Man, Vigilante, Outcast, Legend....

Rating: 7/10 (12 January 2014)

Here at the end, and honestly how could you not be. Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, have crafted the best comic book Trilogy so far and because of these movies, I have utter confidence that the character will go on strongly in the next iteration. But for now, kudos to Warner Bros. for allowing these filmmakers to approach the character so dark & boldly. The hype machine was inevitable, everyone who saw "The Dark Knight" (2008) was blown away that a story could be driven like that in terms of dynamic between hero & villain.
Here there are minor stupid flaws with the story and not to spoil anything, he hasn't been Batman for 8 years. Instantly he becomes Batman again, after using a brace that fixes a serious leg injury in seconds (Rendering the cane he has been supposedly using for quite some time useless). The other big problem I have is that Batman has to tackle nuclear weaponry, and things would and DO obviously escalate way beyond what would be his capabilities (Apparently they decided to homage the 1966 movie, by having Batman struggle to get rid of a bomb).
Even though the plot is ludicrous. I adore that the movie seems to repeat all the motifs from the previous movies, that really builds towards a "This Is It" kind of finale. A worse threat lies in the shadows of the background. However, Tom Hardy is our villain in the form of Bane (Who most notably broke Batman's back in the comics), delivering a solid performance as a terrible force of brains & brawn. Joseph Gordon Levitt is a wonderful actor, and even though they have big plans ahead for his character he ultimately feels woefully unnecessary, or at least the execution of his ridiculous origin story comes off sloppy. Finally Anne Hathaway's Catwoman is again another wonderful addition to the series, but I feel they could have downplayed her heavily and still received the same acclaim from her performance.
But seriously, anyone who has seen it knows way to many subplots hinder a movie Batman himself isn't really in. I say this as the first time viewing it, I was awed with the last 45 minute all out war, that was obviously crafted to end things on a large scale. But on repeated viewings all the silly stuff like sending every law enforcer underground, seems ludicrous and in common sense would never really happen. I mention these problems not as a flaw that changes my critical opinion, but as a flaw that these series of movies that have became so well loved for keeping it an urban city crime drama, suddenly escalates into an all out nuclear war!
Just writing that I laughed to myself.
For the many problems I have with this movie, I'm so glad they chose to go with an all out operatic story. The supporting cast is wonderful, and all shine in their own various ways throughout. The final swan song preserves the ideologies of being the "Batman", and promises that what he stands for will go on for a long time. To anyone who is a Batman fan in general, cannot deny how powerful that statement is to the character and his entire mythos.
Final Verdict: Its a fun movie, in a series that blatantly peaked with "The Dark Knight". Satisfyingly concluding a journey we all began back in 2005. 7/10.