Expected more

Rating: 6/10 (4 January 2013)

*** Contains spoilers *** Contains spoilers *** Contains spoilers *** I liked the themes involved in the film: rich vs poor, terrorism, hope, loss, symbols, heroes, getting old, usefulness and fwends (yep even Batman needs them because he won't shoot anyone - oh apart from that bit at the end, but I guess rockets don't count as shooting, but by that stage the film is ending and anything goes). Some of these themes were well executed, others, um, not.
There was a great deal of scene setting at the start. We established the mood of the city, what had happened in the previous years and what Bats has been doing in that time (not a lot). Although this was drawn out, it was necessary to set the tempo for a slow steady climax.
There were large sections at the beginning and in the middle where there was no Batman. I understand in order to rise (hence the title) he has to fall, but when watching a Batman film I actually want to see Batman. The film seemed to be about both Batman and Bruce Wayne, in essence these are two different entities which are handled well. However, the Bruce bits did drag and slow the film down, and in all honesty I wanted to crack on with some Batman screen time (that's what I paid for).
Bane was a good character but became predictable and annoying. Oh look Bane is on screen with some red shirt, wonder what's going to happen, again. Christian Bale is rapidly becoming the next Keanu Reeves - stand him in the corner and cover him with leaves. I appreciate that Batman is a singularly focuses character, most superheros are (and expected to be - just kick some ass and spare the children). But Christian trying to get all emotional about things didn't 'do it' for me (move on). Luckily we had Catwoman who introduced some life and vibrancy. You never know whose side she's on and which way she'll turn (although you do really).
I appreciate the plot in these superhero movies can be convoluted, but purlease! All the people in Gotham are free, but still controlled by Bane's thugs? Um, am I missing something? How easy is it to turn a reactor into a nuke? Two minutes? Who designed this thing? Where is this pit meant to be? How long did it take Bruce to get back to Gotham? He's Batman, not Superman. Bat armour that is bullet proof but not knife proof? How did Fox analyse the flying bat thing after it had been blown up by a Nuke? Oh, there was more than one, so why didn't Bane's crew fly one around? It was hidden in another secret place - oh, how convenient. Let's all stare at the mushroom cloud and not shelter from the radiation All this aside one of the biggest things was no gadgets, where are the gadgets? Batman is all about the cool gadgets - unforgivable.