After seeing what are arguably two of the best films in cinematic history in Inception and The Dark Knight I had very high hopes for this film. I have followed the Batman films and the TV shows from an early age and I think that Christopher Nolan is a brilliant director, however after paying through the nose to see this conclusion to his trilogy on the opening day I felt he could have done so much more with this film.

I'll start with the good things about this film.

1) Anne Hathaway was surprisingly very good in the film. She offered something new and fresh not seen before and the on screen chemistry with Bale was exceptional. Her character is also a lot more intriguing than that of Tom Hardy's Bane whose muffled, almost in inaudible voice nearly ruins the film by itself.

2) John Blake played by JGL is a strong addition to the cast and his performance as Blake does not go unnoticed.

3) The production values and cinematography are second to none and that is to be expected from a Nolan film.

4) Michael Caine is nothing short of brilliant. He offers raw emotion and substance.Two things which are otherwise lacking in the film.

And sadly that is about all the plus points from this clunky, pretentious, overlong mess of a film. I have the feeling that Nolan's heart just wasn't in this one unlike its predecessors. The script is poor, the pacing is terrible, Tom Hardy is completely wasted in his role and worst of all it doesn't feel like a Batman film. There is no tension or suspense and the story lacks flow and direction. The film offers short glimpses of excellence such as the chase scene between batman and the police and the scene between Alfred and Bruce where Alfred tries desperately to try and convince Bruce to hang up his cape for good. The second fight scene between Batman and Bane is also pretty entertaining as is the last ten minutes. But for a film that clocks in at nearly three hours these scenes are not enough to save it.

Another annoying thing about the film is the action or lack of. Most of the action scenes are given away in the trailers and none of which are that original apart from the scene at the start. Big explosions and lots of guns and that's about it. Batman doesn't even get that much screen time. But the most disappointing thing is the weak script and cheesy dialogue both of which are not something that Nolan usually gives us. Way too many things going on and every character for some reason feels the need to give their own Harvey Dent style declaration along the lines of ''you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain''.

It is so disappointing for me to be writing a bad review for this film and as for everyone saying it's brilliant or it's just as good as the others they are simply in denial or they're flat out lying. It is neither terrible or brilliant. I will of course buy it when it comes out on DVD as it is a good film and deserves a 7 out of 10 and should be viewed more than once and I expect my mind to wander on second viewing as some parts are boring. Just don't go into this movie with high hopes or expecting to see a masterpiece because it simply isn't.

Massive Disappointment.