An epic and satisfying conclusion

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2012)

I had anticipation for TDKR, and yet not as much as one would have expected. When TDK came out in 2008, it was one of the biggest movie moments I had been through, with my anticipation off the roof. I also declared it a "masterpiece" upon watching it like many others did. As the years have gone by though, TDK has been a victim of its own hype and the backlash that resulted because of it, and Nolan blockbusters in general. I still sort of love The Dark Knight, and I have seen it several times, but it's definitely not the masterpiece I had made it out to be. Then again, I have no one to blame but myself for giving it such heavenly praise, and in a way I sort of just jumped on the bandwagon. I consider myself a TDK fan to this day, but probably not a "hardcore" fan, and so this time around my anticipation is different. Nolan films always seem to lessen on rewatches, even his independent films like Memento. I didn't hype this film for me nearly as much as TDK in 2008, and weirdly I wasn't going crazy about it. What did I think of it?
A satisfying conclusion for sure. It pretty much has the same sort of flow and narrative style that TDK had. It's quick, epic in its action scale, and surely very entertaining. Just like TDK, the most thrilling moments are enough to have you on the edge of your seat and to give you chills, and TDKR definitely delivered on those fronts. But alas, it also has some of the same flaws that plagued TDK, and they come from the same comparisons I made. I've gotten to the point that these days, I really wish for quiet, character-driven moments in films, no matter what kind they are. The problem with Nolans' Batman films are that many times, there's never much space for that. I'm not saying we don't care for the characters, but it sometimes makes me wonder if all Nolan can add in his batman films are "epic" moments of action and thrills, and when we find characters simply talking it all has to do with building up the tension. Does it work? Yeah, very much so, which is why this isn't really that big of a complaint. I am simply stating things that neither TDK or TDKR had. And should I complain? I mean, Batman Begins is certainly the batman film that is paced in a more careful, more resistant approach. The problem with that film is that at the end of the day, it really wasn't all that memorable, and the excitement of Batman Begins in no way reached the high levels of these last two Batman flicks. So again, I find myself torn about what to want in this.
On a more level-headed approach, most of the new characters here are pretty interesting, with the exception of Marion Cotillard's character. The problem isn't that she wasn't needed, it was that she was barely given any real development, or reason to be significant. In certain revelations, I found myself merely shrugging towards her character. It also didn't help that Cotillard played her the exact same way she played her other character in Inception. Tom Hardy on the other hand, has a very well-written role, but something was off here. I found Hardy's voice really cartoonish at times. Threatening? Yeah, certainly, several scenes, but he also overdid it other times. Levitt is pretty great, and a great new addition. The true stand-out was, surprisingly, Anne Hathaway. I was also one of the many that didn't see Hathaway as Catwoman at all, and yet she naturally fell into the role pretty perfectly. It's her early scenes that make a real impact, and Hathaway nails it with charisma, charm, sexiness, and most importantly, vulnerability.
The action pieces are incredible, although the sound effects and the score are sometimes way too loud and because of this, overbearing and obnoxious (yes, just like Inception). The score was actually pretty great, but less of it would have been more welcome.
Overall, I liked it a lot, perhaps even loved it, and there seems to be more of an emotional pull at the core of the film, which was definitely sometimes lacking in TDK and was perhaps why it's not as great as I once thought it was. But make no mistake, this is a thrilling, epic, bloody gripping and crazy entertaining film.