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Well, I just came from seeing The Dark Knight Rises, and as finales to trilogies go, it was triumphant. I/m not going to spoil it, but like the previous film, there are some really surprising actors in small supporting roles, and some really strong performances in the bigger supporting roles. And the PG-13 was not because of Catwoman, rather the other female supporting actress. And one of the most unexpected laughs in an action movie, ever.
Amaya wrote:Only at 79% on RT from Top Critics. 3 stars from Ebert (only reviewer that I consistently follow and typically agree with).
Plot is up on Wikipedia. Plan on seeing it tomorrow even though I read all the spoilers.
Not a big spoiler, just a little hint.
Spoiler:
Nolan does a great misdirection.
Really? I looked 2 days ago and RT said 97%. Did you maybe hit the buttons in the improper order? Cuz on Tuesday it was at 97%-only one guy in the critics section disliked it. I'm looking forward to seeing it tomorrow.
I just saw it. I think the best way to describe it would be as "bloated". They tried to fit too much into too little time.
All the actors that had been around since Batman Begins were fine, but none of them were exceptional. Anne Hathaway and Gordon-Levitt were the most interesting characters in the film. Hardy as Bane ended up being a slight disappointment.
Best parts
Spoiler:
Blake calling Gordon out on the Harvey Dent lie.
Kyle (catwoman) vanishing when Batman turned his back.
Blake being revealed as Robin.
Saw it last night. I thought it was great. The scale of the film was far bigger than I thought it would be. Never dragged, nothing felt out of place. If anything the pacing was a little too quick (I didn't feel the passage of time as much as I think we were meant to).
Catwoman was good. Levitt's character was great. And
Glad to see some repeat actors making cameo roles (don't know how to use spoilers, so won't give names), and I was quite content with it. I think Avengers was better, but this movie was still fantastic. Is it as psychologically disturbing as The Dark Knight was with Ledger? Not even close. But it's still a fantastic movie that deserves an audience. Bane was great, and I'm glad he didn't use Venom in this-Nolan has avoided the fantasy of certain Batman characters (Joker's acid bath turning him into the clown prince of crime, Ras Al Ghul's immortality, Bane's Venom), and has instead made all of them normal people. I see Bale's airway is still cut off 95% of the way when he puts the mask on though.
Reality is a nice place to visit, but I'd hate to live there.
Manchu wrote:I'm a Catholic. We eat our God.
Due to work, I can usually only ship any sales or trades out on Saturday morning. Please trade/purchase with this in mind.
From a storytelling standpoint I think Bane is who Bruce Wayne would have been if he had killed the prisoner in Batman Begins and lead Ra's crusade against Gotham. The Joker represented the opposite of Batman whereas Bane is an evil version of Batman.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/07/21 08:40:35
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
Amaya wrote:I just saw it. I think the best way to describe it would be as "bloated". They tried to fit too much into too little time.
All the actors that had been around since Batman Begins were fine, but none of them were exceptional. Anne Hathaway and Gordon-Levitt were the most interesting characters in the film. Hardy as Bane ended up being a slight disappointment.
Best parts
Spoiler:
Blake calling Gordon out on the Harvey Dent lie.
Kyle (catwoman) vanishing when Batman turned his back.
Blake being revealed as Robin.
Spoiler:
I laughed my ass of when Batman looked away for a second, looked back and Catwoman was gone, and he says "So that's what that feels like." And when that idiot rookie accidentally shoots Batman's EMP gun.
Church: So it is a sword, It just happens to function like a key in very specific situations.
Caboose: Or it's a key all the time, and when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death.
Been a while but here's a post that sums it up for me:
Tbh not even sure if this movie was better than The Avengers, but still good. Felt like a more epic version of the first two Batman movies but it tried to be too epic. And the epic action scenes, while still blockbuster worthy, just aren't even in the same ballpark as The Avengers. This Batman also introduced too many new characters while trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends with the old ones.
Still everytime the movie began to lose my attention like during a lengthy Bruce Wayne scene or a flashback, it still somehow got me cheering for Batman to overcome everything. However I didn't really like the chemistry between any of the characters in this movie, tbh, although it had some fun lines...Joker was much more awesome.
List of minor, not so minor, and random faults that puts this movie down for me compared to TDK......SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS? :
Spoiler:
- Too many clumsy flashbacks. Pays off in the end although it makes the storytelling overall feel lazy and unimpressive
- Bane's facemask doesn't translate well to the big screen, should have redesigned his character even further. Hooking up his voice to stadium speakers was an experience. Wasn't that impressive of a villain, was basically a smooth talking brute. Loved the line about the kid's voice though
- Bane's neckbreaking and face-crushing, while undeniably brutal, also just doesn't translate very well to the big screen and not very dramatic. Doesn't help that Steven Segal made it infamous
- That chant sounds like "THIS IS AWESOME, AWESOME!". Thought they said "Gotham" in the trailers. But "Awesome" works and makes the pit climbing spectacle that much more entertaining
- How did Batman have all that time to make his symbol on the skyscraper during the ice walking scene? Seemed like he wasted a lot of crucial minutes when Gordon was sentenced to death by exile
- The passing of time also felt clumsy and awkward, too much time was covered
- Qui Gon Jinn, a lot of themes/scenes felt like Star Wars, and not in a good way
- Cops vs Bane's men in the end, why the hell didn't both sides just shoot eachother instead of brawl it out? I wanted to care about Pvt Joker's death but yea not so much. Visually, the fight was also a spectacle, but a relatively unimpressive one
- Sentencing scene was funny and felt like a comic book. Could have used more Scarecrow....why not use more of a villain that the audience is already familiar with?
- Cat Woman. Didn't do much for me. Her background felt rushed, acting felt average, chemistry wasn't there with Bruce or Batman, who the hell was that blonde lesbo, and really wasn't that much eye candy either
Also not enough dark bad ass Batman stuff like "PRAY TO ME" and his interrogation against the Joker.
3/4 stars. I wonder if the director's cut will address some of my whining
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/07/21 21:18:27
Seemed like there were two main story lines being combined in the movie (big spoiler).
Spoiler:
You have the Knightfall story ark, Bane terrorizing the city, breaking the Bat, you have a Robin stepping up even though he is not "Robin", and the rehabilitation of Batman to overcome his injuries.
But the movie also reminded me of the Dark Knight Returns ark to an extend. A retired old and injured Batman returning to the fight at the beginning of the movie, overcoming those injuries to face an enemy. As well as the staging of his death at the end.
Cane wrote:Been a while but here's a post that sums it up for me:
Tbh not even sure if this movie was better than The Avengers, but still good. Felt like a more epic version of the first two Batman movies but it tried to be too epic. And the epic action scenes, while still blockbuster worthy, just aren't even in the same ballpark as The Avengers. This Batman also introduced too many new characters while trying to tie up a bunch of loose ends with the old ones.
Still everytime the movie began to lose my attention like during a lengthy Bruce Wayne scene or a flashback, it still somehow got me cheering for Batman to overcome everything. However I didn't really like the chemistry between any of the characters in this movie, tbh, although it had some fun lines...Joker was much more awesome.
List of minor, not so minor, and random faults that puts this movie down for me compared to TDK......SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS? :
Spoiler:
- Too many clumsy flashbacks. Pays off in the end although it makes the storytelling overall feel lazy and unimpressive
- Bane's facemask doesn't translate well to the big screen, should have redesigned his character even further. Hooking up his voice to stadium speakers was an experience. Wasn't that impressive of a villain, was basically a smooth talking brute. Loved the line about the kid's voice though
- Bane's neckbreaking and face-crushing, while undeniably brutal, also just doesn't translate very well to the big screen and not very dramatic. Doesn't help that Steven Segal made it infamous
- That chant sounds like "THIS IS AWESOME, AWESOME!". Thought they said "Gotham" in the trailers. But "Awesome" works and makes the pit climbing spectacle that much more entertaining
- How did Batman have all that time to make his symbol on the skyscraper during the ice walking scene? Seemed like he wasted a lot of crucial minutes when Gordon was sentenced to death by exile
- The passing of time also felt clumsy and awkward, too much time was covered
- Qui Gon Jinn, a lot of themes/scenes felt like Star Wars, and not in a good way
- Cops vs Bane's men in the end, why the hell didn't both sides just shoot eachother instead of brawl it out? I wanted to care about Pvt Joker's death but yea not so much. Visually, the fight was also a spectacle, but a relatively unimpressive one
- Sentencing scene was funny and felt like a comic book. Could have used more Scarecrow....why not use more of a villain that the audience is already familiar with?
- Cat Woman. Didn't do much for me. Her background felt rushed, acting felt average, chemistry wasn't there with Bruce or Batman, who the hell was that blonde lesbo, and really wasn't that much eye candy either
Also not enough dark bad ass Batman stuff like "PRAY TO ME" and his interrogation against the Joker.
3/4 stars. I wonder if the director's cut will address some of my whining
Blonde girl was Catwoman's friend who is in every Batman iteration. Nolan was thorough, what's wrong with that? I don't agree with everything you said, but this comment is really the only one of ignorance I feel justified commenting on.
Reality is a nice place to visit, but I'd hate to live there.
Manchu wrote:I'm a Catholic. We eat our God.
Due to work, I can usually only ship any sales or trades out on Saturday morning. Please trade/purchase with this in mind.
I thought it was an alright movie overall however, the ending really, REALLY made me crack the feths. Thats all im gonna say.
Veteran Sergeant wrote:In the grim darkness of the far future, the guy with a rifle is the weakest man on the battlefield, left to quake in terror, hoping the two or three shots he gets do the job before somebody runs screaming across the battlefield to hit him with an energized stick.
JohnnoM wrote:I thought it was an alright movie overall however, the ending really, REALLY made me crack the feths. Thats all im gonna say.
You're probably going to have to same more, because I have no idea what you're talking about.
Anyway - I like the movie, and I liked the ending too.
Though I think that
Spoiler:
when there's another Batman movie, it is probably going to be a total reboot ala The Amazing Spider-Man.
The ending is completely ridiculous:
Spoiler:
Reason 1: The Bomb. I actually thought it was a really great, and touching moment for Batman to go and sacrifice his life to save the city. But then we find out that he survived. That made me rage.
Reason 2: Robin. The last bit is the most blatant attempt at setting up a sequel that I have ever seen, and I'm sick of hollywood movies doing this over and over again.
Reason 3: The Lady being the child. I thought that was just bloody ridiculous, as my friend put it: " They had a even more ridiculous answer for every ridiculous question."
However, this is just my two cents.
Veteran Sergeant wrote:In the grim darkness of the far future, the guy with a rifle is the weakest man on the battlefield, left to quake in terror, hoping the two or three shots he gets do the job before somebody runs screaming across the battlefield to hit him with an energized stick.
Saw it this morning at the IMAX. Not sure I have anything to add that previous posters didn't already say; so I'll just consider these "votes" instead.
Spoiler:
NAY on Batman's deux ex machina at the end. I like Batman and all but it would have been a more powerful movie had he died.
NAY on him turning out to be Robin, that was stupid and lame and dumb.
YAY on Anne Hathaway's appearance and performance. She looked great and really delivered the role.
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
Ouze wrote:Saw it this morning at the IMAX. Not sure I have anything to add that previous posters didn't already say; so I'll just consider these "votes" instead.
Spoiler:
NAY on Batman's deux ex machina at the end. I like Batman and all but it would have been a more powerful movie had he died.
NAY on him turning out to be Robin, that was stupid and lame and dumb.
YAY on Anne Hathaway's appearance and performance. She looked great and really delivered the role.
Overall enjoyable, but one thing almost killed it for me:
Spoiler:
The sudden emergence of Thalia as the main villain felt embarrassingly clumsy. They spent the entire movie building up Bane as the main villan(and doing a pretty good job of it, imo) only for her to be the real threat in the end? Come on.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2012/07/22 03:12:04
Why didn't they do subtitles for that foreign dialect that Bane was speaking?
As for the rest of the rest of the movie, I felt that it didn't really flow well. It seemed to drag a bit at the beginning and then it had a climax that fell apart and was eventually restarted.
Vaerros wrote:Overall enjoyable, but one thing almost killed it for me:
Spoiler:
The sudden emergence of Thalia as the main villain felt embarrassingly clumsy. They spent the entire movie building up Bane as the main villan(and doing a pretty good job of it, imo) only for her to be the real threat in the end? Come on.
Spoiler:
They addressed that The League of Shadows was responsible for what was going on, put a flashback of Ras in, and it made sense to have Thalia show up. They also pulled her out perfectly-a trusted source/lover knifing Bruce in the back-literally and figuratively. Also explains how Bane knew Bruce was Batman-she informed him, after her father informed her. I'm not quite sure what the problem is here. Nolan did right by her. Granted, Bane didn't have his comic book abilities, nor was he a solo act like in the comics, but they worked him in VERY well while still showing at the end that he wasn't the #1 villain. If you hated this setup, I'm sure you must have hated Batman Begins too-Ras Al Ghul wasn't the main antagonist through the movie, Scarecrow was: as his agent. Bane is the same for Thalia. It's the way Nolan chose to have the LoS operate in his incarnation of the Batman universe.
Reality is a nice place to visit, but I'd hate to live there.
Manchu wrote:I'm a Catholic. We eat our God.
Due to work, I can usually only ship any sales or trades out on Saturday morning. Please trade/purchase with this in mind.
If you pay attention to what Miranda/Talia says you'll notice she uses a lot of dialogue similar to Ra's. For instance, she talks about restoring balance on at least two occasions.
Spoiler:
The last bit is the most blatant attempt at setting up a sequel that I have ever seen, and I'm sick of hollywood movies doing this over and over again.
Nolan has been saying for the last two years this was the final movie in story of Batman, and there would be no sequel; this is a stand alone story in which people die, age, and go on with their lives. There will be a reboot, but it will have none of the people involved in this trilogy, though I wouldn't be surprised if they try to get Nolan as a consultant. DC wants to make a film universe like Marvel's, and this version of Batman is in a world on it's own, and, at this point, no longer exists as it told the story of Bruce Wayne to its conclusion. It was also foreshadowed quite a bit during the film: several references to the auto-pilot, Alfred telling him that he wishes he wasn't in Gotham as all it has for him is pain, giving Blake tips on what it means to be like Batman as well as the importance of the mask meaning it could be anybody, and two different women asking him to run away from the city. So, in conclusion, there is not going to be a sequel to this, so it wasn't a blatant setup for one. You let an odd bias influence you interpretation of the scene and make you dislike it. It also tied into the title of the film, as the closing shot is the new Dark Knight rising to take the place of the old one.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2012/07/22 11:32:28
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
I understood Bane jsut fine - about 90% of the time!
Also, someone watching the movie who couldn't figure out:
Spoiler:
1) The last scene with Bruce in the movie was clearly going to be in the cafe that Alfred mentioned!
2) The Bruce was clearly going to be able to fix the autopilot on the Bat!
3) That Miranda Tate was going to be the 'inside man'/trigger man, especially after the fireplace/bearskin rug 'scars' comment!
...well, I guess they weren't actually paying attention.
And I don't think it was too heavy handed/ham fisted in setting those things up - it was still a very enjoyable ride and a good conclusion to the trilogy.
