Not the best, but my favorite of the trilogy.

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2012)

There are people I talk to that think that Nolan is his own worse enemy? Not in a bad way, he just sets expectations so high because every single film he puts out there delivers. He's put himself in a spot where people want him to fail or think that because the film didn't get a perfect score with the critics that Nolan has lost his touch. Well he hasn't, and let me say that I was blown away by the film. A couple of my friends said their expectations were met but that they needed more, that their expectations had to be exceeded. This is probably the best compliment you could ever give anyone, saying "you're too good, you could do better".
In this film, the hero is stripped of EVERYTHING he has by the diabolical Bane and left to die in hell on Earth. I've never seen a hero that has been through so much pain and been destroyed to the level that Batman was in this film. But every great hero has to to rise to the challenge, and that's exactly what Batman does by saving the city that is at odds with him. At the end of the film there is so much at stake for our hero when his plan to save the city are spoiled. There are many spectacular action sequences that aren't clustered with CGI or over saturated with things flying in the screen, but keep you in the edge of your seat because of the wonderful character arcs and set ups that you love.
That being said, there are still so many levels of conflict going on in this film that is not just Bane and Batman fighting it out. There's Bruce Wayne's internal conflicts, his conflict with some of his allies, conflicts within the police force, even conflict within the villains. Nolan gives everyone a conflict and Batman's absence for a long period of time makes you start thinking to yourself that this is no longer just a comic book/action adventure movie. The betrayals, twists and turns throughout the movie add a layer of crime thriller or film noir. You are almost surprised at how the movie takes its time and how much liberty Nolan gets in telling this story.
On top of that, some of the plot points of the film pay homage to classic Batman graphic novels. There are little details here and there that will make some of the fan-boys shout out in excitement because they clearly understand the reference.
At the end of the film, you are left wanting more great Batman adventures from the wonderful craftsman that is Christopher Nolan. Especially with the last little twist at the end, you start begging "give me another two hours of film", or may be even think "what if Nolan has another Batman film up his sleeve that he hasn't told anyone about". The only negative thing I'll say is that you need to be prepared to tune your ear to what Bane has to say, some of it is important plot detail that my friends and I had to put together almost like a puzzle. This is not the best Batman film of the trilogy, that title still belongs to TDK, but this is easily my favorite. For some people, it may not be the same "wow" that they got from TDK, but I have a feeling that this is going to be a film that grows on you the more you watch it.