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I should quickly add, though, much of Man of Steel works for me.  I wish they spent more time developing the characters, and less time on special effects (especially the WAY too over the top third act, and J. Kent's goofy death), it was certainly a massive improvement over the 2006 film, and laid the groundwork for what could be a vastly superior sequel.  I have some hopes for MoS 2.  Terrific cast, groundwork for the series laid down.  I want to see Luthor, Clark Kent--reporter, and kryptonite.  The ingredients are there, so here's hoping they pull back on the war-imagery they seem obsessed with (even TDKR is more a war film and less a superhero flick).

Also wrote a blog on that.   Unfortunately, it gives us the cinematic post-9/11 versionof what the 'American Way' means--dispense with your enemies at any cost, ignore due process, and expect collateral damage. 

Though, I think my brother wrote a superior response to mine, posted here:
http://www.biowars.com/blog/dont-tug-supermans-cape-nostalgia-and-our-haunted-heroes/

Time has passed since Batman 89, but I don't necessarily think Batman has been out of action, himself.  Gordon's line "I'm afraid the Circus Gang is back," indicates that they've dealt with this gang before, of screen, between the two films.  At least that's my reading of it, it could have been something Gordon dealt with without Batman.

I rather like Bruce sitting in his gloomy mansion.  Though, according to Waters, Burton wanted to rid every nod to the first Batman film, and Waters had to fight to get at least one or two Vicki references in there---Bruce's solitude seems connected to Vicki's leaving. So Vicki split, the Joker is dead, both justice and vengeance served...where does he go from here?  Intentional or not, it's a good starting point.

Big Batmania fan!

The first season of the 60s series is just terrific television (I like all of it, but the first season is IMO the strongest).  The Riddler two-parter that opened the series is a personal favorite.

Here's a nice clip of JSJ from What's my line?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnx2zJlpTlQ

Yes, even now I get a sad feeling from Molly's exit.  All she really wanted to do was dance and eat caviar. 

Thanks.    Maybe "B" was a little harsh.  B+. Though the third act was a bit too outrageous for me, much of the rest of it was incredibly entertaining.

My biggest issue with the X-Verse is how virtually none of it lines up.  For my money, the 2 best of the series are X-Men, and X-Men:First Class.  I enjoyed X:FC in the theaters so much I attempted a double feature of XFC and X-Men some time in the past year, and even then the story presented in XFC is far different than the the backstory revealed in X-Men's exposition.  (X-Position?)

I'm not too excited about any of the new X-features at this point.  Unless they wipe the slate entirely clean (no 'vague backstory' thank you, just a reboot) and start over. 

I loved, loved, loved about 85 percent of the film, and outright HATED about 15 percent of the film.  Ultimately I guess it means a stubborn/arms crossed B-grade, but there's so much A material in here it's a little frustrating.  Over all, I liked it.  My issues were connected with howover the top the third act was, and I did not get for the exploding people, etc.  It worked for Killian, as he was ultimately the real Mandarin, but we don'tneed an army of that, and we don't need Pepper to dabble in that either.

That said, the PTSD worked beautifully.  I loved seeing the hero shaken.  I enjoyed Shane Black's humor--people are odd ducks. The goon putting his hands up and stating 'I don't even really like working here,thepeople are really weird,' felt more at home to me than Gotham surrendering to Bane in TDKR.

I *loved* the Mandarin's twist.  Loved it.  Even the humor.  As others have suggested, this is a dated/racist and ridiculous character, and the 21st century context (this is the face of terror, corporate war-producing capitalism is the actual puppeteer) felt right at home.  Actually wrote a blog with some comparisons between TDKR and IM3--if you're interested, would love to hear feedback.  No pressure, though.
http://www.biowars.com/blog/the-post-911-politics-of-cinematic-superheroes/#

And it was nice watching stuntwork that didn't rely on overt CGI--the barrel of monkeys maneuver from AF1 was incredible--some of the finest non-Bond action stunt work out there.  Some silliness aside, the film worked for me, and is so far my favorite blockbuster of the summer despite the material that makes me grimmace.

They are very arrogant filmmakers, that's the other part of the equation I don't care for...

I may see it, but I'm bracing myself for the ending.  It's an ending I don't need to see. 

"On-topic, I'd like to see a film that that is an actual murder-mystery plot which Batman must solve, to show his detective abilities. "  QFT

This is a film I had been excited for--but then the early trailers made it appear to earnest, and rather dull. As if 'dark' and 'thoughtful' were somehow synonymous.  The first action-oriented trailer had me excited, so I skipped everything else--I wanted this to be an experience unhampered by any kind of expectation.  But then I got spoiled. It's ok.  Not a big deal.  But I know the ending. Having had major bits spoiled for me (though I tend to avoid those), I skipped it this weekend, and don't know if I'm going to see it in the theater.  I don't need IMAX 3-D, razzle dazzle, just a good story told well.  Not sure if this delivers from what I'm reading.  Jett at BOF likes it, which is another red flag....
colorsblend, have you seen it?