The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

I have been looking forward to this moment for four years and it did not fail to impress. I was seriously expecting The Dark Knight Rises to be nothing compared to The Dark Knight, but it was just as good. The Dark Knight Rises is set years after the previous film. Bruce Wayne has become a recluse, but he must come out of hiding when Bane threatens to rip Gotham City apart.
Note: I do not recommend reading this without seeing the film.

In my opinion it's the characters that really make this film great. The film contains the usual characters Bruce Wayne a.k.a Batman (Christian Bale), Alfred (Michael Caine), James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). But, it also boasts some new characters, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Selina Kyle a.k.a Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), Bane (Tom Hardy) and Miranda Tate a.k.a Talia al Ghul (Marion Cotillard).
Bruce Wayne has in some ways gone back to Batman Begins. He is no longer Batman, so lives a life in the shadows. He refuses to see anyone and his company is falling apart. But, when he goes back to being Batman he sees only two options; Kill Bane or die doing it. I liked this version of Batman because he started to fear death and seemed more relatable. I also liked the fact that some characters had guessed that Wayne was Batman and that others were told. It was nice ending. Taking off the mask as it were.
Wayne has many father figures in his life and I like the fact that you see a part of all of them acting like one. Alfred disappeared for a large chunk of the film and I seriously missed him. Batman isn't the same without Alfred. He couldn't watch Wayne destroy himself because he wanted him to have a life and a family. James Gordon, now Commissioner was struggling with the lies he had told about Harvey Dent and I felt really bad for him because he had lost everything because of those lies. I like his character because he will stop at nothing to rid the city of crime, but he needs the help of Batman and he believes entirely in him. Lucius Fox looks after Wayne's company in his absence and he continues to gather weapons/tools to aid Batman. He will do anything to help Wayne and this is why I like him. They're all loyal to Bruce Wayne and believe in Batman.
John Blake is an everyday police officer that rises up the ranks dramatically to detective during the conflict with Bane. I really liked that he had a similar but less privileged past to Wayne and that he knew that Wayne was Batman. The twist at the end made everything better, when you discover his real name is Robin. It leaves Christopher Nolan with a chance to do a sequel (Please :'( ).
Selina Kyle is a new character in Nolan's trilogy, but she had to compete with Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman. There was no competition really because they were different. In this film, she was stealing from the rich because there were so many in need in Gotham City. A twisted Robin Hood. I liked her because she didn't even know what she wanted and when it came down to it, she wanted to help rather than run. I also liked that she was never referred to as Catwoman in the film and that her goggles were cats ears when on her head.
Right, Bane...I have mixed opinions about Bane. I liked him and thought he was a good villain. He looked amazing, I hardly recognised Tom Hardy. He looked an awful lot better than the Bane in Batman & Robin (1997). He was different kind of villain to the Joker. I do prefer the Joker, but Bane was one of the better Batman villains. However, I found him really hard to understand at times and that was a bit off putting.
Miranda Tate is at first the love interest of Bruce Wayne and I liked that I was never sure if she knew that he's Batman or not. I thought that her being the true villain behind Bane and being Ra's al Ghul's daughter were great twists. I had heard about her being his daughter at the beginning of the production, but I dismissed it. I also liked that her and Bane seemed to be in love. It made Bane seem more human rather than beast.
I have to mention the little appearance made by Jonathan Crane a.k.a The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) because it made me giggle because he was the judge and jury against the privileged members of Gotham's society.

There is a lot I can say about the setting because it's exactly the same as the other films and it's New York City renamed as Gotham City. I love that it is used in Banes plan as he cuts off a large part of the city. I also liked that it was set during the day for the majority of the film because it was like the Batman was rising from the ashes and he couldn't hide in the dark anyway due to Bane's ability to see the him in the dark. I also liked Batman's new form of transport, The Bat. Batman was flying.

I really enjoyed the narrative because it was full of twists and turns that you do not entirely expect. Which is always good when it comes to watching a film that is nearly three hours long. However, it is really worth sitting through it. I liked that in a way the film had gone in a full circle because it was similar to Batman Begins. I also liked that the Nolan brothers had kept close to the comics by having Bane break Batmans back. The ending is slightly predictable, but it is great all the same. I walked out of the cinema and would have happily sat and watched it again straight away. I don't want to say a lot because I find it hard to describe. I read a review in a paper that said the film took too long to get into the action, but I felt that it was good because if you had just lost the woman you love and turned a city against yourself, it'd take some time to get back into the game. Plus, you really follow Bruce Wayne's journey. I really enjoyed it.

It is rare for me to leave a film with a massive grin and this film is still making me smile just thinking about it. It was a great ending to a great trilogy. I applaud Nolan on breaking the bad sequel issue. He is a great writer and director making these films great. I am really sad that it's over, but I will always have hope for another Nolan Batman. It will never be the same again. I'd like to see someone try and top these films. Good Luck.