The Dark Knight Rises thread (warning: spoliers discussed)

[Playbilly]

Posted: 7/17/12 at 11:26am

I thought the movie was great. I still have quibbles that there is so little detective work in the series (Batman is "The World's Greatest Detective", after all), but the action, and character & story development all paid off in the end.

Did anyone think Hardy sounded like Rush Limbaugh?

Updated On: 7/17/12 at 11:26 AM

[romantico]

Posted: 7/17/12 at 11:36am

I'm seeing it Friday morning (hopefully)The reviews have been mostly positive. Would you say it was a fitting ending to the trilogy? I've read some spoiler heavy reviews and am really excited to see it.

[Playbilly]

Posted: 7/17/12 at 11:52am

Yes, I was happy with the way they wrapped it up. I was afraid it would be a trilogy that didn't really need the 2nd installment to make sense, but it all connects because it's about urban criminals, heroes and what we expect from heroes and who society deems a hero. A lot of the "messages" are opaque in the movie; they're touched on, but not truly examined. But, that's Nolan's style.

No sscenes at the end like Marvel movies, btw.

Let's discuss when ya see it!

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 7/18/12 at 3:43am

Seeing this at a Midnight screening tonight in Australia, loved the first one, hated the second one ( one of the worst movies ever ).

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 7/18/12 at 1:29pm

Just got home from the midnight screening, where to begin.

Thank Jebus for Ann Hathaway,

The movie is at least 60 minutes too long,

Nolan has moments of Brillance, followed by too many moments of directing by numbers!

There are so many WTF moments, where the story makes no sense whatever.

Spoilers

How does Bruce/Batman get back into the city, when no one else can? Amd how does he happen to be at the right place to see Selina/Catwoman?

Nolan gives away the whole child in the prison plot, before we even get to it, so easy to work out.

And where does Alfred go for most of the movie?

End spoilers

Not as good as the first film, so much better than the second, but should have been much more!

[Playbilly]

Posted: 7/18/12 at 5:17pm

Yeah, the strolling back into the city part (hell--getting back to USA) was ridiculous. Absolutely! Not to mention, how was all of his Bat-stuff not discovered after the revolution? That bothered me the most.

It was overlong, for sure.

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 7/18/12 at 6:19pm

I was considering hitting the midnight show here tomorrow night, BUT I think I will fare better with the Friday matinee if it's this long....sigh, I'm turning into an old person.

I'm nervous/excited to see what Anne does with Catwoman.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 7/18/12 at 10:05pm

I am pretty elated that Hathaway, even in the mixed/negative reviews, is getting praised. Writing female characters is not a strong suit for Goyer and the Nolans, and consider the long list of strong, female characters in the Batman universe it is really disappointing that it took until now to utilize one from the canon. I was also skeptical about her casting but then seeing the previews of what kind of Selina Kyle/Catwoman she is supposed to be, I was on board. Many of us fans initially thought she was the Frank Miller Catwoman.

Not even trying the midnight screening. Like The Avengers, doing a morning matinee with coffee in hand. May even try to make it a double bill with Moonrise Kingdom, playing in the same theater.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 7/18/12 at 11:46pm

Should also add, that at times the film needs sub titles as Tom Hardy's Bane is very hard to understand, plus whole sections of dialogue are lost when the score is overplayed over actors.

Spoiler

The sex scene gives away who is really pulling the strings, which is a pity that reveal should have been shocking in the last 15 minutes or so of the film

End spoiler

[tazber]

Posted: 7/19/12 at 7:41am

Wow, some of the fansite reviews are trashing this.

Check out Harry's review (spoilers, but he gives plenty of warning)


AICN

Updated On: 7/19/12 at 07:41 AM

[strummergirl]

Posted: 7/19/12 at 9:14am

I know about the spoilers and yeah, I rolled my eyes at one of them since the fan service could have been done a whole lot better (heck, it may even be better done on screen since there were fans on sites that said it was done a lot better than it sounds on paper) but the other complaints by Knowles seem very 'my way is better'. Many characters from the first two films that were big in the comics got crammed in. Also I think Knowles fails to realize the small scale of people who died in The Dark Knight. Powerful people died and yeah, the Joker sprayed bullets indiscriminately but threats and fear were the game in Gotham City.

Updated On: 7/19/12 at 09:14 AM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/19/12 at 11:35am

I was surprised no one made a thread for THE AMAZINGLY TALKY SPIDER MAN.
A mediocre TONY DKR review that asks an interesting question...have superhero movies gone as far as they can go as a genre?

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/19/12 at 10:44pm

Joseph Gordon Levitt.


Can we get him in a movie where he has to get at least semi nekkid?

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 7/19/12 at 11:08pm

Tom Hardy no shirt, works as well

[strummergirl]

Posted: 7/19/12 at 11:15pm

Borstal that question by TONY needs to be rain-checked if and when Edgar Wright finishes Ant-Man.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/19/12 at 11:40pm

Hopefully seeing this tomorrow night! I loved the first two so I am pretty excited. After being disappointed in Avengers and Spider-Man, I am hoping to finally have a superhero I like this summer.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 3:12am

Ok in all seriousness, how long was Gotham under siege? Four months?

[Kad]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 5:32am

I thought it was fantastic.

The Joker cannot be topped as a villain, however. The character is just so very compelling. Though, I dunno, I was surprised by the twist.

Anne Hathaway is a fun and sexy Catwoman. She almost walks away with the film- she certainly steals every scene.

It managed to have a third act that didn't collapse, even with its plot contrivances (though none as irksome as the one previously employed in Dark Knight, at least for me).

Loved the cameo by Cillian Murphy.

I would have preferred that we had not seen what Alfred sees at the end, and left it ambiguous.

It was a satisfying conclusion.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 6:23am

Did anyone else wonder how Batman got back into Gotham City?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 1:19pm

Totally. That made no sense. But then again if you stop for a second, neither did most of the movie.

I didn't think it was bad but it certainly wasn't great and is definitely the lesser of the three films. It is too long and goes WAY too long without seeing Bruce/Batman. And even though he's Bruce Wayne, there really is only so much the human body can go through before it just stops working and I started to feel like it was almost a parody, every time he got stabbed or got his back broken.

I really enjoyed Hathaway and my Matthew Modine!!!!! I didn't even know he was in this and did a little girl squeal whenever he was on screen. Levittown was fantastic and I knew ***SPOILER*** who he was re second Batman told him he needed a mask. Still loved the reveal at the end, though.

[violet72]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 2:31pm

Me and my brother were said the same thing...how did he get back in Gotham...then we decided he is Batman and needs no explanation lol...liked it though...the end was great and a good way to tie it up....Anne Hathaway was fantastic....Bane was hard to understand alot....still my favorite character is Commissioner Gordon....Gary Oldman is so underrated

[romantico]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 2:35pm

I HATED IT! Way too many plot holes to overlook. As a fan of both BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT I thought this was just garbage.I kept wondering why doesn't anyone just tear BANES's mask off? Batman gets the sh*t kicked out of him in the sewers.Why not yank the mask off Bane? Batman's spine gets broken but he recovers in just 3 months with no 'real' medical help.Then when Batman confronts Bane for a second time, well NOW he can withstand the hits and somehow manages not get his ass kicked.Shouldn't he be weaker?Its stupid stuff like this the fans are just suppose to overlook but IMO it is sloppy writing.There were other things that annoyed me in the film but this was one of the biggest.

I thought it was too dark for a Batman film. Dead bodies hung from a bridge? Batman being tortured and crying in defeat?The other films were dark and had some violence but this was over the top. The Gotham City storyline made no sense to me. I find it hard to believe Alfred would just give up on Bruce and walk out.

On top of all of that THE MUSIC WAS TOO DAMN LOUD! People in the audience he even commented on this. I could not hear what the actors were saying because of the music and sound effects. AT times BANE was so muffled I could not understand him. I thought this film was just a mess. I like some of Nolan's films )BATMAN BEGINS,THE DARK KNIGHT,INCEPTION) and others I HATE (THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, THE PRESTIGE,MEMENTO)

This is one of the biggest films of the year with the biggest budgets and is sure to be the biggest blockbuster of the year.How SO MANY mistakes and a terrible story escapes me.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 3:24pm

I was unimpressed.

I agree with a lot of what's already been said here..too long, and I had great difficulty understanding whatever Bane said. The plot holes really got to me, and the big surprises at the end end were incredibly predictable. The second Alfred tells the story about how one day he'd like to be in a Paris cafe and see Bruce enjoying himself with a pretty woman...well, you know EXACTLY what the movie's final shot is going to be. And you know that Joseph Gordon Levitt is destined to be Robin/the next Batman as soon as he's told he needs a mask.

What I did really like was Anne Hathaway, who walked away with the movie. I think what made her wonderful, and what I particularly enjoyed, is it's very clear that she modeled her Catwoman after the indelible performance of Julie Newmar, who in my opinion is still the ultimate Catwoman.

That being said, what I didn't like is that her character essentially becomes Bat Girl for the second half of the film.

Updated On: 7/20/12 at 03:24 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 3:33pm

I think I’ll give this one a pass. I thought the first movie was okay and I was insanely bored by the second. Reports of this one seem to indicate I wouldn’t be missing anything by waiting to rent it from Redbox. I’ll queue it right above Transformers 3. Not sure I can handle almost three hours of the Bat-Voice.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 3:34pm

Why is his voice like that even when talking to people who know he's Bruce?