The concluding effort of Nolan’s Batman trilogy moves back to the pulpier sensibilities found in Batman Begins. Visually it’s easily the best of the trilogy (the IMAX photography is still pretty spectacular), I also really love its score. Once again, it has to be reiterated that the acting and dialogue are leagues above what’s usually found in big movies, and with this film I was really impressed by Bale, Hardy, Caine and Hathaway in particular. In terms of story, this film dives into the idea of Batman as an everlasting symbol, and the end result strikes the right balance of spectacle and drama. It’s not as intellectually challenging as The Dark Knight, but that’s alright because this isn’t trying to be another Michael Mann-esque crime drama. Instead, this film presents itself more as a straightforward epic with higher stakes than Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, which it successfully achieves by letting its villain win halfway through the story. There are so many sequences that are masterfully executed, whether it’s Catwoman’s introduction, the fallout of Bruce and Alfred, the finale, the rise from the pit or the excellent plane heist; it’s some of my favourite stuff from the trilogy. However, this movie also started the trend of Nolan becoming sloppier and sloppier as a screenwriter. For example, how does Bruce get back to Gotham from the pit when it’s literally a plot point that he’s lost all of his money? Why do they send the entire police squad to go after Bane? Why does Ben Mendelsohn spell out so awkwardly what the Clean Slate is? It’s mostly small stuff, but it adds up. Moreover, I think it could’ve done without the Tate character. She’s underwritten during the first two acts, the performance isn’t great, and the twist they pull with her during the third act I found to be unnecessary and underwhelming. All in all, it’s probably the worst of the trilogy, but still a pretty good film that despite its blockbuster trappings never loses sight of the main emotional arc. It might be a little far removed from the current zeitgeist of corporate, fluffy, bright blockbusters, but its craft has aged well enough where I expect some of its naysayers to rediscover it at some point in the future.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2023-07-19T20:19:06Z— updated 2023-09-24T14:49:58Z
The concluding effort of Nolan’s Batman trilogy moves back to the pulpier sensibilities found in Batman Begins. Visually it’s easily the best of the trilogy (the IMAX photography is still pretty spectacular), I also really love its score. Once again, it has to be reiterated that the acting and dialogue are leagues above what’s usually found in big movies, and with this film I was really impressed by Bale, Hardy, Caine and Hathaway in particular. In terms of story, this film dives into the idea of Batman as an everlasting symbol, and the end result strikes the right balance of spectacle and drama. It’s not as intellectually challenging as The Dark Knight, but that’s alright because this isn’t trying to be another Michael Mann-esque crime drama. Instead, this film presents itself more as a straightforward epic with higher stakes than Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, which it successfully achieves by letting its villain win halfway through the story. There are so many sequences that are masterfully executed, whether it’s Catwoman’s introduction, the fallout of Bruce and Alfred, the finale, the rise from the pit or the excellent plane heist; it’s some of my favourite stuff from the trilogy. However, this movie also started the trend of Nolan becoming sloppier and sloppier as a screenwriter. For example, how does Bruce get back to Gotham from the pit when it’s literally a plot point that he’s lost all of his money? Why do they send the entire police squad to go after Bane? Why does Ben Mendelsohn spell out so awkwardly what the Clean Slate is? It’s mostly small stuff, but it adds up. Moreover, I think it could’ve done without the Tate character. She’s underwritten during the first two acts, the performance isn’t great, and the twist they pull with her during the third act I found to be unnecessary and underwhelming. All in all, it’s probably the worst of the trilogy, but still a pretty good film that despite its blockbuster trappings never loses sight of the main emotional arc. It might be a little far removed from the current zeitgeist of corporate, fluffy, bright blockbusters, but its craft has aged well enough where I expect some of its naysayers to rediscover it at some point in the future.
7.5/10