The Dark Knight Rises Open Thread

[SPOILER WARNING]

So, did anyone else see The Dark Knight Rises over the weekend and feel like talking about it? Or were Iain and I the only ones who contributed to that (egads!) $160 million opening weekend?

Iain was totally excited about it; I was less so. I'm not sure why, really, since I liked the first two. I think a big part of it is that Christian Bale and I are just done professionally.

But! Despite my unroiled anticipation, and despite its flaws—which include entirely predictable reveals, too much exposition, and a truly pathetic failure to pass the Bechdel Test—I really quite liked the film.

Tom Hardy really pulled off Bane in a big way, which was no easy feat, given that absurd mask and voice alteration so wacky that it was difficult to understand him. Granted, I have a hearing impairment, but even Iain was struggling in parts to catch every line. I am officially a Tom Hardy fan.

Anne Hathaway was great as Catwoman. It was a well-written role, and she did a fine job with it. There were a lot of cheeky lines that could have easily gone cheesy without her ability to finesse them into a shape with an appropriately sharp edge.

Solid supporting cast. Super score. Awesome special effects. If you can see it in IMAX, do. It's a pretty amazing spectacle.

But the thing I liked most about it was the story. Nolan infamously borrowed from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, which is one of my favorite books, and I liked what he did. I detected what I think was a keen commentary on privilege—which is that it is not enough to have it ripped away to stage a change in management. The nature of privilege is such that the truly meaningful revolution is when those with privilege choose to cede it.

Anyway. What did you think?