All right, so I just got out of the theater and I need to process this. Here are my thoughts:
The first two-and-a-half hours were enthralling thanks to rapid-fire detective work, well-placed action, and the setting. Holy shit, what a setting. This gritty noir Gotham not only felt real but unsafe. Dreary, oppressive atmosphere, lots of tight camerawork, and a slew of sleazy criminals. I couldn't get enough until...
The last half-hour just didn't work for me. Not only did it feel rushed (Gotham gets flooded in like 20 seconds of screen-time and we don't get any time to absorb the impact of that), but it also felt like those last 30 minutes belonged to a completely different movie. I had 100% bought into the grounded detective story that carried the first 150 minutes, and for me Batman's confrontation with the Riddler at Arkham was the movie's climax. Then we marched on toward a spectacle-heavy finale at Gotham Square Gardens in which Batman foiled a bunch of nameless domestic terrorists. After all the buildup to the Falcone revelation and the capture of the Riddler, taking out a squad of nutjobs felt like a letdown. But at least...
The line "I am vengeance" coming full-circle was awesome. It was a brutal realization for Batman when he recognized the nature of vengeance. It's dangerous and anyone can wield it, whether it's him, the Riddler, Catwoman, or even random nameless goons.
Loved that human moment at the end when the injured kid clings to Batman before being airlifted out. I kinda wish the movie had more moments like that to balance out all the grit and gloom.
Lot of great surprises along the way. Falcone being Catwoman's father caught me off-guard, as did the fake-out where Riddler appeared to leak Batman's identity at Arkham.
Pattison was a great Batman but a meh Bruce Wayne.
Jim Gordon is everywhere in this movie. I swear, teleporting is his superpower.
Batman's new theme sounds like a slowed down Imperial March, and I can't get it out of my head, and I love it.