The Dark Knight Rises

[DakkoN]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

I'm in the same group of people that loved the movie but at times had trouble understanding Bane... If it weren't for parts where he was interacting with other people and they responded to him, I wouldn't have known what he said in those parts..

Somehow during the course of the movie hearing the chants of the people, I started hearing "Bane is awesome, awesome" in place of the chants.. After that point, I couldn't get it out of my head.. It's like seeing that picture of the wrestler Sheamus wearing the lobster suit and says "it's a shameful thing, lobster head", that's all I hear when he makes his entrance on WWE now.. That's how I hear the TDKR chants now, lol..

[Altimus]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

The Man with No Name, best trilogy ever.

RISE

I agree...

[Cj7298419]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

I still stand by my assertion that this movie would've benefitted from being an extra 30mins longer to properly flesh out the story more.

[JODYE]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

My synopsis:

Spoiler

First off, I want to say, I honestly feel that the death of Ledger and the conclusion of the 2nd movie really effected this one greatly. I felt like there so many different routes they could have went to finish it off had he still been alive.

I just had this feeling that the film lacked real depth. Mentally and emotionally. Two things that really took away from that were the really awkward time lapses and also the lack of character development for the story. There was nothing that attached me to this film or warranted my full attention like TDK did.

The story started very slowly and aside from the gripping flashbacks to Two Face in the opening moments, I felt like the first hour was pretty empty as far as story telling was concerned.

The plane scene really did nothing for me. I get why it happened, but it wasn't riveting or gripping or really even necessary for that matter.

Then just things that didn't makes sense really bothered me. Why would all of a sudden Alfred trust some random girl to go the wing where Bruce was staying, yet no one is allowed there? I also really never got the sense that Catwoman was an actual villain and was more just a thorn in the side. I saw her returning to help Batman in some way from a mile away. Very predictable interactions and very weak dynamic between the two.

Bane was very bland and transparent. The voice box didn't really bother me, but I never had this sense where Bane was this larger than life power.. It definitely didn't stay true to the real Bane who had a very analytical and intellectual mind and possessed a photographic memory and super human strength. He was very predictable and his strength was watered down by an explosion every 2 seconds with half-hearted pyrotechnics. I also never understood why he hated Gotham. He had no ties to the city other than to be the sidekick to Miranda's plan to finish her fathers legacy.

Also, what purpose would these people have to rally around Bane? Who is he and where did he come from? He just all of a sudden shows up and these guys from jail and the guys that he comes with want to return Gotham to the people by blowing it up and killing them all anyway? How would that 6 mile explosion effect anything globally if all the people that are trying to lead this revolution end up dying in the blast? Pointless.

The dialogue was fairly cheesy and Bale had the predictable "WHERE IS SHE!?" type moment that the end with Bane.

The fight scenes were very poorly choreographed and uninspired. Especially the ones between Bane and Batman. Also the Wall Street segment where apparently they are mowing everybody down with machine gun fire, but all we see are some cheesy sparks, a camera cut, and then everyone is laying on the ground. Wuuttt!!?

The time lapses left so many holes and were completely unwarranted. Where after the bomb is created all of a sudden it's 23 days later and it's snowing and the ocean is frozen? Bruce is sent to the prison with a broken back, then all of a sudden one scene passes and he is walking, then he's traversing walls. Then how the hell does he get to Gotham so fast from the prison?

The ending though. Wow. They botched that completely. I don't even think I need to go into depth on that one. It's like they had it right, then copped out for the feel good story. That might have been a executive decision by someone other than Nolan. There was no reason for that other than to leave it open for a follow up film with JLG.

The thing that really upsets me, was that the personal emotional journey of Bruce was completely ignored for some time sensitive class warfare narrative to drive the story. We never got to dive into the struggle that Wayne endured during his fall from grace, nor got a real sense of Gotham's resentment towards him nor how it effected him. Him being recluse was an exceptionally shallow way to address it and wasn't fulfilling.

It's a shame that possibly Bales and Caine's most emotionally driven performances were overshadowed by a clunky storyline and weak narrative. I felt like the dynamic between Bruce, Alfred and his departure could have played an integral part in developing the mental and emotional deterioration of Bruce and fueled his need to return as Batman to fill that void. Instead, I left feeling that it had no effect on Bruce other than he had to open his own door one time. Awesome.

This part is personal opinion, but I feel like it would have made much more sense to have Two face be the antagonist in this film, or continue with the theme of "Live long enough to see yourself become the Villain".

There would have been balance, and a back story to emotionally drive the story. As stated in the TDK, Joker needed Batman, and Batman needed Joker. Dent needed Batman to help clean the streets and Batman needed Dent to be the face of Gotham. The love interest they shared and her death, could have been the fuel for Dent to convince Gotham to resent Batman and to exile him from the city and would have been a much more gripping plot to see Dent fully turn on Batman, then get out of control and then eventually turn on Gotham. Also would have been much more believable for the people to rally around him in trying to break down Batman, than it was Bane who had no connection to Gotham.

Hell, I would have enjoyed seeing Bruce become the villain in someway shape or form at the end.

All in all, the movie had it's moments but it is definitely the 3rd best in the trilogy. There could have been so many other ways to bring closure to the Batman saga and Batman as a character but this one totally abandoned the tone of the first two, for a shoddy copy paste plot that has been done before. I left unsatisfied and disappointed.

[Beantown]

I, literally, feel the exact opposite of pretty much that entire review, 13 It's crazy how different people can feel towards the same movie.

[AUChase]

Baines voice grew on me, as the movie went on.. I like it.

Instant purchase, when it releases on BR.

I was lit when the movie kicked off, but magically sobered up, just a few mins into the movie.. it had me glued to the screen.

People would get up to go to the bathroom and I would say to myself," **** your kidneys... I wouldn't want to miss anything."

Like I mentioned earlier, the theater would break out in applause at certain points in the movie.. was a very weird feeling.
Sent from my Desire HD

[JODYE]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

I, literally, feel the exact opposite of pretty much that entire review, 13 It's crazy how different people can feel towards the same movie.

It really is.

Spoiler

And I might be completely alone in my synopsis. Maybe my expectations were too high but I feel like they missed on a lot of opportunities to really bring closure to the trilogy, and IMO this wasn't the way to do it. Alot of things were left alone or swept under the rug with some patchwork story telling.

To each their own however.

[jmood88]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

My synopsis:

Spoiler

First off, I want to say, I honestly feel that the death of Ledger and the conclusion of the 2nd movie really effected this one greatly. I felt like there so many different routes they could have went to finish it off had he still been alive.

I just had this feeling that the film lacked real depth. Mentally and emotionally. Two things that really took away from that were the really awkward time lapses and also the lack of character development for the story. There was nothing that attached me to this film or warranted my full attention like TDK did.

The story started very slowly and aside from the gripping flashbacks to Two Face in the opening moments, I felt like the first hour was pretty empty as far as story telling was concerned.

The plane scene really did nothing for me. I get why it happened, but it wasn't riveting or gripping or really even necessary for that matter.

Then just things that didn't makes sense really bothered me. Why would all of a sudden Alfred trust some random girl to go the wing where Bruce was staying, yet no one is allowed there? I also really never got the sense that Catwoman was an actual villain and was more just a thorn in the side. I saw her returning to help Batman in some way from a mile away. Very predictable interactions and very weak dynamic between the two.

Bane was very bland and transparent. The voice box didn't really bother me, but I never had this sense where Bane was this larger than life power.. It definitely didn't stay true to the real Bane who had a very analytical and intellectual mind and possessed a photographic memory and super human strength. He was very predictable and his strength was watered down by an explosion every 2 seconds with half-hearted pyrotechnics. I also never understood why he hated Gotham. He had no ties to the city other than to be the sidekick to Miranda's plan to finish her fathers legacy.

Also, what purpose would these people have to rally around Bane? Who is he and where did he come from? He just all of a sudden shows up and these guys from jail and the guys that he comes with want to return Gotham to the people by blowing it up and killing them all anyway? How would that 6 mile explosion effect anything globally if all the people that are trying to lead this revolution end up dying in the blast? Pointless.

The dialogue was fairly cheesy and Bale had the predictable "WHERE IS SHE!?" type moment that the end with Bane.

The fight scenes were very poorly choreographed and uninspired. Especially the ones between Bane and Batman. Also the Wall Street segment where apparently they are mowing everybody down with machine gun fire, but all we see are some cheesy sparks, a camera cut, and then everyone is laying on the ground. Wuuttt!!?

The time lapses left so many holes and were completely unwarranted. Where after the bomb is created all of a sudden it's 23 days later and it's snowing and the ocean is frozen? Bruce is sent to the prison with a broken back, then all of a sudden one scene passes and he is walking, then he's traversing walls. Then how the hell does he get to Gotham so fast from the prison?

The ending though. Wow. They botched that completely. I don't even think I need to go into depth on that one. It's like they had it right, then copped out for the feel good story. That might have been a executive decision by someone other than Nolan. There was no reason for that other than to leave it open for a follow up film with JLG.

The thing that really upsets me, was that the personal emotional journey of Bruce was completely ignored for some time sensitive class warfare narrative to drive the story. We never got to dive into the struggle that Wayne endured during his fall from grace, nor got a real sense of Gotham's resentment towards him nor how it effected him. Him being recluse was an exceptionally shallow way to address it and wasn't fulfilling.

It's a shame that possibly Bales and Caine's most emotionally driven performances were overshadowed by a clunky storyline and weak narrative. I felt like the dynamic between Bruce, Alfred and his departure could have played an integral part in developing the mental and emotional deterioration of Bruce and fueled his need to return as Batman to fill that void. Instead, I left feeling that it had no effect on Bruce other than he had to open his own door one time. Awesome.

This part is personal opinion, but I feel like it would have made much more sense to have Two face be the antagonist in this film, or continue with the theme of "Live long enough to see yourself become the Villain".

There would have been balance, and a back story to emotionally drive the story. As stated in the TDK, Joker needed Batman, and Batman needed Joker. Dent needed Batman to help clean the streets and Batman needed Dent to be the face of Gotham. The love interest they shared and her death, could have been the fuel for Dent to convince Gotham to resent Batman and to exile him from the city and would have been a much more gripping plot to see Dent fully turn on Batman, then get out of control and then eventually turn on Gotham. Also would have been much more believable for the people to rally around him in trying to break down Batman, than it was Bane who had no connection to Gotham.

Hell, I would have enjoyed seeing Bruce become the villain in someway shape or form at the end.

All in all, the movie had it's moments but it is definitely the 3rd best in the trilogy. There could have been so many other ways to bring closure to the Batman saga and Batman as a character but this one totally abandoned the tone of the first two, for a shoddy copy paste plot that has been done before. I left unsatisfied and disappointed.

I pretty much agree with all of this.

[VDusen04]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

I've read the couple of critical reviews from the past few pages here (13. and jmood) and much of what was written has a lot of merit. However, I think my even-keeled expectations combined with my willingness to be entertained in conjunction with our philosophical differences of how the final movie of the trilogy should have played out allowed me to enjoy this movie immensely. My little brother and I both agreed The Dark Knight is still likely the best movie of the set, but we were undoubtedly fully satisfied with the trilogy's conclusion.

[Spongedaddy]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

Okay I felt like

Spoiler

They really captured the emotional heart of the movie. It's about Bruce Wayne being able to move on. The entire Batman journey has been about his inability to move one. To find some justice for his parents that he can never get. He met another character, Selina, who was also trying to move on. It resonated with him. I also thought the ending was great, because at first I thought it was Alfred imagining things and the I remembered them talking about the auto-pilot a few minutes prior. It's nice to think they moved on together. I also like the idea that there will always be a Batman even if it is "Robin.

[Blzer]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

Regarding Bane's voice, there are still leaks of the prologue online preceding MI:GP, and I just saw it for the first time. I know people complained about not being able to understand him back then, but not only was his voice so much more sinister, but I don't think any edits/ADR that they did in the past six months helped clear things up one bit. I'm not saying I couldn't understand what he was saying (though it did happen on occasion with every character), but I think people who complained initially will still have the same complaints.

That said, is there possibly any way that Nolan can revert to the previous Bane voice when this comes out on Blu-ray? I hope there is a way, because I think it sounded so much cooler before.

[franch1se]

Admittedly I'm not the worlds biggest batman fan but....

Spoiler

I thought robins name was Tim Drake?

[Blzer]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

Admittedly I'm not the worlds biggest batman fan but....

Spoiler

I thought robins name was Tim Drake?

Spoiler

If JGL is going to take on a "costumed hero" film later down the road, he won't be Robin. He will be Batman.

[jmood88]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

Spoiler

If JGL is going to take on a "costumed hero" film later down the road, he won't be Robin. He will be Batman.

Spoiler

I hope that happens, he was easily one of the best parts of the movie and I would love to see him portray Batman

[weeeeeeez]

Re: The Dark Knight Rises

My synopsis:

Spoiler

First off, I want to say, I honestly feel that the death of Ledger and the conclusion of the 2nd movie really effected this one greatly. I felt like there so many different routes they could have went to finish it off had he still been alive.

I just had this feeling that the film lacked real depth. Mentally and emotionally. Two things that really took away from that were the really awkward time lapses and also the lack of character development for the story. There was nothing that attached me to this film or warranted my full attention like TDK did.

The story started very slowly and aside from the gripping flashbacks to Two Face in the opening moments, I felt like the first hour was pretty empty as far as story telling was concerned.

The plane scene really did nothing for me. I get why it happened, but it wasn't riveting or gripping or really even necessary for that matter.

Then just things that didn't makes sense really bothered me. Why would all of a sudden Alfred trust some random girl to go the wing where Bruce was staying, yet no one is allowed there? I also really never got the sense that Catwoman was an actual villain and was more just a thorn in the side. I saw her returning to help Batman in some way from a mile away. Very predictable interactions and very weak dynamic between the two.

Bane was very bland and transparent. The voice box didn't really bother me, but I never had this sense where Bane was this larger than life power.. It definitely didn't stay true to the real Bane who had a very analytical and intellectual mind and possessed a photographic memory and super human strength. He was very predictable and his strength was watered down by an explosion every 2 seconds with half-hearted pyrotechnics. I also never understood why he hated Gotham. He had no ties to the city other than to be the sidekick to Miranda's plan to finish her fathers legacy.

Also, what purpose would these people have to rally around Bane? Who is he and where did he come from? He just all of a sudden shows up and these guys from jail and the guys that he comes with want to return Gotham to the people by blowing it up and killing them all anyway? How would that 6 mile explosion effect anything globally if all the people that are trying to lead this revolution end up dying in the blast? Pointless.

The dialogue was fairly cheesy and Bale had the predictable "WHERE IS SHE!?" type moment that the end with Bane.

The fight scenes were very poorly choreographed and uninspired. Especially the ones between Bane and Batman. Also the Wall Street segment where apparently they are mowing everybody down with machine gun fire, but all we see are some cheesy sparks, a camera cut, and then everyone is laying on the ground. Wuuttt!!?

The time lapses left so many holes and were completely unwarranted. Where after the bomb is created all of a sudden it's 23 days later and it's snowing and the ocean is frozen? Bruce is sent to the prison with a broken back, then all of a sudden one scene passes and he is walking, then he's traversing walls. Then how the hell does he get to Gotham so fast from the prison?

The ending though. Wow. They botched that completely. I don't even think I need to go into depth on that one. It's like they had it right, then copped out for the feel good story. That might have been a executive decision by someone other than Nolan. There was no reason for that other than to leave it open for a follow up film with JLG.

The thing that really upsets me, was that the personal emotional journey of Bruce was completely ignored for some time sensitive class warfare narrative to drive the story. We never got to dive into the struggle that Wayne endured during his fall from grace, nor got a real sense of Gotham's resentment towards him nor how it effected him. Him being recluse was an exceptionally shallow way to address it and wasn't fulfilling.

It's a shame that possibly Bales and Caine's most emotionally driven performances were overshadowed by a clunky storyline and weak narrative. I felt like the dynamic between Bruce, Alfred and his departure could have played an integral part in developing the mental and emotional deterioration of Bruce and fueled his need to return as Batman to fill that void. Instead, I left feeling that it had no effect on Bruce other than he had to open his own door one time. Awesome.

This part is personal opinion, but I feel like it would have made much more sense to have Two face be the antagonist in this film, or continue with the theme of "Live long enough to see yourself become the Villain".

There would have been balance, and a back story to emotionally drive the story. As stated in the TDK, Joker needed Batman, and Batman needed Joker. Dent needed Batman to help clean the streets and Batman needed Dent to be the face of Gotham. The love interest they shared and her death, could have been the fuel for Dent to convince Gotham to resent Batman and to exile him from the city and would have been a much more gripping plot to see Dent fully turn on Batman, then get out of control and then eventually turn on Gotham. Also would have been much more believable for the people to rally around him in trying to break down Batman, than it was Bane who had no connection to Gotham.

Hell, I would have enjoyed seeing Bruce become the villain in someway shape or form at the end.

All in all, the movie had it's moments but it is definitely the 3rd best in the trilogy. There could have been so many other ways to bring closure to the Batman saga and Batman as a character but this one totally abandoned the tone of the first two, for a shoddy copy paste plot that has been done before. I left unsatisfied and disappointed.

Agree 100%