I'm going to be lazy and write a dot point review. Some of these have been cited in other reviews, but what the hell.
[b]Pros:[/b]
•Batman still packs a punch. No superhero makes for better films. Going from this trilogy to other superhero films is like going from your momma's homemade cuisine to fast food.
•I'll admit it, the twist got me.
•While no Godfather, the story was engrossing.
•Bale got the balance of Batman's voice in this film better. In TDK he probably went a tad overboard.
•The acting/casting, particularly Joseph Gordon-Levitt impressed me as I haven't seen much of him.
•As with most Batman films, when it was trying to be funny it pulled it off. "So that's what that feels like."-Batman after Catwoman disappears.
•The action was again done well (football game), although maybe not matching the previous film's action sequences. In saying this, I always feel like the fight scenes, where the goons are just holding their guns aloft while Batman obliterates them, could be improved.
•Bane. Ditto to the above. No villain can beat Ledger's Joker but I liked the voice and he provided a brilliantly menacing figure. It restored some respect to the character after how he was portrayed in 'Batman & Robin'.
•Alfred/Michael Caine added a lot of heart.
•The amazing score by Hans Zimmer, once again.
•I like how the ending was kind of open. When another Batman film eventually gets made, I wouldn't want another beginning. It isn't necessary. Just give us another chapter. That's part of the reason why I'm not anticipating 'Man of Steel' too highly. We just had another reboot. Likewise for the Spider-Man series.
•And the most important of all, it had me hooked in for almost three hours.
[b]Cons:[/b]
•Bane's incomprehensible speech. I've never had to concentrate so much in my life. I missed a lot of what he said on the plane at the beginning before I realised that this was going to require focus. Some have said that they had no problem understanding him, so it could be a cinema sound issue... Edit - It was mostly my dodgy cinema.
•To follow on from the above point, the opening scene on the plane doesn't match Joker's bank robbery from TDK, or even the other opening action sequence from TDK, with Batman jumping on the van.
•A bit of dialogue. There were a couple of times where I thought, [i]is that the best that they could come up with? I can't remember what was exactly said, but the instance that comes to mind is before Bane and Batman have their final fight. In saying this, the movie is a superhero film, so it's not a large issue.
•The pacing is more like 'Batman Begins' than TDK. For me, TDK got the mix between action and building the plot almost as good as an action movie can.
•I don't think they showed Bane after he got torpedoed? Was it so it wasn't conclusive as to whether he died or not? It felt a bit anticlimactic.
•I'm not completely up with the origins of Selina Kyle/Catwoman, but I'm not sure how I feel about her teaming up in more ways than one with The Dark Knight.
•The kiss. The city is about to be blown to shreds! Ain't nobody got time for that!
•Bullets and multiple punches to the face do not cause the human body to bleed? We need an M/R rated Batman film.
•The 'Nursing home' or 'The Hell', wasn't as bad as it should've been. Also that a young girl could make the jump, but grown men can't. This is the biggest plot issue. They should have mentioned that erosion had occurred or something.
Overall, there are some small issues with the movie, and it probably doesn't match certain aspects of TDK, but if you don't try to analyse it too closely and dredge for faults to pick out, it is another great Batman flick, and a very absorbing action film from beginning to end. TDK is widely considered one of the greatest movies and the greatest superhero film, so it's not a fair comparison.
