The Dark Knight Rises above and beyond to Perfection. A Monumentally Epic End to Nolan's Trilogy.

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2012)

Nolan's reboot of the Batman franchise has finally come to an end in this trilogy consisting of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. I loved Batman Begins with it's perfect balance of blending Batman's origins with the action. It was the first Batman movie, where for me, Batman was as interesting and engaging to watch as his adversary. When it came to The Dark Knight as those who read my review on that, which I will revise shortly, I wasn't that keen on it unlike the majority. I can understand why people loved it. That's fair enough. For me though were some large flaws to it and even though I enjoyed it, it didn't rise up to the first one's accomplishments. Then The Dark Knight Rises came along and blew away any misconceptions I had of Nolan completing this trilogy. Hands down as most audience reviewers have reiterated, this is definitely the best movie of the year so far and far surpasses The Dark Knight and even Batman Begins to be the best of this trilogy. As the saying goes, they save the best until last.
Even though this was two and a three quarter hours, the time flew by and I loved every minute of it. Picking up from The Dark Knight, this third film is set eight years later where both Bruce Wayne and Batman have all but disappeared from the world as Batman has been outlawed by the police and the people of Gotham because they believed he killed Harvey Dent. Meanwhile Wayne Enterprises is starting to fall and he gives board member Miranda (Marion Cotillard) responsibility of leading the organisation. Eventually Bruce (Christian Bale) decides he wants some fresh air and goes out where he is still tormented by memories of losing Rachel Dawes and the death of Harvey Dent. Whilst Bruce suffers and Alfred tries to help him (Sir Michael Caine), Selina/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) comes into Wayne's life by posing as a maid to steal his mother's pearls and eventually teams up with Batman against Batman's new adversary Bane (Tom Hardy) who comes to Gotham with the plan to destroy it by carrying out Ras Al Ghal's legacy. Eventually Batman returns and with the aid of Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) Officer Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Catwoman, they form a plan to stop Bane from destroying Gotham.
Nolan brings together the story threads from the first two Batman movies and ties them beautifully into the conclusion. He is skilfully adept at conveying the loneliness and rage that Bruce feels in isolation away from the people of Gotham. As he struggles to deal with the demons of his past to rise up again and reclaim a normal life as Alfred wants him to, he dons the cape one last time. Bale gives his most best performance to date as either Bruce and the caped crusader. Through his movement and facial expressions you can see the pain in his eyes and beyond into his soul with a man scarred with a painful past. Thankfully when Bale transforms into Batman, the annoying growl of a voice he had in The Dark Knight is blessedly diminished. Tom Hardy as Bane is Batman's most fearsome adversary to date with him having the build and acting to pull off a brilliant performance. Bane turns Gotham into absolute chaos (like the Joker) but in a more daring and convincing way. Hardy's voice behind his mask is cold and calculating, which sent shivers up my spine. There have been complaints by film critics that Bane's dialogue behind the mask is inaudible a lot of the time. Maybe they need to get their ears checked because I heard every word he said. Each word and nuance carried weight and he owned the role. Hathaway as well has received a fair amount of criticism as Catwoman, but she carries the role with great sophistication and it is definitely one of her best performances. Gordon-Levitt, Freeman, Caine and Oldman all transcend in their roles. Also special mention must go to Marion Cotillard as Miranda who though her screen time is limited makes the most of her scenes.
The story is terrifically orchestrated, with a great twist that I didn't see coming. Though I know it's from the original comics, I haven't read them so it was new to me. The special effects were amazing and I loved The Bat as well. The actions sequences were excellently choreographed and superbly tense and entertaining to watch. Nolan wonderfully intermixes all these characters that we care about and the film never loses site of itself as the action and story is balanced perfectly together. And at the end of the movie I was jumping for joy for a staggering achievement that Nolan has achieved for this trilogy, particularly this last one. There's no harm in betting that this will win plenty of Oscars and it is well deserved. Every aspect of The Dark Knight Rises is impeccably placed. Batman really does rise on this occasion and sends the trilogy out with a bang. This is well worth seeing, even if you didn't think much of the second like me, the hype this time is well justified. I loved every minute of it.