Bring a snack, don't bring a brain

Rating: 6/10 (28 July 2012)

I'm not a fan of superheroes but I was pleasantly surprised with the first half. The actors are good - I love Michael Caine, and Bale, Hathaway and Oldman are spinning an interesting story. It's intriguing to see weakness and depression as a well executed theme in a movie of this kind.
However when the villain (Humongous, anyone?) takes over it all turns into an irrational whirlwind. He was shaping up into something interesting but his hatred towards Batman is poorly explained, his master plan is excessively contrived and unbelievable, and despite all his speeches and gestures the audience is left wondering what the hell does he want.
I must confess that I didn't see the first two movies of the trilogy but you would expect a screenwriter/director of such esteem as Nolan to deliver regardless of the viewers' previous knowledge. Instead, the crucial parts when they reveal the villains' "family" relations were undecipherable and irksome to me. Other trilogies like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings don't suffer from this.
For the last half an hour I fought to make sense of characters' motives and actions (and I fought to ignore how ridiculous the remote prison setting is) but had to surrender and let my brain flat-line while my eyes watched fighting scenes. I know many people enjoy that kind of cinema experience but I don't.