Definitive This movie hooks you from the first shot and hardly ever let's go. The brooding, pounding searing score; the dark rainy nights, the closeups, sometimes smeared thin focal planes of the camera.
The narration begins with declaration of vengeance and what looks to me as continuation of from the end of The Joker movie. Year two moves on to the murder mysteries of the mayor, DA and commissioner. And thereby introduces a series of important characters, cat woman, Penguin and Falcone. So the story combines many plots and characters but it's never hurried or unsure.
Batman here is scarred, damaged and an reclusive being. It's clear he is partly trapped by the pass. He is awaken through Alfred's incident and Selina's plight. There is probably one good action scene with the batmobile. And it's spectacular planned out and realized, down to the flipped over perspective of the Bat walking over.
Theres a bomb scene in the middle and a big elaborate scene at the end, but both werr well restrained and gladly underwhelming to a degree. With the focus and sympathy transferrence being on the mayor's son.
The riddler here is just as scarred and twisted. And smarter of course. Three hours is fitting and totally transport the audience to a place and time. A Place and time that only existed in the post modern comic books. Theme wise, it's an indictment of Western politics everywhere - the selling of a fake dream - Renewal. While the real deal happens in the gutters.
This one is better than the previous Nolan trilogy, combined, as it didn't waste time on introductions and greeting. The investment here is on the atomsphere, the attitudes and the what the audience knows ahead of time. But Heath Legers Joker is much more memorable than all the characters in this take.