Dark Knight Rises Review (by Kat)

Just when you think that 2012 cannot possibly get any better with regards to Cinema, something comes along and blows everything else so far out of the water, I've had to step back and catch my breathe a little bit.
I'm not going to deny that I went in to watch Dark Knight Rises with absolutely no emotion towards it, and that's the way I'd planned it. I've always been a big fan of Christopher and Jonathan Nolan's work on the previous two films, but knowing what a fantastic job they'd done in the past had left me so paranoid that I was determined to avoid everything: I didn't read any reviews, I didn't read up on any of the plot to prevent reading potential spoilers, and I didn't watch any trailers or clips, not even when they appeared on the TV. I wanted to go in with a completely fresh slate, in a way that I hadn't been able to do earlier in the year with The Hunger Games.
Was it worth the trouble? Without question. From the films opening plane scene to the moment when the end credits rolled, the Nolan's had me well and truly hooked, but there is so much to cover regarding this film that I don't know where to begin.
And that's the thing with this film, there really is so much about it that is so incredibly fantastic and verging on "perfection", I worry that anything I write will never be able to do it justice.
The Story
I'm not going to deny that I managed to guess the ultimate ending for this film, but it wasn't a huge disappointment, in fact I found myself smiling warmly because it ended exactly as I imagined it. And losing that surprise end was more than made up with all of the other twists and surprises that Nolan threw our way. People weren't what you expected them to be, and it got to a point where you weren't really sure who you were supposed to trust deep down. But the story was written so beautifully that I found myself feeling sorry for the characters who we weren't supposed to empathise with, not really. It was almost as if Nolan was trying to help us to understand why and what motivates a person.
And that is the reason why I will always cherish Nolan's Batman; bad guys aren't just committing crimes because they feel like it. They're smarter than that. They're calculating and have motives. I loved that about this film especially.
Casting
Nolan has gained a bit of a reputation for odd casting choices, first of all with Heath Ledger as The Joker and this time with Anne Hathaway as Selena Kyle. Both times we've been forced to trust Nolan, and both times he has gotten it spot on.
This, combined with the upcoming Les Miserables, I believe, will be the start of huge things for Hathaway. Sure, she's had a good career so far, but from here, things are looking bigger.
Score
Original Score is always a big deal for me, with recent loves being in films such as Harry Potter, Transformers, The Hunger Games and Tron amongst others. Without a great score, I always feel that films are worthless and empty, as if without a soul, and thank god we have Hans Zimmer to really grab hold of The Dark Knights Soul and bear if for us all to relish.
Overall: It's hard to not say that this film was pure perfection, because don't get me wrong the film had its faults, there were things and characters missing (albeit some that couldn't be helped), but this was a damned close as I'd expect it to be.
The film has punch, personality, drive, passion and dark realism that I'd been craving from a superhero series for a long time, and I honestly believe that no superhero series will ever truly live up to this one.
Score: Casting was perfect, acting brilliant, story beautifully woven together, and the score makes it all nice and tidy, but oddly ruffled at the edges.
I give this: 9.6/10
*I want to dedicated this post to all those who tragically lost their lives in Aurora, Colorado*