The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

I don't know about you, but personally I had my reservations about whether or not the final nail in the Nolan Batman trilogy could live up to the standards that have been set thus far.  That is not to say that the series has been flawless up to this point, because it hasn't, and even though I gave The Dark Knight a near perfect score, there were elements of that film that simply didn't work for me and times I really felt the story dragged out.  But with the The Dark Knight Rises Nolan has managed to fix the flaws of the prior films and bring us a finale that not only satisfies but also provides easily the best written story a comic book film has ever had.

The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years to the date of the death of Harvey Dent (aka Two Face), who is still being held up as a pillar of justice by a city who is completely unaware of the evil he became, an evil persona that was instead placed on the shoulders of Batman at his own behest to attempt to keep hope alive in the hearts of Gotham.  It's also been eight years with no sighting of Batman, as Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has retreated into the depths of his newly re-built mansion to sulk, unable to continue his life after the events of the prior film.  It's here at a annual Harvey Dent benefit that we meet Selena Kyle (Anne Hathaway) Gotham's resident cat-burglar, sent on a mission to retrieve Bruce Wayne's fingerprints for first step in a plan that will bring Batman and Gotham to its knees.

Wayne's run in with Kyle and news of a new threat to Gotham named Bane (Tom Hardy) rekindles his desire to shed his now Howard Hughes reclusive lifestyle and return to the world of the living.  But the return of Batman comes with a cost as Wayne quickly finds everything is pulled out from under him and has to rediscover the will that he lost eight years ago to save Gotham, and himself for the last time.

In terms of trilogy closers The Dark Knight Rises is right up there with Peter Jackson's Return of the King, and as a comic book film it has the deepest and most well constructed story I've seen.  There were aspects of the previous two films that made it difficult for me to call them perfect.  Firstly I've always thought Nolan made poor choices when casting leading ladies, Katie Holmes... Maggie Gyllenhaal... both actresses bland performances were difficult to get behind, and when their character (Rachel Dawes) ultimately met her demise I couldn't say I cared.  Anne Hathaway being cast a Selena Kyle (Catwoman) sent similiar shivers down my spine being another actress I can't stomach, but I'll admit Nolan finally got it right.  Hathaway still wouldn't be my ultimate choice for the role (I still think Eva Green would have been fantastic) but in the end she really did nail the part and did a pretty fantastic job, as did Marion Cotillard as Miranda.

My second biggest issue with the Nolan Batman franchise has been flow.  Batman Begins didn't suffer from this so much, but it was clearly evident in The Dark Knight, with two big named villains it almost seemed like the story tried too hard at times, trying to give them equal screen time, establish their characters and then mold them into the story.  It was quite evident at times throughout that film that the story drags a little, that simply isn't the case here.  With an even greater ensemble of characters, the Nolan brothers completely succeed in meshing everyone together in a very powerful story that flawlessly weaves emotional and action into a story-line that I never felt once dragged on.  And in comparing all the villains in the series Bane is easily the best, even though Tom Hardy sounds like he's imitating Sean Connery behind a Darth Vader mask.

Honestly I could go on and on for paragraphs describing why everything simply worked so well, and how each performance was spot on, but in the end that's really not necessary.  The fact is The Dark Knight Rises is the best superhero film ever made to date, and this is because, simply put, it doesn't feel like a superhero film.  The Avengers was good, but Nolan's Batman series, and especially this final outing, has succeeded in taking a comic book series and making it about as plausible as a comic book series could possibly get.  In laymen's terms The Dark Knight Rises is just as much a certified drama genre film than a comic book film, if not more so.

In the end, it's going to be hard for anyone to top the overall caliber of The Dark Knight Rises, and the trilogy as a whole.  The upcoming Superman film shows some promise but only time will tell regarding that.  If Warner Brothers had any sense whatsoever they'd think long and hard about picking up where Nolan has left off (the ending of this film offers a variety of opportunities).  I don't think rebooting a series anytime in the next five years would be a wise move, so unless their willing to wait a while it would be interesting to see if they choose to continue the series.

10/10