First the not so good:
Even though I think I liked the back story of Batman Begins I would have preferred they included a more main stream bad guy in the first film. After seeing this film now it makes more sense as it appears this was Nolan's plan all along. This film ties everything in a bow by linking it to the first via Talia and Bane. Personally I think this plot point was utterly unnecessary. I never felt like the league of shadows had to be revisited. I personally would have preferred a completely new antagonist and a more interesting one at that. I thought in a way it hindered the film.
I also thought Bane reading Gordon's letter and all of the sudden the people would believe that Gordon wrote it and would believe Bane so easily....just to reveal Batman was the real good guy was a very weak plot point.
Talia and Wayne's involvement was much more extensive and they basically sped that up by them sleeping together. Again, understand it was a time thing but I would have given her some of Bane's screen time in a heart beat.
Nolan took some of the wind out of "Batman's back" scene. The scene where he was finally back was a power house scene of "hell yeah". Then he took the umph out of the original scene by taking Batman away and then having another "hey I am back again" scene. Mistake IMO.
Also, I am really annoyed there was no reference to the Joker but Nolan thought he was doing it out of respect. However, one thing that bugs me is the Scarecrow scenes. Scarecrow was just as insane. He was at Black Gate Prison but the Joker was not? You could make the argument that the Joker was in Arkham but IMO Scarecrow would be there too.
Last but not least the reveal of "Robin". His name was Robin John Blake. Really?? Seriously, again weak. It's an obvious attempt at simply changing his name completely to salvage a reveal at the end of the movie. 20 minutes into the movie I knew he was either Robin or the next Batman. Why not write something in like he took on his fosters parents last name and "John" was his middle name. His birth name could have been Richard John Grayson or something. That would have been better IMO.
OK enough of the complaints. Here is what I loved:
The set pieces and the grand scale of the thing was epic. The shot sequences of the city scape throughout the film just gave you the grand scale of how big Gotham really is. I love his ability to show multiple worlds of the same city. He has done that well in all 3 movies. Also, the FX in the movie were simply 1st rate yet Nolan is an obvious fan of less is more when possible when it comes to CGI and I am so happy he is not doing what other films are doing and that is relying too much on green screen etc. He built some major set pieces for this film.
Nolan also did a masterful job of grounding as much as he could in all 3 movies. He stayed loyal to the concept but making sure he didn't go to over the top in all 3 films. I have always loved the explanation of military contracts that ended up becoming some of his gadgets. The BAT was very very cool.
There were some good writing aspects of the film. It has a good balance of humor at times despite being "dark". I have to say the scene were the older cop says basically your in for a show when Batman returns was hilarious. I love how he alluded to Raz's immortality yet kept that within the realm of reality by making it plausible that Bruce was hallucinating in prison. Nice nod to the comics IMO. Aside from the Scarecrow issue I have I thought that having him reside as the judge was rather funny at the same time. Having him as the judge would scare the heck out of anybody LOL.
Nolan knows how to build up the last hour of a movie. He simply builds and builds to the final act of the movie and what a final act it is. This movie completely is a fitting ending for the trilogy that makes sense in Nolan's version of the universe. The scene with Robin getting directed to the cave at the end was awesome. Not sure how everyone else interpreted but I did as he would be the next Batman for sure. Simply, because Nolan made it a point in Batman's conversation with Gordon to have Batman say anybody could be Batman. That told me that the last scene meant Robin was the next Batman. At least that is how I took it.
Last but not least, the acting was simply awesome. I already said what I said about Michale Cain's Alfred. His scenes were gut wrenching at times and you really got a sense for how much he really loved Bruce and his family. Oscar worthy IMO. The rest of the cast was also equally brilliant considering some of the limited time some of them had on screen.
This ranks as still one of the best hero movies I have seen but not as good as it's predecessor. Worthy chapter in Nolan's trilogy and despite the flaws the best interpretation to date of Batman on film. This only helps solidify the trilogy as a classic IMO. It's a must see. Bottom line is that I want more of the Nolan Batman universe. Sad to see it's coming to an end.
