I think the biggest problem with The Dark Knight Rises is it was a comic book movie. "Of course it was a comic book movie, it's Batman!" The thing is, neither Batman Begins nor the Dark Knight were comic book movies. Not really. As a comic book movie, DKR isn't so bad. "There's a guy who wears a mask because, you know, it hurts if he doesn't, and he beats up Batman and takes over Gotham City." There's at least 300 Batman comic books with that exact same premise, add or subtract a mask or two.  Batman then has to overcome great odds to take back Gotham, with or without the aid of Catwoman. Done and done!
But yeah, it was kind of a mess. A breathtaking mess in parts. But a mess.