This movie was holy-shit-I-think-I'm-going-to-have-a-heart-attack intense. There was no humor to speak of and I was completely okay with that. Nolan was crafting a spiraling world within Gotham. In this movie, there wasn't much to laugh about because Nolan cranked the Intens-O-Meter to 11 and held it there for over two hours. It was the logical emotional continuation of The Dark Knight.
This movie was epic in every sense of the word. Everything felt huge.
I'm still not sold on Bane's face being covered but I certainly will not fault Hardy's performance. While he lacked the sly cunning and manipulation of the Joker, he is a different kind of villain and near the end, it's revealed why he is doing what he's doing. That part took me by surprise. Something felt... off... with the characters but I couldn't pin down what it was. When it was revealed, it was a face-slapping moment for me.
Overall, I really couldn't have been happier with the film. It was a large, bombastic ending to what is one of the best trilogies ever created. Nolan did a masterful job of breaking down Gotham City over three films and making the audience truly care about the outcome.
But comparing this movie to The Avengers is just folly. They're not even close to being the same movie. One is light-hearted and fun, the other is everything but light-hearted.
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