The Dark Knight Rises Review (no major spoilers)

Well, I just got back from The Dark Knight Rises and this was a huge movie.  It's long, nearly 3 hours long, but it didn't feel like it.  This is definately a movie I will have to watch multiple times because there is so much going on I am not even sure I can recall it all right now.

It's a little hard to review this film without spoilers so I'll just hit what I liked and didn't like, without mentioning any particular scenes.  I like that the film focused on Bruce Wayne a lot, in a way similar to how Batman Begins did.  The Joker stole the show in The Dark Knight Rises but in this film it's much more balanced between Bruce Wayne and the bad guys.

All of Bruce's friends are around like Alfred and Fox, both played to perfection for the time they are given.  A new character named John Blake is given a lot of screen time.  I almost felt like he was in it as much as Bruce Wayne (and much more than Batman who really wasn't in the movie much at all).  Commissioner Gordon was back as the closest thing Batman has to a sidekick in these movies.

 The villains are interesting as well, especially Bane.  This is a big, strong, scary dude.  He talks a bit like Sean Connery oddly enough, not necessarily what you would expect from a hulking brute like Bane.  But that just shows you both sides of Bane.  He isn't just a hulking brute, he is also very intelligent, in an evil Joker-like kind of way.

This brings me to the other villain, Catwoman (who is never actually called that in the film but it's hinted at).  Selina Kyle (Catwoman's real name), played by Anne Hathaway, is the only character that really bothered me in the film.  She is always easily beating men, lots of them at a time.  I mean I don't know if even Batman does that well without getting hit.  It just seemed a but unrealistic that Anne Hathaway, who is probably 120lbs tops, is beating the crap out of all of these brutes.  I think they should have toned that down a bit.  I'm also not sure Anne Hathaway as the right choice for the part, but by the end I didn't mind her so much.

Overall, this is a huge movie, with a lot going on.  Tons of characters, plots, twists and turns.  It is a fitting ending to this film series and the whole end sequence is amazing.  I'd give this movie 3.5 out of 4 stars