Quick Review (No Spoilers):
I thought the new Batman movie was awesome! The plot was exciting, with twists that were shocking but believable and satisfying enough that I wasn't left feeling confused or horribly betrayed, like the second movie in the series. The acting was incredible and moving. The fight scenes were riveting and painful to watch at the same time, adding a sense of reality to the action. The gadgets were awesome. I loved the moments of humor (the animal puns ranged from witty to delightfully cheesey) that punctuated the darkness of the setting without belittling the urgency of the plot. In fact, the movie didn't seem as dark as the first two in the series. While the feeling of impending doom was clear, the director Christopher Nolan left much of the horrific details to the imagination. The lack of gore and freakishness was probably designed to entice a wider audience (who loves comic book superheroes more than kids? Don't answer that...) but I sort of missed that I didn't have to peep through my fingers in terror at what might be revealed next. Basically, the movie wasn't as extreme as the other two, which made it more watchable but not quite as exciting for those who were (unrealistically) expecting a match for Heath Ledger as the Joker and his horrifying shenanigans.
Full Response (WARNING! SPOILERS):
Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane was wonderfully over-the-top, just as a comic-book villain should be, and I loved how a slight edge of insanity peeked through even in his most sympathetic moments. His almost cartoon-like voice (a very flamboyant Darth Vader comes to mind) clashed with his tough military physique in a way that I can't decide if I liked, because of its weirdness, or didn't because it was so out of place. Either way, the voice highlighted the cruelty of his actions in true Batman-villain form so I believe it was successful for his character. I suppose if his voice had sounded like I had been expecting, he and Batman would've been too difficult to tell apart.
I was a little disappointed with Christian Bale's performance. All the other characters had something in their acting that made them sparkle. There were so many colorful characters to cheer for that I almost forgot that Batman was supposed to be the hero. His strength and seriousness made him a solid good guy, and his emotional and physical pain throughout the story was moving, but he just wasn't as exciting to watch, in my opinion.
Anne Hathaway, however, really stole the show for me as Selina/Catwoman. Her acting was exceptional; she portrayed Selina's warring emotions in a realistically subtle way while giving the audience whiplash with Catwoman's deception. Her movement and arrogance was successfully sexy and she looked amazing in that catsuit! I was so happy when she proved to be one of the good guys, cheesey though it may have been.
I was really satisfied with the ending, unlike the previous movie in the series. While there are many controversies about Robin as a character, I'm delighted that he'll be in the next movie, and that there will be a next one. My excitement mostly stems from my love for Joseph Gordon Levitt, but I believe Christopher Nolan did an excellent job in showing Robin's back story and not giving much of a hint that it actually was Blake the cop until right at the end. Of course, I was hoping the whole way through that Blake was Robin (he was just so good and passionate about all that's right in the world) so I wasn't extremely surprised during the big reveal. The other twist at the end, however, completely caught me by surprise! Who knew that Bane wasn't actually the main villain, evil though he was? Thinking back, I guess the hints were all laid out for me to pick up on, but I never guessed it. I'm happy with how the twist was explained so that all the hints tied together, unlike my hopelessly confused experience with Inception (I have watched that movie three times and my mind still fuzzes over at the end).
Only one tiny let down was that we never saw what was under Bane's mask. The previous movie, The Dark Knight, was quite gory and horrific so I was sure that Bane's real face would be revealed but, alas, my morbid curiosity was never satisfied. I probably should thank Christopher Nolan for sparing me the nightmares anyway.
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