A fittingly epic and emotional ending to a phenomenal movie series that will be greatly missed.

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2012)

The most important thing to remember going into The Dark Knight Rises is not that it is Christopher Nolan's final Batman movie but that it was never going to be as good as The Dark Knight. As I had prepared myself for this I was able to enjoy the film without comparing it to its masterpiece of a predecessor. That said, when comparing it to other trilogy closers, it sits with Return of the King, Toy Story 3 and Return of the Jedi, in that it is the most flawed of the trilogy but by far the most spectacular and offering a thrilling, intense and fitting climax to an incredible saga.
Picking up 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is now in self-imposed exile after Batman taking the wrap for Harvey Dents atrocities. Dent has been made a martyr and a hero, whose death has allowed new legislation to come in to allow Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) to clean up the streets and do away with organised crime in Gotham. But now Gotham faces a new threat in the hulking form of Bane (Tom Hardy) forces Batman to come out of hiding.
Right from the plane smashing opening you know three things: Bane is a very different threat than The Joker, the action and spectacle in this movie is going to be bigger and better than anything we've seen in a Batman movie before and thirdly, it feels great to be back in Nolan's Bat-Universe. Obviously comparisons will be made between Bane and The Joker but the thing is that it's difficult to compare the two as they are very different characters. Heath Ledger's Joker is arguably the greatest screen villain ever (although Darth Vader may take issue with that) but he was an anarchist who simply wanted to cause chaos and test Batman. Bane is a calculating, intelligent man with a plan. Bane is also a true physical threat, one that you believe can defeat Batman. The Joker was great but he wasn't an adversary that Batman could fight physically, a very minor gripe but a relevant one. Tom hardy is the biggest he's ever been (even more so than in the excellent Bronson) at 87kg in this movie but it's not just his figure that impresses, as most of his face (and voice) are covered Hardy has a particularly tricky role. But just through his eyes he manages to exert menace, emotion and intelligence. And contrary to what viewers of the prologue have claimed, 90% of the time the voice is no trouble whatsoever to comprehend.
Other newcomers to the franchise impress too, most notably Anne Hathoway whose Selina Kyle (never once referred to as Catwoman) is smart, sneaky, wise-cracking and again a very different incarnation than Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in Batman Returns. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is decent as cop John Blake as is Marion Cotillard but the returning cast are brilliant as always. Michael Caine goes all teary eyed (as does the audience for every minute of his unfortunately very small screen-time) and Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman continue to impress (the trio making up the collection of father figures Bruce has throughout the movies). But the best performance is from the eponymous rising hero. Although Batman is in a surprisingly small amount of the movie, As Bruce Wayne, Christian Bale manages to find new depths and elements to a character that has been portrayed by 5 actors in 8 movies. Bruce Wayne has never been more tortured or been put through more hardships before and the audience seriously fears (a recurring theme in Nolan's Batman movies) for his life as the odds mount up against him.
As always Christopher Nolan's direction is brilliant, as is the work of the team he's built around him such as Hans Zimmer's score which is bombastic and epic and Wally Pfizer's cinematography. Not since The Lord of the Rings have we seen anything close to this level of scale , spectacle and ambition in a film. This is grandiose, awe-inspiring filmmaking. The action sequences are huge, an attack on Wall Street and the aforementioned aerial attack being early highlights. The first fight between Batman and Bane is one of the most brutal in recent memory and a stadium bombing is suitably jaw-dropping. But the real talking point is the epic finale. This is the action piece to end a movie series that his been full of memorable action set-pieces so it has a lot to live up to. It's certainly the biggest set-piece: armies of police and criminals charge at each other, Batman flies the Bat around the streets, tumblers and trucks crash and explode everywhere. It is incredible.
My only gripe is that it is (and for me this wasn't a problem as I wanted to watch as much of Nolan's Batman as possible) about 20 minutes too long, the first act drags a bit as there's no Batman and too much time spent building up new characters and a particularly unnecessary fireside love scene should have been left on the cutting room floor.
The story that Nolan has crafted is great, revisiting and reintroducing elements and characters from Batman Begins and truly bringing the story full circle, it gives us the first time a superhero story has been able to complete its journey. These are the greatest superhero movies ever made and it is truly sad to say goodbye as the inevitable reboot looms on the horizon, but for now let us sit back and appreciate a fitting, epic, emotional ending to a phenomenal movie trilogy.