Awesome but flawed

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 2012)

I think the problem with this movie is that what was good about it was so good it almost overshadows its flaws, in which there were quite a few. #1: Tom Hardy should not have played Bane. I think Nolan only gave him that part because he likes him personally. Nolan didn't seem to realize that part of what made The Dark Knight great was a once-in-a-lifetime performance from Heath Ledger, one which it is difficult to live up to, especially for mediocre actors like Hardy. I would bet money that Anne Hathaway and Juno Temple were the only actors in this movie who actually auditioned for their parts. #2: The dialog, at times, lacked basic grammar fundamentals. For instance, "I count fine." Not "My counting is fine," or "I count quite well." "I count fine." But at other times, it was in fact very good. #3: The seemingly deaf football player who was completely unaware that the ground was falling from beneath him. #4: Constant views of the Manhattan skyline. They did a good job photoshopping out the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings and central park, but you can easily identify the construction site for the new World Trade Center, and the island itself is just too recognizable. #5: This is a problem I have with the whole trilogy: Jonathan Crane should have either died or been arrested in Batman Begins. #6: (major spoiler) My biggest problem with this movie: It's impossible to survive a nuclear blast.
Other than these six things, The Dark Knight Rises was perfect. It featured beautiful directing from the legendary director Christopher Nolan, and timely performances from Bale, Caine, Freeman, Oldman, and Neeson. It's not at all cheesy like the older Batman movies. It intensely explores human emotions, courage, sacrifice, belief, and doing what's right. A flawed, yet awe-inspiring film I highly recommend.
I changed how I feel about the first two installments about five times each, so this review may not reflect how I feel about this film down the road.