Is it just me, or is this movie missing something?

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2012)

This movie was good. Great cast. The overall concept was excellent. A fitting ending to the trilogy. There were some cool new toys. For me though, something was still missing.
I give this movie a 6/10 because I expected more from it's creators and I'm an avid comic book turned movie fan. Compared against your run of the mill film, this is probably a 9 or 10.
When the movie drew to a close, I felt deflated, like something was missing that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It took me a few days to digest it and so it's going onto paper now. And, as it turns out, I pinpointed a handful of minor flaws that seem to add up to a film that left me wishing it was something more:
1) There weren't enough short WOW sequences that gave me a rush. I loved the Batman-police chase in the beginning that ultimately ended in the surprise (for the cops) debut of the Bat(wing), but that was it. The initial airplane sequence where Bane is rescued was so-so. The football stadium imploding was old by the time I saw it in the theater. All the remaining scenes with Batman were weak. Come on, brawling with Bane in the streets in mid daylight, is that what people want to see? I was more WOWed by the sequence in the second installment where Bruce AND Batman (in an amazing feat that highlights the power of both persona's perfectly) travel to China to remove the mob's banker from his building only to deliver him back to the foot of the police station. I had hoped the final installment would have more sequences that gave me the same feeling that one did.
2) I didn't like Bruce's new found weakness, and I don't think it was necessary for the storyline. Wouldn't it have made more sense if Batman had still been around those 8 years, helping keep the streets clean and running from the police simultaneously? It didn't make sense that he came back for one night, then suddenly disappears again. He was gone to begin with and this left Bane's back-breaking damage less climatic than it could have been. Not to mention Bruce Wayne's character works quite a bit better as a powerful and confident one rather than a weak one.
3) The development of the relationship with Selena Kyle left a lot to be desired. I loved the various interactions with both Bruce and Selena, Batman and Catwoman... but there wasn't much there. This could have been developed further and I think the ending would have been more appreciated.
4) There were a handful of goofy or awkward sequences that moved away from the mystique of Batman. It seemed like he was always surrounded by people that knew all about him or mixed in a crowd of people out in the open. What happened to the idea of Batman moving around mysteriously in the shadows? That concept was lost in this installments and to me, the Batman scenes were disappointing.
Maybe I'm alone, but this movie left me deflated. The first two films leading up to this were outstanding, with the second topping the first. I had hoped this third installment would top that, but it didn't. I don't anticipate another Batman reboot for a while, so I was kind of depressed that this will be it for some time. I think this trilogy will be hard to beat, but the finale still wasn't there for me. Overall this movie was great on paper, but didn't give me that wow feeling that I had growing up watching the Michael Keaton installment and the first two films of this latest trilogy. A few storyline changes, some more WOW moments, a darker setting, and keeping with the Bruce Wayne/Batman mystique would have made this film much better in my mind.