Why can't it be cheap, though? Also, whether or not it's the case (apparently Nolan thinks it's not), that's the only was to excuse the movie's gaping flaws and plot holes.

idk, a lot of the things your talking about here are just things that make it a bad movie, and things I pretty much agree with. But that hasn't stopped me caring about it fannishly. I think there are probably plenty of people who care fannishly and agree with you that it's not great as source material.