The Dark Knight Rises discussion

PLEASE PUT SPOILERS IN SPOILER TAGS

Whaaaat? There's a thread for Ice Age 4, but not this? Blasphemy!

Anyway.
This thread is for the discussion of the best damn comic book movie since the Dark Knight.
What did you guys think? Did Bane measure up to the standard set by the Joker? Was it a fitting ending to the series, or was it lacking something?
For me, it was fantastic. Tom Hardy did a great job as Bane, and I felt uncomfortable and intimidated every time Bane was shown... Which is a great feat for a movie - I haven't been genuinely scared by a character in ages.

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Spoiler

Personally, though, I thought that it would have been better if they had left Bruce dead at the end - it would have had a greater emotional impact, but I can see the other side of the argument. It's just personal opinions, I guess.

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So yeah. Discuss.
Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydR5SCDtt9k (Video is spoiler safe. Comments may not be.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydR5SCDt ... ure=relmfu

I thought that it was much more of a sequel to Batman Begins rather than a sequel to The Dark Knight. What I really liked was how tightly it fitted with batman "lore".

Spoiler

E.G. The pit Bruce is imprisoned in is a lazarus pit, which in the comics brings people back to life. In the film batman rises from the pit "reborn".