What Was That Ending?! (Spoiler Alert, Big Time)

Rating: 5/10 (21 July 2012)

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!
This movie had everything that one would expect following 'The Dark Knight'; action, intensity, a distraught romance, the duality of the protagonist, a truly disturbing antagonist who was worthy of following in the foot steps of Ledger's Joker. Up until, literally, the last minute of the film I was contemplating where "Rises" should rank among greatest films of all time, not just the year.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!
The film had such high hopes of becoming a true great; but then there was the final 60 seconds. The movie would have been perfect had Batman died, as we were initially led to believe; the "Savior" of Gotham had descended into hell and had risen from the depths, literally, to redeem his world. And only his ultimate selfless demise could have saved the world from the clutches of evil; but no, Gotham's Savior miraculously survives an atomic blast due to an auto pilot program. Nolan, at least give us an 'Inception' ending where we're left wondering. What was added by Wayne's survival? There was already a perfect segue with Robin to movie into more movies. Why ruin the perfect story arc of the parallels of Batman and Jesus Christ? This ending, at best, should have been in the special features of the Blu-Ray as an alternate ending.
WHO'S WITH ME?