“...the film is redeemed—rescued from itself, ironically, by another mouth. Rimmed in scarlet, it belongs to Anne Hathaway. She plays Selina Kyle, a Catwoman in the making, though really just a jewel thief. Deft and purring, she seems to pounce in from another land entirely, a Hitchcockian pleasure ground of light fingers and matching repartee, and her expression is that of a grown woman who surveys all these sombre boys, plus their whizzing toys, and sees only Bat-crap. When Bruce dances with her at a costume party, the music behind them is Ravel’s “Pavane for a Dead Princess,” which must be Nolan’s idea of a waltz; yet still she smiles. Her silver heels are like knives, her working costume is tauter than a second skin, and, when she straddles the Pod, as if planning to have kittens with it, the only one not to notice is poor old Batman. What can you expect? This is a fellow whose permanent frown is ready-carved between the brows of his black rubber mask, and who was warned by Alfred not to take up Gotham’s cause, because “there is nothing here for you but pain and tragedy.” Christopher Nolan, for all his visionary flair, wants to suck the comic out of comic books; Anne Hathaway wants to put it back in. Take your pick.”

--Anthony Lane in his review of Christopher Nolan's “The Dark Knight Rises.” I agree with a lot of this. Hathaway was my favorite part of the movie, and Lane's line about kittens kills. Plus comic book movies need to be fun again--as “The Avengers' was. On the other hand, Batman should be humorless and tunnel-visioned. Otherwise, why be Batman? My review here.

Lane: ”When Bruce dances with her at a costume party, the music behind them is Ravel’s 'Pavane for a Dead Princess,' which must be Nolan’s idea of a waltz; yet still she smiles.“

ADDENDUM: Pres. Obama agrees that Anne Hathaway was the best part of ”Dark Knight Rises"

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