I loved It

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2013)

I'm going to start off by saying that this was probably one of my most anticipated movies of all time. I went in the theater hoping for a masterpiece. I actually expected this movie to jump into my top five of all time. It didn't disappoint, I loved it.
The opening scene had me questioning what exactly was going on. Movies that make you think about the smallest details of the plot are my favorite. In the scene the audience is introduced to the new villain, Bane. As a kid watching cartoons I always thought that bane was a mindless hulk-like bad guy. In this movie he has a true to the comic's portrayal. He's smart, he has a plan, and he'll stop at nothing to put it into action. Much like Dark Knight, the Villain is a major standout. He has such an intimidating presence on screen. Tom Hardy put so much work into the physicality of the character. The first fight between Bane and Batman is one of the moments that they had to get right. Luckily it's one of my favorite moments in the entire film! In the scene they don't use too much sound, just Bane's taunts as he fights, truly frightening. His voice is so interesting. It's something you'll really remember about the film. After the film my friends and I couldn't help but do Bane impressions. He has so many quotable lines that he will probably be one of my favorite villains of all time. You might be wondering if he outperformed the Joker from Dark Knight. The answer is no, not quite. He's so different of a character it's hard to compare, but Joker was just too hard to beat. Christian Bale's performance as Batman and Bruce Wayne was amazing. This was easily his best performance as Batman. The story takes place eight years after the end of Dark Knight so Bruce is feeling the ill effects of being batman. He uses a cane now, and he has a little grey hair. This is a story about Bruce Wayne coming back, and doing anything he can for his city. Bruce and Alfred have some amazing scenes where you forget your watching acting. The emotion they both convey when they're together is stunning. Michel Cane doesn't have as much screen time as he does in the other movies, but he's so good in the ones he's in you won't forget his performance. Morgan Freeman is back. He has some particularly funny scenes with Bruce. They feel like old friends yet again. You really can't go wrong with any of the actors in this movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays young police officer Blake. He has some great character development during the course of the movie. I was cheering for him the whole time. If you come out of this movie saying "I just wish it had better acting" I'd question your sanity. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman was one big worry I had about the movie going in. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. She did a great job of portraying the playful vigilante. She actually had okay chemistry with Christian Bale. Catwoman wasn't forced into the story, her character made sense within the plot. She didn't ruin the movie, which was all I was asking for. Plus, she actually looked like she could fight. She wasn't doing the "I'm a woman who can beat up ten men with one hand tied behind my back" routine. It was such a relief that they didn't try to do something annoying like Black Widow from Avengers.
The story was fantastic. It's amazing that Christopher Nolan wasn't planning on doing this movie before he made Batman Begins. There are so many callbacks and references to that movie I would strongly recommend watching that one again before you see this one. I kept saying "Oh I remember when he said that!" or thinking "That ties in perfectly". This one had plenty of twists and turns. Multiple times I was questioning what was true and what was a clever ruse. If there are any negatives, you might say there are some plot leaps. Not holes mind you, but something upon thinking about it you might consider a little unbelievable. With such huge story and scope I'm surprised there aren't more mistakes. The scale of this movie is far bigger than in either of the first two Batman movies. Bane has a plan for all of Gotham and batman has to stop an entire city of villains. The entire trilogy comes to a very fitting finish. I absolutely loved the ending. I was very satisfied how everything tied together. I especially loved the conclusion of Bruce's story, perfect. When I came out of the theater I couldn't wait to discuss the amazing things that happened in the end. This is a movie where the more you watch it the more you'll understand and enjoy it.
Of course, in the conclusion to a trilogy like this one you would expect to be dazzled by the special effects. They were quite impressive. The new batwing has some pretty amazing aerial maneuvers. You definitely get your money's worth with the cinematography. The opening and ending scenes especially stand out. There was an extremely cool Bat Pod driving scene that, as soon as it was over, I wanted to watch it again.
It can't tell you enough that this was an amazing movie. It was certainly the best of the year. If you're wondering if it's better than The Dark Knight I honestly can't say. Time will tell. It could be better, and that's some of the highest praise I can give it.
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