Nolan shows the scope of his genius.

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2012)

Bare with me, this is my first movie review. I figured what better film to get started with than the epic conclusion to the Dark Knight Trilogy, and indeed it is epic. Nolan's elaborate storyline is acted out beautifully by the usual cast, since he doesn't vary his actors often. Christian Bale has appeared in 4 of his films, Cillian Murphy in 4, Michael Caine in 5. Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt each return for their 2nd go around, while others provide their usual outstanding supporting roles, like Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Acting and script as usual cannot be scrutinized when it comes to Christopher Nolan. However since it is the end of a trilogy, its impossible not to go back and think which of the three is the best? I honestly can't decide, which i suppose with the company we are talking about, can only be a compliment for The Dark Knight Rises, that i am even willing to consider this greater than or equal to the near perfection of The Dark Knight. My gut tells me to say this film is not as good as The Dark Knight, but for me, that would mean calling it a disappointment, which i don't want to imply. In the grand scope of things, what this film shows me is this; that Christopher Nolan, even after all his success is still willing to take risks and try new things. The only complaint i could have for this film is that its....unimaginable, but that isn't Chris Nolan's fault, its mine. Its difficult for us to imagine an entire city held captive by a small army lead by a ruthless juggernaut, with the threat of being blown away at any given moment. The only reason we have trouble imagining this is because, thankfully, such a circumstance has never occurred in the real wold, but that doest make it implausible. When in the climax of the Dark Knight, the threats were much smaller and much more understandable. While also in this film, Nolan isn't afraid to include the army, nuclear weapons, football teams. Such things make the world of batman almost too much like the real world, when up until then, the world of the caped crusader never dared to go beyond the stretches of a made up city called Gotham, no outside influence, no federal government, no nukes, just batman. To my surprise, the extreme realism doesn't hurt the credibility of the movie, which makes me believe Nolan can make just about anything work. Ultimately you come away satisfied, and i suppose thats what counts. It provides excellent closure, even with a subtle hint at another film to come. The Dark Knight Trilogy is finally put to bed and it will rest well. I guess that isn't a typical movie review, so let me close with a few comments that are typical. Ahem, i think Christian Bale is up for an Oscar, and Anne Hathaway is sooooo hot!