[Mike Tobacco]

I thought it was terrific. It's the Return of the Jedi of Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy: bigger in scope than it's predecessors and easier to nitpick.

First, down to brass tacks: TDKR is not the best Batman film/story ever. To me, though, the Nolan trilogy taken as a whole is among the best Batman material ever. Superhero stories, at heart, are tall tales. They're fables and morality plays. The basic premise of any superhero story is outside real world logic, thus rendering any critiques based on real world logic moot. One wouldn't expect an Aesop tale or a Bible story to adhere to the rules of reality, and the same should apply to superhero stories. They aren't about the details. They're about the viewer/reader walking away feeling that good does overcome evil; that a person's sacrifices will pay off in the end; that symbols aren't about to who's behind them, but what they stand for. So, on whatever levels the makers of this Batman trilogy failed, they succeeded at their core mission statement.

Now, about TDKR specifically- it's a Batman story by Christopher Nolan. Sure there are plot holes aplenty; I've read/watched/played enough Batman and seen enough Chris Nolan movies to know that that's more of a trope than an aberration, really. And yeah, there is flawed logic and moments where one has to suspend his disbelief. Again, this is par for the course. Personally, if I can buy into Batman, I can buy into Batman recovering from a broken back or any of the other nitpicks. If the premise is ludicrous, it should follow that the details will be ludicrous. Bane, Catwoman, and Miranda were exactly what they needed to be in service to the story. Were they 100% true to the comics? No. Was any character in any of these movies 100% true to the comics? No. Hell, I'm pretty sure some of the characters weren't even in the comics. Nolan attempted to take patently absurd ideas and bring them as close to reality as possible. I'd say he did as good a job as any filmmaker could to that effect.

And finally, the Robin thing. It was silly, and I understand why some people hated it. I personally don't begrudge it because at no point is it ever said that John Blake would take on the Batman mantle. He just has access to all of Batman's gadgets. So he puts on the cape and dies trying to glide for the first time. Who knows? Who cares? It was an out for Bruce Wayne, and if there's one character trait of Bruce's from the comics that this movie absolutely nailed, it's his reckless endangerment of inexperienced vigilantes named Robin.