I saw it tonight. It was pretty good. I didn't really see the point of bringing back the Scarecrow for 30 seconds, even though at the end of Begins it was announced he was still at large, but anyways.
I do think the film was too dark for a 12a rating, as every muppet of a parent with a 7-8 year old child will take them along to see it. But that is more to do with the BFCC and their lack of a backbone and a half-assed classification.
Oh, and film studies is not exactly "academic."