Chopper, THE DARK KNIGHT was many things, but "realistic"? I think the term you're looking for is "believable," but that's a subjective concept so what do I know? I like to think Nolan's Batman movies, no matter how fantastical they go (and they do go fantastical) there is always a sense of grounded reality to them.
Call me a cynic, but for whatever I do buy the idea of the U.S. government allowing Bane's occupation, even in spite of that movie universe's President claiming he doesn't negotiate with terrorists. Yet what does that govt. do? Give in. I just accept that, and I even liked that scene of JGL on the bridge confronting the military near the end.
More and more, this movie ages well for me personally, especially in the details. Like THE DARK KNIGHT, I think the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. I mean really, who didn't like that "exile" set piece? That was brilliant. (TDK might be slightly better than TDKR, but that's like saying Abbey Road might be better than the White Album.)
Really we've had a good summer when we have two "awesome" superhero movies in TDKR and AVENGERS, and I really can't pick which is better. The Internet has a bug up it's ass in spite of this wonderful season for that genre (and shit, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was decent too.)
* Again, after the brutal fight between Batman and Bane, no blood? Or, for that matter, after the cop (played by Matthew Modine) got shot.
Blame that on the era of PG-13, where heaven forbid you can bash someone's head in but it's OK if no blood. Weird but in that regard, we're back in the pre-1980spre-PG-13 era where blood wasn't that frequent in such big popcorn blockbusters. If Bale was smoking in TDKR, MPAA would give the movie a R rating.
* And when the cops were charging Bane's guys in the street, what happened to their guns? Yes, they were trapped underground for 3 months but I don't remember seeing their guns confiscated. Anyone notice the few female cops charging along as well?
* And speaking of guns, why did Joseph Gordon Leavitt's character throw his gun away after he shot those two Bane guys dressed as construction workers? Heaven forbid a COP use his gun in SELF DEFENSE!
You want my pet theory? No evidence, but I like to believe in exchange for the regular food/water supplies being lined down to those cops, Bane forced them in exchange to give up their guns in those same buckets. (Yeah it's a stretch, but the concept is sound.)
What do you mean by that line about the female cops? That they're not that many women cops there, or that they're there at all?
That JGL gun toss came to my mind as well, but a friend of mine argued that it thematically helms back to BATMAN BEGINS when Christian Bale threw away that gun, and well with JGL's fate, I suppose that makes sense.
I also wonder if JGL tossed it because he didn't want to get distracted with that investigation and all that, he was too busy to solve that mystery. I mean this is the same city after all that chased Batman instead of
guys who hijacked the stock market. (Misplaced priorities by the local police if you ask me.)
* While I loved Michael Cain's acting (very emotional) the ending would have been better if you took away the final 2 minutes or so. You know, since Bruce/Batman felt he hadn't given "everything" he had to Gotham yet. People who've seen it will know what I mean.
I will disagree with you by arguing this:
I think Nolan, despite being criticized for being too cerebral, too grim, too hanged up on logic, is a sentimental sap really. I think that since he got the keys to the kingdom and more or less do as he pleased with TDKR and force WB to reboot the character on their own, he decided to give something to "his" Bruce Wayne that rarely happens: A happy ending.
It sounds simple and not a big deal, but Batman is a James Bond: Forever sequels upon sequels, forever out there kicking butt, but his "happy endings" are nothing more than to beat the bad guy and survive.
In fact, I don't remember a Batman story/novel where he's able to walk away from the job and assumingly live out a happy traditional life with wife and presumingly kids as well. Frank Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and later the cartoon BATMAN BEYOND had Batman forced to retire due to age and are alone, both forced back into the game whether by putting the cowl back on or getting a new guy to wear them. But both foretell a bitter old age for Bruce Wayne.
I seem to remember pre-1980s when DC Comics had their alternate realities, one different Earth had Batman and Catwoman settling down. But that's the only exception to my knowledge.
So yeah in Nolan's world, Batman "dies" but Bruce Wayne lives out his days with Catwoman. No tragic bitter ending for him. So in terms of Batman fandom, I can see why many are left in tears by it. Of course when WB reboots Batman at the movies, we'll go back to James Bond Batman, and that's fine with me.
I really loved that ending shot of JGL in the Batcave, assumingly to become the new protector as...Nightwing? I like that. Not every sequel-promising ending needs an actual sequel. That's what fanfiction is for.
