Just got back from it, and, I'm sure I'm going to get hated on for this, but I liked it more than TDK. Here's why:
I tend to write a lot when I get into something, prep for a bit more reading than some other posts.
First off, I felt that TDK was too over-hyped for me at the time. And upon seeing it, I was expecting more from Heath Ledger. In no way am I saying he was bad, or even mediocre; he redefined what people believed to be the Joker. He no longer was a cartoonish clown, who used gags and jokes as a form of destruction; he became a monster, one who clearly wanted the world to burn as he watched, not from atop a pedestal, but from an equal standing as everyone around him, so that he could see and feel what he caused. Nolan clearly created something amazing with TDK, and everyone in the film was outstanding. However, these reasons are from TDKR, so they're spoilered.
Spoiler!
- Michael Caine. He made the movie painful, heartbreaking and believable in the sense of agony Batman can cause by "doing what is right." When he was beginning to break down speaking to Bruce about not wanting to bury another Wayne, I felt as though it was the most genuine acting I've seen in years. Michael Caine is extremely talented and seeing Alfred broken during the funeral was gut-wrenching to me.
- Tom Hardy was haunting to me. His voice could have been something different had I been the one to decide, but when listening to him speak, I focused on the baritone range of his voice distortion. He became something of a nightmare when I did. When he was staring down Batman in the sewer, it was disturbing. He had the eyes of someone who had lost everything and was made fear inducing because of it.
- Obviously I have a hard-on for Anne Hathaway. I feel she did well as Selina Kyle, and knowing Selina's background through comics and such, I found her totally reasonable as a fighter.
- Throwback to Dr. Crane. I'm sure, as someone else said, that his placement would have been the Joker instead, had Heath Ledger still been alive. However, being willing to bring back forgotten characters/villians from previous films was a great moment.
- The back break. I was in a very composed theatre when I watched the movie, but I was so excited that it was included. It had to be, I would have been mad if it weren't.
- Although not given the name of one of the original three characters to become Robin, I was expecting throughout much of the movie that Joseph Gordon Levitt was going to become Robin as there was no other reason for him to be getting as much screen time as he did. And I think it was the right move. Although I doubt a sequel/spinoff, I feel like it was the right thing to do, to give the audience an idea that it's not the end. Just a new beginning.
- The ending. I was so sucked into the story that I did not even think of the ejection/autopilot twist which saved Batman. Seeing (what I thought was) Batman finally being brought to an end could have easily brought me to tears had I been alone/with someone who wouldn't judge me for tearing up. Seeing a hero you've looked up to all your life die is heartbreaking, even if they are fictional.
Overall, because I've always loved Batman as well as Nolan's take on the franchise, I give it a 10. I hope that if Batman is taken under someone else's name, they take a page out of Nolan's book on how to make movies that keep you coming back for more.