Like I said, The Dark Knight Rises is not likely to become one of my all-time favorite movies, on its own account. There are way too many scenes in a row where people give bombastic speeches instead of talking to each other. You can feel Nolan pushing levers, to get people to do things that the plot requires of them. Nolan's oft-remarked inability to capture real emotion is very much on display. There are a lot of plot points that feel at odds with Nolan's famous commitment to realism, and some parts of the denouement are downright goofy.
But when you think of it as a conclusion to a trilogy, all of TDKR's flaws as a standalone film recede, and what's left is something powerful and moving, on a visceral emotional level. Ideas and feelings resonate throughout the trilogy, and the seven and a half hours of Bruce Wayne's journey come together into a psychological progression.
