Though Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) were such massive hits with both audiences and critics, director Christopher Nolan was hesitant to make another movie in this series. However, after he, his brother (Jonathan Nolan) and David S. Goyer had come up with a storyline that they felt was a good conclusion to the series, he decided to come back one more time, knowing this would be his last Batman film and the ending of a trilogy.
This film's storyline is inspired by such classic Batman stories as Knightfall, The Dark Knight Returns and No Man's Land. Yet it avoids being direct adaption of any of these stories. In this movie, after the events of The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne has retired from being Batman and has become a reclose that hardly anyone has ever seen. However, he may have to not only come out of hiding but also dawn his cape and cowl again, when a terrorist named Bane (who may have a connection to Ra's al Ghul and the League of Shadows) descends upon Gotham. Batman may or may not find an unlikely ally in a skilled cat burglar named Selina Kyle, who has run afoul of the wrong people.
Though this may not quite reach the heights of the previous two films, it is a darn good movie in its own right. Even after facing The Joker in the last movie, this film truly makes Bane feel like Batman's greatest adversary. He feels like something much greater than anything The Dark Knight has faced before. He is not only Batman's physical superior, but he is also his intellectual equal. In this way, the film makes up for the awful representation of the character in Batman and Robin (1997). Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway makes from a wonderful Cat Woman, capturing all the sexy charm of this character. The filmmakers also perfectly understand how this character can be a villain at times and a hero at others. This movie allows her to be both and handles this perfectly. At the same time Christian Bale continues to be a great Batman and Bruce Wayne, giving a truly great performance. Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway have wonderful chemistry together and every scene they share is fantastic. This movie also boasts the finest action scenes of the trilogy, and this still remains a very atmospheric take on Gotham City.
However this movie does have some major problems. The main one is Tom Hardy's voice as he plays Bane. While people have made fun of Christian Bale's Batman voice, it is nowhere near as distracting as Bane's voice. Speaking of Bane, not all the attempt to tie his origin story to Ra's al Ghul doesn't always work, especially the twist towards the end. This twist towards the end kind of takes away from how great a villain he is for most of the movie. The ending of this movie also doesn't work for me as it feels too convenient way to end this story and to me doesn't fully fit the character of Batman. There is also a moment towards the end that feels almost too cute and therefore out of place in this dark and more realistically grounded trilogy. Yet in my mind everything that is great about this movie easily overcomes its flaws.
This movie was once again a major box office success. Worldwide it became the seventh highest-grossing film of all time (at the time it was released) and the third highest grossing film of 2012. Critics praised the film (though not to the same extent as the last two movies), giving it overwhelmingly positive reviews.
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