Disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (5 March 2018)

I've seen this movie a few times, all in the hope that multiple viewings may unearth some hidden gem I missed the first time or two. Sadly, none were to be found.
I have to say that I was initially discouraged with the choice of villain for this installment. I do not follow Batman lore (canon?) so I had no idea who "Bane" was or why I should care. After watching this movie, I couldn't get over the thought that Bane was a mediocre criminal at best, who was only successful because the screenwriters made him that way. He didn't come off as menacing, intimidating or, well, crazy enough to make me think that he was some formidable opponent for Batman. Maybe I was spoiled after seeing the maniacal genius in Ledger's Joker, but Bane came off as very pedestrian.
The scenes with Hathaway were unnecessarily long and drawn out. And so were the scenes of Batman/Wayne in the pit. This movie could have been better served by having been cut down by a good hour to get some pacing going because it never really took off. The bomb chasing / tracking sequence was interesting as was getting the police force trapped underground. The football sequence was neat, too, as there was a comic-book like feel to watching the field fall away right behind a streaking player's trail. And the ending sequence (batplane on autopilot with the nuke) was a bit formulaic but entertaining. But there was just... too... much... space... in between these parts to keep the movie from lagging.
Overall, it would have been much better served to have had (1) a universally known villain (the Riddler, maybe) and (2) much better pacing.