The Dark Knight Rises - Review

Despite the tragedy here in Colorado I still went out to a different theater last night and saw the much anticipated finale to Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. I have been excited for this movie for over a year, well actually since The Dark Knight in 2008, so I wasn't going to let the actions of one man stop me. However, I will admit it was eerie being in a theater auditorium that wasn't even half full on not only a Friday but on an opening weekend like this.
With that said, this movie didn't disappoint. Not really. Overall I think that it was really, really well done and I absolutely loved the ending. Were there little things that bothered me? Sure. Were they enough to ruin anything? Hell no. I will talk more about those things in the spoiler section after the jump so you are safe reading until then.
I thought the acting was very good, as always, and I think the casting for characters was fantastic. I mean no disrespect when I say this but Tom Hardy as Bane seriously is up there with Heath Ledger as The Joker. Obviously it isn't as powerful as Heath's was and I do still think his portrayal of The Joker is #1, but in terms of the various villains we have had in this trilogy, including Jonathan Crane and Harvey Dent, I think Bane was pushed above all the rest to a clear second behind The Joker. And as surprised as I am to be saying this I honestly liked Anne Hathaway as Catwoman (aka, Selina Kyle). It was more of the genuine cat burglar approach rather than the approach Tim Burton did with Batman Returns where she was out for revenge more than anything. I thought the musical score complimented the character best because whenever Catwoman was up to something there was a recognizable, sneaky-like piano tune that would play. It was really well done and I am pleased to say that I was happy with it. I was real worried about Catwoman.
The main thing that I felt was despite the movie being 2 hours and 45 minutes, it still felt very rushed to me. I felt that they tried to do a little too much at one time with too many main to semi-main characters. I also felt the return, or rise, of Batman back into Gotham was too soon. It was like one minute Bruce Wayne is a recluse and then the next minute he is back on the streets chasing after criminals. It just felt too soon.

Now I will talk about spoilers and key points in the plot so I advise you do not continue reading until you see The Dark Knight Rises.