not the case in the first two movies of the trilogy. The angle of familial care that Alfred brings and how it connects to the story of Rachel and Harvey Dent was great interweaving of stories across the three movies. The character of Catwoman is complex in that she makes many comments on ethical weaknesses in capitalistic cultures. It is symbolism that is the primary strength of the movie. Like Bruce Wayne says in Batman Begins - "People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy. As a man of flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol. . . as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting."
In The Dark Knight Rises Batman becomes what he set out to do in Batman Begins. The reasons behind not liking the movie and rating it badly (some have given the movie 1 star) are beyond me. We need more postmodern works like this that can make strong dents on apathy that capitalistic culture brings upon all of us. I am looking forward to Man of Steel by Zack Snyder.