Just loved it

Rating: 10/10 (25 August 2012)

It is fair to say that this movie had a lot to live up to. The Dark Knight blew not only comic book movies, but action movies out of the water. It raised expectations for this type of film. It was smart, thoughtful and to be honest just pure brilliance, well in my opinion anyway. So the question was always can the Dark Knight Rises match it? Personally, I think the answer is yes.
The Dark Knight Rises doesn't have the madness and darkness of the Joker. It doesn't have Batman show as much emotion and vulnerability. This movie doesn't try to beat The Dark Knight. Instead, it tries to be different. The threat in this movie is bigger and we see Batman stood with others beside him not alone. And for the first time we see the 'legacy' Batman has left on Gotham. This movie is not about a war between two men in masks, it is about something much more than that. Aesthetically this movie is pleasing. Christopher Nolan knows this world well. The effects, action sequences, camera work are all stunning. The music is epic and used well. He proves yet again that he is a talented and smart director.
The performances are top notch. The returning characters are all great. Bale's Batman is as brooding and suffering as always. Caine's Alfred is full of more heart than I know what to do with, and Freeman and Oldman are just brilliant as they always are.
It is the new members of the cast that have to shoulder the weight of this movie, most notably with Tom Hardy's Bane. It is hard not to compare his performance with Heath Ledger's Joker but to do so is not really fair. I am not sure if we will ever see such an outstandingly dark and manic performance again. Bane, as a character, has maybe a little more heart and there are moments where it shows. His motivation to harm is not the same as The Joker; in fact it could not be more different. I have not seen Hardy like this before, the performance was restrained but it worked and I enjoyed his character a lot.
Anne Hathaway's cold and calculating Catwoman is also impressive. To be honest I was not expecting much from her but she delivered and she ended up being one of my favourite parts of the movie.
Of all the new characters it is Joseph Gordon Levitt's good cop John Blake that really stood out for me. There is something about this guy that just works on screen, he is effortless in the role and I cared for his character more than any other.
The Dark Knight Rises is not just good action and acting. There are also moments of humour, of light-heartedness. There are amazing gadgets, a great ending and quite a few twists and turns.
This movie is genius, it fits perfectly with the rest of the series and I loved it.
As a whole the Batman trilogy is something that will never be beaten and I hope no one ever tries. As far as batman movies go (in my opinion), they start here and they should end here to. I am sad to see the back of Christian Bale's Batman but glad that it ended on a high.