Nolan gave up a little too much in terms of the fantasy element. Ra's wasn't 600 years old, Gotham was Chicago, Bruce Wayne didn't make his own tech. It's bland and joyless for the most part. It's not that 89 can never be toppled, but it set a very high standard because it had so much going right for it at the right time. Bale was a better Wayne, but Wayne will never be as cool as his alter ego. Ledger might have been more psychotic, but he wasn't as funny or as playful as Nicholson. Zimmer might be adequate but Elfman has more talent in his pinky toe. I'm not poo-pooing just to poo-poo. Let's get real! If you want to dethrone 89, you're gonna need more than a pencil trick and magical plot devices you're not allowed to see through. As for Affleck, stoic superheroics just aren't part of his acting repetoire. He's too halting, introspective and emotional. He will have to reinvent himself, but what's crazy is he already did as a director.
i liked everything you said, but i liked TDK Two-Face. What I liked about Nolan's is he took inspiration from a lot of great comic books and then combined it with his brilliant film making and story telling. Burton's almost had a comic book quality to it, very surreal, very stylistic. Both are amazing. 89 was on cable this morning. Still a fantastic movie after all these years 
