Mini movie review: The Dark Knight Rises

Talk about movies that are too long!  I was shifting in my seat on the couch l  o  n  g  before The Dark Knight Rises was over and I can't imagine having been trapped in a theater seat for the duration.  This movie is by far the gloomiest and dourist of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, redeemed (just barely) by the hopeful scenes at the very end (which I'm not going to discuss in any sort of detail because everyone else on the planet has already seen this movie and knows what I'm talking about).  I was disappointed that there was hardly any Batman in it at all.  Bain doesn't have the charisma the Joker had - although who could, really? - and a lot of his dialogue was unintelligible due to the face-concealing, voice-distorting mask.  Anne Hathaway's Catwoman wasn't as terrible as I expected but is clearly inferior to Michelle Pfeiffer's iconic iteration.  I did like the mini-Inception reunion with Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Cillian Murphy; I find it fun when directors return to the same well of actors for different films.  In all, TDKR is a decent entry into this trilogy, and it left me wondering what will happen next, with Christian Bale and Nolan saying they're out for good.  The Dark Knight is far and away the best of the three, however, and practically untouchable as far as costumed superhero movies go.