Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86% (Critics) / 93% (Audience)
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Written By: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, and David S. Goyer
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Tom Hardy.
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Synopsis: It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.
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The Good:
Let’s just get the amazing directing of Christopher Nolaqn out of the way. This film looked amazing and the stakes felt so high from the outset that I was on the edge of my seat not sure of what fate was going to befall these characters. Uncertainty is not a feeling one usually has when watching a super-hero movie but TDKR has it in spades. And Hans Zimmer delivered another score that made every scene feel like the most important scene ever filmed.
Moreso than the other two films in the trilogy, I felt TDKR focused more on Bruce Wayne and what makes him tick and I enjoyed that. In too many of the Batman films Bruce Wayne takes a major backseat to the Caped Crusader. This focus on Wyane was helped by the fact that Christian Bale was more than up for the task. He played all of the different aspects that make up Bruce Wayne/Batman pretty much perfectly.
Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman matched Bale perfectly as they returned to their roles as Waybne/Batman’s support system. Caine was especially great as Alfred in his goodbye speech to Bruce Wayne; it was enough to make a grown man cry.
I was apprehensive about the casting of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle but she was great in the role and may have given the best celluloid Catwoman ever.
Joseph Gordon-Leavitt was game in the role of the unofficial sidekick and by the end of the film I had no doubts that his character could very capably wear the costume.
The true MVP of TDKR though is Tom Hardy as Bane. Despite some issues with the mask Hardy was still able to bring a combination of rugged physicality mixed with a calculating malevolence that made him a match for Batman physically and mentally. I also enjoyed his line readings…they were classic Bond villain caliber.

The Bad:
In some places the pacing felt a little off. I also felt that Marion Cotillard’s character was underwritten. And at a running time of nearly 3 hours there was room for a little editing.

The Ugly:
As much as I enjoyed Hardy’s portrayal of Bane, that mask made for some rough times when it came to understanding him. there were times when he would speak and I understood everything but there were other times where his lines were indecipherable. Nolan should have dubbed in Bane’s lines in post-production.
Also felt that the “big reveal” would have worked out better if it happened a little earlier in the movie.
And just a nit-picky thing that bothered my inner comic book geek was not naming Joseph Gordon-Leavitt’s character “Tim Drake”. The little Robin mention was a nice touch though.

Final Verdict: Great performances, top notch direction and a majestic score made for a fitting end to the greatest super-hero film franchise ever despite some stumbles in the overall execution. B+