The Dark Knight Rises… I don't want to write out a long review right now, but I will say this is definitely a "see it first weekend" film.  It's a spectacular end to Christopher Nolan's Batman movies.  The character of Bruce Wayne has been very well developed through the series.  I also thought it was interesting that Nolan carried on the physical deterioration of Batman, which is one of the more realistic touches.

The script is also unusually good for action-adventure fare.  There are nice touches, like the explanation a character gives that fear can be a vital motivation, or the sharp exchange between Commissioner Gordon and one of his officers over just how clean his hands are.  This script doesn't let its characters coast by on expectations.

Great physical acting by Tom Hardy.  He's almost unrecognizable and he apparently modeled his voice after an Irish Traveller.  It's a very distinctive and intimidating accent.  And I always like it when an actor's body movements play a strong role in the performance.  When he smashes someone he throws himself so violently into the swing that you imagine instant coma.  Personally I think the result is every bit as impressive as Ledger's Joker and would hate to see Hardy fail to get proper credit for it.

Levitt is the other standout performance.  This guy has impressed me in everything I've seen him in, including some crap.  Levitt is just a smart actor, and he seems to have a perfect sense for what level of performance to give in each role.  He's not showy or stylized and seems to fit into everything.  A real chameleon, you would never dream he got his start on a three camera sit-com.

A note on critics.  A minority of the usual suspects have called Dark Knight Rises "clunky", which is simply inept criticism (I mean that it's inept for reasons other than that "clunky" is lazy snark used in place of acceptable critical description).  The movie flies by and is skillfully structured; its incidents proceed naturally and in proper proportion to one another.  There aren't many 2 hour 45 minute movies you can say that about.  But most critics can't write, so it's little surprise when they make expressionist stabs at language in their effort to get the jumble of almost-adult thoughts out of their heads.  (For a painfully bad demonstration, read this.)

Much more could be said about the abysmal state of film criticism, which is useless even disregarding the reliability of the critics to enjoy meaningful movies in our present film desert.  The biggest indictment of any decaying society is the low standard its elite set for themselves--not only do they promote triviality and self-indulgence, they do it with so little skill!  It is insulting to be lorded over by these people.