A near perfect arc.

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2012)

It's taken me awhile to fully digest this beautiful & tension wrought epic of chaos descending & grace ascending.
If Christopher Nolan hasn't topped himself with this 3rd Batman film he sure as heck has come close.
Christian Bale's Wayne/Batman carries this film as much as he does the 1st of the trilogy with a haunting performance that damn well better get at least a nomination for Lead Actor.
Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle ("Catwoman" is never said here) is as much fun to watch as Michelle Pfieffer's iconic turn in the same role in 1992. She is a real kick to behold for Catwoman fans like me.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's idealistic cop Blake may be the biggest surprise here. His acting is not the surprise (this guy has already proved his chops) but the weight of his role is. I don't remember seeing Levitt with as much gravitas as he has here.
Tom Hardy's Bane is truly terrifying. He delivers two of the most brutal beatings I've seen lately in film & certainly tops anything I've ever seen in this genre. Bane doesn't get under your skin like Ledger's Joker. Bane can be explained --he has a cause-- while The Joker defies explanation.
Marion Cotillard is in the mystery role & is every bit as good as she was in "Inception".
Sir Micheal Caine, Gary Oldman & Morgan Freeman are all in top form too.
The movie drags a bit during the first half of the third act but then recovers with a heart-stopping &, finally, elegiac ending that moved me to tears. This maybe the most heartfelt film Nolan has ever made (although "Inception" was pretty bloody moving). As gigantic as this movie is (Nolan has really improved as a director of action) it ends on a very wistful, beautiful & poetic note.
The production values are off the scale. Try to catch this film in IMAX because it is astonishing.