Can I talk about the Dark Knight Rises?

[omega 616]

I guess so since we're still getting ME3 threads and that's been worked over so many times it's now a paste.

I watched this film last night and want to get all of your thoughts on it.

I'm not a batman fan, which probably made me more critical of this film but did this film seem really underwhelming?

The fight scene between Bane and Batman was a joke, that has to be the worst fight scene I've ever seen (I mean for a blockbuster film, not some low budget B movie).

Banes voice was hilarious, he sounded like a posh butler ... that should have been the voice for Alfred, come to think of it.

I like Tom Hardey (the guy was awesome in warrior) but I don't think he should have been Bane. From what little I know and have seen Bane is meant to be 9 foot tall and built like a Baneblade (see what I did thar?) Tom is shorter than Christian Bale! Nathan Jones should have been Bane, this guy is 6'11" 360 LBS! He looks like Nappa from dragon ball Z for fucks sake!

Spoiler: Nathan Jones

You don't have to be much of an actor as Bane, just walk around looking intense (it's what Tom did). Plus He had an MMA fight, okay he lost but he still knows how to.

That big shock twist, who didn't see that coming from about the half way mark? I know next to fuck all about batman lore and saw that coming a mile off.

So am I just shitting on the film or what?

(I never put this in user reviews 'cos they are proper reviews, this seems more like a critique)

 

[Kenbo Slice]

No, you're pretty accurate. Although I was okay with Tom Hardy playing Bane. I didn't expect Sean Connery to do his voice though. The numerous plot holes and inconsistencies really bring what should have been a great movie down.

I much prefer this version of Bane:

 

[Legion]

I felt the film was pretty underwhelming as well to be honest. Too many flaws that should have been fairly obvious, as well as Bane overall being a fairly lacklustre villain (based upon his actions anyway).

I actually quite liked his voice though. I understand why people don't, but there is something about it I find kind of cool. His mask looks stupid though, I don't object to him having one, but the design left much to be desired.

Spoiler: The two largest things that stood out the most for me were (major spoilers):

All of the police going into the sewers. I mean seriously, that should be obvious as to why it's a bad idea. They could have called in for military support, or sent in SWAT only, but no, send in everybody...

The bomb. The bad guys plan was to let the bomb go off. So rather than lead Batman and co on a merry chase, why not just crash the truck into a building with the bomb inside? They'd never be able to get it out in time, so mission accomplished.

 

[omega 616]

I actually quite liked his voice though. I understand why people don't, but there is something about it I find kind of cool. His mask looks stupid though, I don't object to him having one, but the design left much to be desired.

When I first heard his voice I was like "did I get a pirated dvd? Did Zavvi just prank me?". I honestly thought I was being fucked with and it was dubbed ... like at any minute it was going to change to Arnold Schwarzeneggeror something.

It was like Bane's dad was the monopoly guy!

The straps of the mask are pretty cool, the mouth bit was a bit too zoidberg for me. Also, what the fuck is that thing about? It stop his pain? What pain does he have in his mouth and how does he eat?

 

[krazykidd]

Well it had to follow up the dark knight . And that movie was amazing . So they tried to do too much, and it fell flat on their face . And my opinion , after the awsomeness that was the dark knight , not much could be better . Especially since the guy that played the joker died ... Selfish bastard!

 

[omega 616]

Well it had to follow up the dark knight . And that movie was amazing . So they tried to do too much, and it fell flat on their face . And my opinion , after the awsomeness that was the dark knight , not much could be better . Especially since the guy that played the joker died ... Selfish bastard!

Gotta be honest, didn't think the dark knight was all that either ... I can hear the pitch forks being gathered and the torches lit as I type.

I did like some bits of it but again I'm not a batman fan so I wasn't caught up in the "ermahgerd, bertmern" hype.

What is it about these films that can't get voices right? In the dark knight Batman sounded like a gravel in a washing machine.

 

[senordesol]

I felt DKR fell flat because it didn't seem to follow through on the theme it had been apparently setting for the past two films.

I mean when you go from "The hero it deserves, but not the hero it needs" to "I had better do more push-ups until my back magically heals"...it just feels weak.

If you study literature and story telling, you might have spotted the arch that they seemed to be going for.

Act 1: Hero arrives in adversarial lands, defeats the major enemies and frees the innocent people. (Challenging of the status quo)
Act 2: A new enemy arises that seems even more daunting than any of the other ones combined. Hero must compromise some ideals, but eventually defeats enemy. (Affirmation of necessity)
Act 3: The final enemy appears and cannot be surmounted by the hero. The hero is defeated, but inspires those under his protection to rise up and defeat the enemy. (Dissolving of necessity)

The final epiphany of the film should have been "Bruce Wayne cannot be Batman alone anymore" and that "maybe Batman is no longer needed" which is...kind of what it was, but it conveyed itself weakly.

*Spoilers*
Rather than trying to escape the Pit all by himself by "not being afraid to die" (Which...I mean...was that a problem before? Was Batman really ever afraid to die?), Wayne should have rallied the prisoners to work together to escape the Pit. (This would have also lent more credence to his return to Gotham).

Rather than defeating Bane in a fist-fight himself, Batman should have challenged Bane to a duel -knowing he would get the living shit kicked out of him. The objective, of course, would be to weaken Bane to the point that while he could still take Batman in his battered state easily, he would not be able to take a fresh and ready Robin. This would make Blake's character a far more convincing Bat replacement than having him pout feebly and impotently at a checkpoint -ultimately doing nothing while Gotham's fate hangs in the balance. Have Catwoman do that crap! (Not because she's a woman, but because the tiny plot relevance of her character did not earn her the right to defeat Bane).

 

[Private Custard]

I wanted to see a Batman in his prime fight Bane, not the reclusive semi-crippled version. Opportunity missed.

Plot twist, no emotional investment, nothing felt.

Catwoman......stop stealing shit and just fuck off.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt.....fuck off, come back, and fuck off again.

Police tactics fail, aren't there other options, instead of just putting every cop in the city in to a place where they can be nullified in one go??

Alfred gets all pissy, audience doesn't care when he disappears for half the movie.

Now I think Tom Hardy is awesome, but as a bad guy, Bane was shit.



Really, I could go on for ages, but at least the film followed what I'd like to call 'The Nolan Curve'. The trilogy got worse with each installment. I was watching it on a flight from Singapore to Auckland and I seriously considered turning it off halfway through so I could stare out of the window at nothing in particular!

But hey, at least Bane made for some interesting spoofs!


EDIT: Seeing as the above was already linked, here's another!

 

[omega 616]

Rather than trying to escape the Pit all by himself by "not being afraid to die" (Which...I mean...was that a problem before? Was Batman really ever afraid to die?)

That's another thing that got me, he has his back broken (pushing the vertebrae towards the ribs), he gets thrown in the pit, a "doctor" then strings him up and pushes his vertebrae towards his ribs to fix his back, how the fuck on so many levels!?

He pushes the bone (is Banes knee the exact width of one spinal bone?) in the direction it was broken and he can walk again instantly? What. The. Fuck? Then in what seems like 1 night he is back doing sit ups, climbing up a wall and leaping to new platforms? And they say Batman is the most relatable 'cos he has no superpowers? He is the emo version of wolverine, he can heal almost instantly!

Also as you said, can't make the jump, works out, still can't make the jump, realizes he is scared to die in a hole, makes the jump? He even argued against this point in the film! something like "the mind doesn't have to make the jump, the body does".

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'm going to deviate from the (churlish) majority a bit here, but my summation:

THE GOOD

1. Bane. I liked the voice just fine (although the lower one they had to ditch because no one could understand him was more menacing), and despite his very human frame he was incredibly intimidating. I think he carried on the fine tradition of quality Batman villains in the Nolan trilogy. Obviously it was hard to chase Ledger's performance but The Joker was an iconic villain. Hardy did the best he could with the more limited Bane.

2. Aging Batman. The idea of a more "realistic" superhero carried with it the idea of realistic consequences to that kind of life. I thought the idea of a hobbled Batman with no cartilage left in his knees absolutely fascinating. I also think it was abandoned a bit too soon so we could get on with the action.

3. The film's general arc being less about Batman redeeming Gotham and more about Wayne redeeming himself by letting his grief and personal torment go and putting Batman behind him.

4. Batman's triumphant return to Gotham and eventual victory over Bane, however nonsensical, was exciting.

5. Music was very well done as always.

THE BAD

1. Looooooooooots of plot holes and logical incongruities. This was a super hero movie and this was true of the previous two films as well, but they stood out here worse than usual. Nolan invited a higher quality standard for realism in his films and failed to live up to it.

2. Catwoman was well acted by Hathaway but the character felt wildly superfluous to the narrative and ate valuable screen time that might've been better spent elsewhere.

3. Joseph Gordon Levitt is a fine actor and he did some good things with his character but see the above.

4. Caine and Freeman were both underutilized.

5. The happy ending felt forced. Not only was it confusing and logically improbable if not impossible, it took all weight and pathos from the preceding 5-10 minutes.

6. Alfred throwing a strop and leaving Bruce over a fairly minor disagreement was one of many incidences of character inconsistency.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, not great. Like the previous movies, it required everyone to be terminally thick.

Much too much trying to be epic at the expense of making any kind of sense.

That bit when the police form ranks and walk slowly at the people with the machine guns. They tried that sort of thing in France and Belgium and Turkey almost a hundred years ago. It didn't work very well. Later, Bane and Talia just walk through the battle, nobody tries shooting them.

Actually, in most of the movie, people rely on their enemies not bothering to shoot them.

...

Also, Catwoman did nothing. The movie was an hour too long, full of waffle, and they couldn't give her anything to do.

 

[Quaxar]

Rather than trying to escape the Pit all by himself by "not being afraid to die" (Which...I mean...was that a problem before? Was Batman really ever afraid to die?), Wayne should have rallied the prisoners to work together to escape the Pit. (This would have also lent more credence to his return to Gotham).

Waaaait, I thought the whole shebang there was that Batman lacked the fear of death and the strength that comes with that...

Anyway. Bane's voice was great... in itself. Not for a supervillain though. But the uniqueness of it does make for some pretty nice parody material, like the one already mentioned.
And that ending? Batman quits being Batman? That was the worst possible way to end it. Seriously. Batman would die if necessary before he shed his cape. I was willing to give that film a lot of lenience even though the start already disappointed me but that was the last straw for me.

 

[bug_of_war]

Eh, the film was alright. Nothing special, nothing horrible, I just sorta saw it as a repeat of Batman Begins. I wasn't dazzled with Begins, and I only liked Dark Knight because they used the villain (Begins half heartedly used Scarecrow, and Ra's was kinda just popping in and out). As for Rises, I felt as though Bane was done pretty well, but his death scene was weak and so was the second fight with Batman. The film was slightly too long and the change in aspect ratio made it hard to forget I'm watching a movie.

So yeah, wasn't a bad film, just wasn't to my liking.

 

[piinyouri]

The only thing I didn't care for that I couldn't get over was the ending.

Spoiler

It robbed the film of it's sense of weight, and honestly, I felt bit like I did at the end of Saber Marionette J. (DKR isn't quite that level of fuckery, but it's the same mistake in my opinion)


As for Bane, at first hearing his voice I was kind of iffy.
This is the guy that's going to be antagonizing batman for the rest of this movie?
But I got over it. It's very entertaining in a silly kind of way, but also I started to see the dichotomy of this proper speaking, gentlemanly sounding fellow, with the harsh brutality of his actions and schemes.
I thought it worked out well.

Just that ending. Ugh.

 

[mrm5561]

i enjoyed it. granted some parts i wasnt a fan of but at this point ive watched it so much i cant even get mad. i still feel like if they had used the prision break to have more villian cameos the movie would have been recieved better among the fans. as it stands its still the best super hero trilogy bar none.

 

[TheDoctor455]

I loved Dark Knight. It was funny, it was poignant in the right places, it was a brilliantly written masterpiece.

Dark Knight Rises was just... a mess with a pen by comparison.
Having just about every character staring right into the camera to just flat-out TELL you their motivations is just plain bad writing. Dark Knight proved that the director knew how to do it better, so there is no excuse for this here.

Also, there were just far too many attempts at fanservice for there to be anything resembling a coherent plot.

Let me know if I missed any references...

1. The whole 'gotham in ruins' shtick is straight out of No Man's Land.
2. Bringing Talia into it just to have an excuse for the League of Shadows to come back.
3. Making Bane an 'excommunicated' member of the League is just plain stupid.
4. 'Robin' is the guy's middle name, really? REALLY?
5. The retired Batman/Catwoman shipping throughout the whole thing.
6. And yeah... Bane was trying too hard to be the Joker.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Let me know if I missed any references...

1. The whole 'gotham in ruins' shtick is straight out of No Man's Land.
2. Bringing Talia into it just to have an excuse for the League of Shadows to come back.
3. Making Bane an 'excommunicated' member of the League is just plain stupid.
4. 'Robin' is the guy's middle name, really? REALLY?
5. The retired Batman/Catwoman shipping throughout the whole thing.
6. And yeah... Bane was trying too hard to be the Joker.

Ooh! You forgot Scarecrow coming back for no reason.

 

[jamail77]

Well it had to follow up the dark knight . And that movie was amazing . So they tried to do too much, and it fell flat on their face . And my opinion , after the awsomeness that was the dark knight , not much could be better . Especially since the guy that played the joker died ... Selfish bastard!

The Dark Knight was a great movie but it also wasn't a great movie. It mostly failed in the "being a Batman movie department". The truest of the three was Batman Begins. It didn't go too far off on its own interpretation losing what Batman is about. There's nothing wrong with going about your own interpretation but there are ways to do it without losing the lore and appeal of the thing it's based on.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Well it had to follow up the dark knight . And that movie was amazing . So they tried to do too much, and it fell flat on their face . And my opinion , after the awsomeness that was the dark knight , not much could be better . Especially since the guy that played the joker died ... Selfish bastard!

The Dark Knight was a great movie but it also wasn't a great movie. It mostly failed in the "being a Batman movie department". The truest of the three was Batman Begins. It didn't go too far off on its own interpretation losing what Batman is about. There's nothing wrong with going about your own interpretation but there are ways to do it without losing the lore and appeal of the thing it's based on.

Not sure that counts.

He came back for no reason in Dark Knight as well.

I think he's just a running gag after Begins.