Batman Begins - 10/10
The Dark Knight - 10/10
The Dark Knight Rises - 10/10
I would have posted this yesterday but it was before I saw it for a second time. And the first time I'll admit, I was disappointed. I thought things were rushed, a couple of characters weren't needed and didn't add much to the entire story, and was a bit confused and irked by the ending. With The Dark Knight as soon as it was over, I shot up in my chair and declared how much I loved it. Here, I sat in my seat troubled. But I culdn't get it out of my head and after thinking about it, then going here to see what people said about the ending, I approached it with a different mindset and new enthusiasum going into my second viewing. And boy, the second time was so much better. Now that I knew what happened and the approach to the set up of the ending and the meaning, which has been there since Batman Begins. I just saw my own lense but Nolan saw a different one, and guess what? Nolan's was better than mine in the end, like it always is. The plot itself the second time is actually well done for a film this long (which doesn't feel like 164 minutes) and my complaints of characters disappearing for other characters and their stories to come in are actually a compliment to the film now. Everything melded together and it all came together by the finale.
Bruce Wayne's journey in this film is the thing that I love the most. It is the thing I have been looking forward to the most. And I had a different idea of his journey and how he might conclude it carried over from the previous films. It's something we've never seen before. Yet we're reminded that Nolan's Batman is his own, but his vision here as completed is bold, new and different, yet it still stays true to the core of Batman from the comics. And that conclusion works so well and I ended up loving it to death. Bale's performance as Wayne could be his best here. This film is his last hurrah. Where Bruce is needed once more to save his city from a rising evil. But in order to do that, he must remember why he does what he does and what motivates him and what makes him truly live. The mirror image of him and Hardy's Bane is so well done in this film, I didn't really mind the twist now.
Bane, as a main villain, is a damn great villain. I'm not even gonna bother him comparing the Joker to him. Because they're two different types of evil. Bane is, "Neccessary evil." It takes great skill as an actor to emote through a covered face where we can only see his eyes to emote. We hate him and enjoy watching him. All through his eyes and body language, and sheer dominance in presence. He really is the ultimate Batman villain here in the last step of Bruce's journey. He is the last obstacle, and God, what an obstacle. We first see that in their first confrontation and it's one of the stand outs of the film, and the best fight scene of the trilogy.
Hathaway's Selina Kyle, like I thought, is fantastic. She is Selina Kyle. I would have liked more scenes between her and Bruce and perhaps maybe explore the duality of Batman and Catwoman, but it's fine. We already got that in Batman Returns.
Nolan has really upped the ante. This is his biggest film yet. Despite the spectacle of the action, the true spectacle are the characters, especially Bruce's. This is his movie. And this is his series. And here, we see him own it and why.
The ending had me in tears, I cried for one of my favorite superheroes because I've loved him since I could remember and to see him conclude his journey, a three film series with the samedirector and actor, and to conclude in the most satisfying way, just makes me proud. My love and pride as a Batman fan right now is shown in The Dark Knight Rises, and I'm glad everyone else has seen why.
The only other trilogies I have given all 10/10's to are Toy Story and The Lord of the Rings. But this is different because it's Batman. What a perfect ending.