The other big comic book film of the summer is finally here and it is one of the most anticipated of all time.
Christopher Nolan started his epic Batman trilogy with 2005’s Batman Begins, changed the way everyone looks at superhero films with the Oscar winning 2008 film The Dark Knight, and now brings it all to an end with The Dark Knight Rises.
I pity the poor bastard who Warner Bros. taps to make the next Batman film.
Are we excited for The Dark Knight Rises? You’re damn right we are. Are we terrified for The Dark Knight Rises? Yes, if we’re being honest, more than a little bit. Will Christopher Nolan take his final Batman film to heights even greater than those reached by The Dark Knight when it would be so much easier to shoot lower? We’ll find out soon enough.
Want to read Paul Montgomery’s spoiler free review of The Dark Knight Rises? Look for that Friday afternoon!
Want to hear Conor, Ron, and Josh talk The Dark Knight Rises? Listen to the special edition podcast on Sunday!
Are you going to see The Dark Knight Rises? Of course you are! So let’s talk about it!
If you haven’t seen the movie yet be forewarned – there be SPOILERS ahoy! So don’t scroll down any further if you are sensitive to that kind of thing.
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I just cMe out of the movie and damn, ot was an amazing conclusion. But i want more…
I honesyly can’t wait for its bluray release..
I enjoyed the ending too. They definitely left the door open for future films, but how does anyone follow Nolan’s triptych?
just got out of a marathon of all three. Awesome move. Maybe not as good as the first two but still a great movie. did anyone else find the re-dub of bane’s voice kinda wimpy? i don’t think he sounded anywhere near as intimidating as the original airing of the plane seen before mission impossible. i never had that much trouble understanding him in the first place but the way the fixed it made some of his lines sound goofy to me
The accent he was doing was really weird. He sounded more like a goofy Monty Python character than a scary bad guy.
I thought he kinda sounded like Sean Connery
When I read comments about Bane’s voice being unintelligible at times, I thought it was foolish–but having watched the film, I found it frustrating as well. The character became far less imposing as a result, although it was enough to detract from the entire experience for me.
I thought he sorted of sounded like Patrick Stewart when he was captaining the Enterprise.
Baron Von Underbite.
The movie was a really good melding of the Knightfall, No-Man’s Land, and Legacy story lines. I couldn’t believe how many of the internet predictions came true, but in a way that still kept them surprising when they happend. The ending was both epic and kinda cheesy at the same time
Might of been the best movie I’ve ever seen. Deff a better movie then avengers however I think as a comic book come to life I think avengers was the better comic book movie if that makes sense
Comparing this to Avengers is like comparing apples and oranges, don’t you think? I found them both equally enjoyable, but they are both very different tableaus. I would never be able to choose between them.
Also I think it’s the first time a 3rd part of a trilogy is the best one I can’t think of any other part 3s that was the best
Return of the King?
DKR > ROTK
Anything beats Return of the King!
I’m definitely on the side of Return of the King. I enjoyed both.
I might be alone in thinking this but to me Beyond the Thunderdome the 3rd Mad Max film is the best.
BC1 was NOT saying Return of the King was BETTER than Dark Knight Rises. He was saying it *might* be example of a third film in a trilogy being the best. i.e. ROK > TT and ROK > FOTR? There was never a comparison between ROK and DKR. Just putting that out there…..
It seems like a moot question. The art of making trilogies, IMO, has moved forward by leaps and bounds since I was a kid. I think you almost have to read these films as complete, epic sagas in three acts (I think the creators certainly conceive of them in that way). To compare them to each other or to other third film examples is almost impossible.
This film may suffer in comparison to Dark Knight because Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker was so riveting–but I think this was the most complex, holistically complete, and sophisticated of the three. I have added Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities to my want to read list as a result of watching this movie.
The dull pressure really drove this movie. It gave me a similar feeling that I got from Magnolia. I enjoyed how it tied to the original film and had a solid beginning and end.
On the other hand, most of the events that would normally hold emotional resonance felt flat to me. I was engaged because of the dull pressure I mentioned above, but it took me a few minutes to absorb what I just saw instead of feeling the gravity at the moment it happened. This was my general feeling throughout the movie.
Oh Joseph Gordon Levitt this A-list actor is gonna just be a beat cop in this movie…..Yeah were all just that “stupid” c’mon…Anyway great movie this is NOLANS’ STORY guys and somebody has got to be Batman.
You’re right… he ends up being a really smart beat cop that gets promoted to detective and is one of the heroes of the film next to Batman, Gordon and Catwoman. What more was he? Until the last minute of the movie, that was his role.
If anyone decided to continue making movies in this ‘universe’ with Levitt playing some masked avenger, then he will be more than ‘just a beat cop’.
His ‘actual’ role, vis a vis Batman/Bruce, was evident early on … an orphan (like Dick Grayson) who solves the riddle of Batman’s identity (like Tim Drake) … It was a very clever way to add Robin to this film without calling him Robin (until the end) or putting him in Robin’s costume.
I enjoyed it. Hardy and Hathaway were excellent, much better than I anticipated. But this film’s got a lot of issues. At times it felt forced and self-conscious. I don’t think the twists will hold up upon multiple viewings, because of that. Some of them felt plain cheap. But like I said, I enjoyed it. Can’t wait to see it again.
Well put. I’ve been trying to figure out what didnt sit right with the movie, but I believe it was the forced nature of trying to drive home a point or concept. Nolan does this with all movies.
This is not a slight against the movie as it didnt detract from my overall enjoyment of the movie, but I got the ambition by all parties involved to tell a story with deeper concepts between lines of dialog and narrative. Did it verge on overmonologuing at times? Sure, but not to the discredit of the actors and direction. In anyone else’s hands, it would’ve been a disaster, but this cast certainly delivered.
Lastly, any comparison between Tom Hardy’s Bane and Heath Ledger’s Joker is unfair… and unfortunately by many, unavoidable. There’s a nuance that an antagonist brings to the table that rounds out these concepts.
Great film. Great ending of the trilogy. Not as good as part 2, but I don’t think they were trying. They went bigger to close it out and it worked perfectly.
Of course all the “twists” could be seen from a mile away. Especially if you’re versed in Batman mythology. But the ride to get there kept you wondering throughout.
So I watched the 3 movie marathon. I have to say… its a good movie, but in my eyes not as good as TDK. As far as a villain, I feel Ledger’s Joker was more worthy than Hardy’s Bane. It was a little slower in pace, but I never felt like I was drifting. I loved seeing Selena! I personally wanted a tad more tease-ness in the part, but overall I thought it was great. My one gripe is… Blake who? There have been 5 standard Robins… and they made one up? Thought his character was good until the Robin part. Was he based on Tim Drake? Seems a little more detective like and less action.
I didn’t have a problem with Robin. If The Dark Knight Returns can make their own Robin, so can the movie trilogy. None of the others can really work in the setting Nolan created, and if they gave him the name of one of the other Robins there would’ve been fan outcry and debate about how he wasn’t portrayed as in the comics. His name was a little too on-the-nose for my liking, but his character arc made it clear that that was how he was going to end up.
Naming him Robin was for the general audience, not the comic book fan. The number of people who reacted to his name reveal would have been much much smaller if he revealed his legal name was “Richard Grayson” or “Tim Drake.” People would either be confused or wouldn’t care/notice that it was a big reveal. Naming him “Robin” was on-the-nose but direct for the average moviegoer who at least know OF Robin even if they don’t know who he is specifically.
it’s cool to create a new robin. dark knight returns (which on some level influenced this film) created a new robin and she was great. i was thinking that he fit the robin part the whole movie, so it just confirmed my hunch by saying his name was robin. i especially thought he was basically robin when his role in the final confrontation was to save the schoolkids. the only difference about the comic book is it would go like this:
batman: robin, get the kids out of the blast radius
robin: but don’t you think you’ll need help with bane?
batman: i’ll take care of bane, you get the kids. (swoops away)
I think the reason they named him Robin was due to the fact that they pulled from all the other ones and gave us 3 major Robins.
They took Dick’s history of being a Bludhaven cop and his “always do right even when its wrong” nature , the intelligence of Tim Drake in finding out the things that he does and the vengeful nature of Jason Todd regarding his backstory
I have to disagree with some of these comments. I saw the film with 6 of my friends of which none have ever read a comic and they liked Blake up until the Robin line. Everyone thought it didn’t have to be said, and the manner they did it was just kind of lame.
I personally think they shouldn’t have said anything or just call him Dick Grayson. Why not?
Its really not meant to be taken seriously in any way. Just a fun little nod for the ENTIRE audience, also a funny sort of “F.U.!” to internet rumors as well. For how many months people been theorizing that Blake is going to be Robin… and in the end, he wasn’t.
Oh yeah, BTW… um… Spoile Alert? Thnxs.
@JesseCuster: Your spoiler alert is at the top of the page. It’s also in the article description on the home page. If you’re reading this thread without having seen the movie, you only have yourself to blame.
@Papito208: Agreed re Dick Grayson and Tim Drake influences, but I didn’t see the Jason Todd angle. Jason Todd took vengefulness (and arrogance) to an extreme, don’t you think? The character John Blake didn’t seem angry to me in a hyperbolic way (even if his elders referred to him as “hot”), and certainly didn’t have the arrogance of Jason Todd. It seemed more like a kind of simmering dynamo which fueled his fight against injustice (wherever he found it).
Good movie. But not as great as TDK. Don’t think I’ll be watching it again till it comes on Blu-ray. I still laugh when I hear Christian Bale as batman. Shit kills me every time. It wasn’t as bad this movie tho.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..man i loved this movie. i fist-pumped then applauded when bane broke the batman. not just because it was such a great realization of a great moment in batman, but i also really like the speech he gave before he did it (about how he is the shadows, he never knew the light until he was an adult). it was so very dramatic and over-the-top, but that’s what i love about the knightfall storyline. i also fist-pumped when talia al ghul stabbed batman and when they said that jgl’s real name was robin. maybe they didn’t need to go that far with it, they could’ve just said that he was dick grayson or tim drake and the people who care would’ve understood that he was robin.
my favorite scene was the one where bruce learns to climb out of the pit. it’s kind of a simple way to show it, but that’s what i love about superhero comics — someone learning to become more than he is.
there were a couple of negatives to me, though. the transition from the knightfall storyline to the no man’s land section was done through a montage and it was kind of rushed to me. then again, the movie was long enough so they needed to cut down the time somewhere. i just wish that you could see a little more about how mob rule took over the mindset of the people of gotham. also, i’m kind of confused about some of the timing. bane breaks batman then FLIES HIM TO CHINA, then flies back to blow up the football game? how long would something like that take? also, i enjoy the batwing, but that kind of put the movie into a sci-fi genre for a second, which is a big difference than the realism we got in the first two movies.
the actors were all great. anne hathaway was probably the best catwoman we’ve had in the movies, tom hardy was great (although i did have some problems with the voice), christian bale might have given his best performance in a batman film, JGL IS AWESOME!!!
i know that i’m going to see it again with some of my friends that haven’t seen it yet, and i’m excited. does anyone know if imax fixed any of the problems with understanding bane’s lines?
Well, with the Bat, at least they tried to ground it in reality somewhat by having it be a giant rotor on the underside of the craft and not simply saying, “yeah, it flies.”
This film fit so well thematically into the trilogy, particularly as it concerns Batman Begins, whose theme of falling and overcoming fear is answered by a theme of rising and accepting fear. The cast was strong, and I liked all the new additions, particularly Anne Hathaway, who I think showed all her critics why she was cast in the role. She was wonderful as Catwoman. I thought Hardy had a great presence but his voice did prove to be difficult to understand at times. Bale delivered a great performance particularly in his scenes as Bruce Wayne. I do think, however, that it felt a little too long and dragged out at parts. Overall, while I think The Dark Knight is the strongest film in the trilogy, that doesn’t discount the quality of the franchise or of this film. 4/5 stars probably.
It had good moments but is kind of a mess in a lot of parts. A little too slow, a little too self-important, and a little too cartoonish after about the half-way point of the movie. It’s still a good movie, it’s just not a great movie. I will say that the ending was pretty satisfying at least.
Alfred crying at the grave stone 🙁
Man tears bro. Man tears.
For real. That brought them out of me more than any other moment. Micheal Caine, you magnificent bastard.
Sad Alfred is the saddest. Not just the grave scene, but when he yells at Bruce right before quitting.
Dude, Michael Caine made me cry in public.
This movie was great and the most satisfying. Not as good as TDK, ill give it that, but it was THE Batman film that stuck closest to Batman’s mythos. We had Talia, the breaking of the bat, an implied Lazarus pit. Sure there was the Robin disconnect and the Bane-Talia relationship disconnect, but like everyone has been saying.. This is Nolan’s story.
Also, the back and forth between the Bat and the Cat was great. Exactly how I envisioned it would be.
All in all, it’s one of the greatest trilogies of all time…. Not including the Jurassic Park series of course 😉
Where was the Lazarus Pit implied?
Not quite as good as BATMAN BEGINS, but WAY better than THE DARK KNIGHT.
Yes. This.
Dents character arc was frought with whining.
I’m not so sure John Blake was a new Robin, I think he’s Jason Todd. Think back to him telling his origin, its almost exactly like Jasons, plus the fact that he was a hot head. Call me crazy but I’m thinking he was totally Jason.
Anyway, I do have several gripes with the film, but overall it was a satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy. Tom Hardy was obviously the standout, he was just so badass as Bane. Just as I had always imagined the character. Unfortunately, while my favorite character Catwoman was definitely written well, I just didn’t buy Anne Hathaway as her. She just doesn’t have the presence of a survivor who grew up on the mean streets of Gotham. The costume took some getting used to, but I just don’t feel she was as bad ass as how I see the character on the pages or in my head. Also, some of the supporting characters got shortend, Alfred leaves Wayne Manor and you dont see him for half the film, and then Gordon gets shot is reduced to being in bed for most of the film until the end. What a shame.
If we had to say they based Blake on anyone, it’s most definitely Tim. His admiration for Bruce, his detective skills, and the fact that he figured out his secret identity at a young age is all Tim. Not to mention the incredibly obvious similarity in name (John Blake/Tim Drake). He had characteristics from each Robin, but he shared the most with Tim Drake.
John Blake is John Blake. He might be somewhat of a composite of Robin characters, but that’s the joke about his birth name in the end.
I don’t see Blake ‘as’ anyone else but the character we saw. He is not Tim, Jason or Dick.
@jesse that’s the way to think!
@JesseCuster: Which is why I opened with the word “If”.
He’s a amalgam of the first three Robins. He has Dick’s idealism, desire to help people and make them feel better about themselves. He’s got Jason’s anger and backstory. He also has Tim’s detective work and seriousness, as well as a similar sounding name.
Blake is both an amalgam AND his own character. It seemed to me a fitting nod to the Robins of the comics without actually trying to insert a Robin into this film series. To do so would have been convoluted and anachronistic. Robin has always had a kind of brightening effect in the comic book, Nolan’s vision was so dark that an actual Robin would have been hopelessly out of place.
I don’t know why but just like Amazing Spider-Man I can’t work up any enthusiasm to go see this. Maybe the first two movies were enough or maybe the superhero movie bubble has burst early for me.
For the sake of ensuring spoilers aren’t in the comments on the front page I’ll open with a TL;DR:
I thought The Dark Knight Rises was an enjoyable film that is by no means a disaster but is certainly not the best of the three films from Christopher Nolan. Too often is it easy to see the “wires” holding the plot together in a script that lurches from brilliant to downright clumsy.
There were aspects of the film which were enthralling.
Tom Hardy was a terrific physical presence, his brutality was palpable in the first fight with Batman particularly. I thought Anne Hathaway did a tremendous job and Christian Bale gave probably his best performance of the three films.
Michale Caine was tremendous as Alfred and his scenes with Bale were beautifully crafted and brought emotional heft even in the midst of exposition.
And was there a lot of exposition.
I enjoyed the film and think it rounds off the series which is no mean feat. But I felt there were a lot of missteps and obvious moments of “moving the plot along” at the expense of sense.
I honestly think JGL is meant to say “Dick Grayson” at the end, as it’s nonsensical for the administrator of Bruce’s will to not recognise the name of John Blake if it is legally John Robin Blake or John Blake Robin. It feels like a not was passed down for that line.
Things happen to allow plot beats too often, Gordon being delivered to Bane (along with his confession, purely to bring Batman’s public opinion back to the level he can lead the army later) felt clumsy. The whole aspect of every police officer except two being in the tunnels when they are leveled was nonsensical, as was them being unable to escape from anywhere but the caved in tunnel and one of the thousands of manholes around the city.
Keeping them alive for five months was another bit of utter daftness. Why did Bane keep them alive? Why so they can lead the counter assault by rushing a wall of machine guns, of course.
The reveal that it was Talia was a bit hard to hide seeing as it’s incredibly hard to cover Tom Hardy’s physicality in either his face mask or the rags he wore when it was obviously him protecting the child in the pit in one of the maaaaany flashbacks of the film.
Too often I was thinking “oh so that’s next,” such as the wasteful signposting of Bruce’s “death.” The sleight of hand employed with the autopilot only works based on the Scooby Doo principle. You mention something or someone important early and hope that the length of the film and the many incidents between fade into memory until the bomb goes off or even better when Fox’s assistants make the discovery.
Instead, Nolan et al seem to worry that the audience won’t get it, and just before Batman’s assault on the city, we have the ponderous scene of Bruce telling Fox it handles pretty well “even without the autopilot” and then “That’s what you’re for.”
Clunk.
The reveal that Talia did it all and then her resolution was too quick, oddly in a film that suffers for poor pacing in the middle. She goes from the femme fatale that shags then stabs Bruce in a hurry, which only works if you emotionally tie in to the fact that she was behind everything (more flashbacks), which in turn diminishes Bane’s impact as a character.
As I said there were moments when I was utterly absorbed in the film, but too often the script devolved into convolution and bluntness in ways the first two films never did.
Some of the choices seemed to forced, such as the close up on Alfred at the end, if we would have simply gone to Blake after the breaking of that perfectly judged smile by Michael Caine (without seeing Bruce Wayne and Kyle seated opposite) I think it would have been much more deftly handled than what we saw. Keep that sense of legend about Batman’s “death,” we know he’s alive, we don’t have to be shown it.
And on that ending, I know some have said that Nolan leaves the door open, but I feel bad for anyone trying to rebot this franchise. Not only because of the overall quality but because I’m not sure where you go tonally to make such an endeavour worthwhile. Is there anything really left to say in the universe Nolan created?
And if not where do you go from here to make any other films stand out? More realistic? More gritty? Or Joel Schumacher? I exaggerate the spectrum of options of course but still I’m not sure where they might go with it.
If anything The Dark Knight Rises suffers from contrast with the fun of the first film and the utter brilliance of the second. By no means a failure, but certainly not quite the triumph I was hoping for.
TL;DR
I couldn’t agree with your assessment more. In fact, the entire rushed feeling of Talia also is a huge plot hole. Why bother allowing the cops to live in the tunnels AND let the bomb wind down to blow on it’s own? Why not just blow the bomb immediately? Why blow the bomb on the timer when you could do so at any time? Was it so she could say FU to Bruce? If everyone thinks he’s dead wouldn’t she not care at that point? Also, if she and Bane were the last leaders of the league of shadows – a society which has rebooted culture’s for centuries – what would they be doing on the island with everyone else when it the bomb detonates? Wouldn’t you blow the island remotely and then live to fight another day (certainly some other city will need to be rebooted in some far off future)?
I guess that in the end, for me, I could pick many pieces of the film apart and that’s the reason why I don’t think it’s the best one of the trilogy. That being said, I think it was a very enjoyable film and I liked it quite a lot.
I would never assume Talia and Bane are the last of the league, I specifically think they are not part of the league at all anymore.
They A) wanted to make Bruce watch the city tear itself apart as well as B) make the city an example for the rest of the world. 5 months where the government doesn’t do squat and the city still blows would create a LOT of national distress.
We also know the city has been cleaned up, so the cops are a stronger force then ever. Leaving them in play would allow a large chance the city stayed under control.
Relevant >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPFsuc_M_3E
The contrivance of allowing the bomb to wind down slowly while the cops languished underground had more to do with the fact that Bruce Wayne’s punishment had to be more “severe” than death. And it adds to the utter perplexity of the insanity of mayhem for mayhem’s purpose. The point IS that we don’t get it. We’re not supposed to. If we do then we’re as sick and twisted as Bain. Bruce was meant to languish in his hellish prison while watching the city he loved die an extended, miserable death.
I propose that we change the name of the “Chekhov’s gun” idea to be permanently replaced with “the Scooby-Doo” principle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov's_gun
I’m not making fun; they’re both totally right and totally awesome.
Great Great film…
Love that John Blake is totally tim Drake (i mean even the name rhymes) .
My only major problem is that Alfred Leaves, that is very unlike Alfred.
Agreed. That is the only part of the movie that I can say I hated. I really enjoyed the movie but that drove me insane, it was like they got so caught up in everything else they just forgot about Batman’s strongest relationship.
Alfred leaves Bruce in the Knightfall storyline in the comics, so this was consistent.
In the movie, he doesn’t chose to leave. He tells Bruce the truth about Rachel, at which point Bruce says “goodbye” – Alfred knew that he was sacrificing his relationship with Bruce, but did it in the hope it would force him to “get a life”!
Batman Begins was good, I had to tough out the dark knight, but this was just crappy. The movie’s pacing sucked, I had hoped to see more of Ra’s, Bane was again, kind of a brute with NO Venom! The ending could be seen a mile away and they still managed to make it thoroughly awful. And “Robin” John Blake…. REALLY? 5 robins and they had to make one up? They could have at least named him “Officer Kelly” and us fans would have known, and the moviegoers could just assume at the end! Not everything has to be spelled out! I’m relieved that they didn’t call Selina Catwoman, however, and I liked the blowing of the bridges because it looked like that scene was ripped right out of Gates of Gotham…. and out of Batman’s vast 70+ years of fictional history, that’s what Nolan decides to duplicate? I wish I hadn’t wasted my money on thisatrocity. Forget this movie, I’m gonna go check out that Pixar movie.
How does it feel though, to have a fringe opinion? I mean, either you’re right, and the movie sucks, or the vast majority of people here are wrong, and the movie is good.
Can BOTH be true?
Or, and this has become somewhat of a motto for me in the last few years… what if you’re just WRONG?
I wish more people would ask themselves that one to be honest… I try to use that any time I’m about to offer an opinion that’s strong.
Personal taste shouldn’t be dictated by mob rule. He didn’t like it and you did. End-o-story.
No one is right or wrong, it’s a movie.
Well, actually YOU are wrong ronster for indulging in the weird groupthink mob mentality tendencies that erupt around these films. Let the man have his own opinions, unless you are so insecure about your own that you can’t handle an opposing point of view.
Oh, i couldn’t care less if he likes it or not, that wasn’t my point.
It’s just that we’re all encouraged to have opinions and stand by them, but I’m interested in why people rarely examine the thought processes that have us believing that our opinion is also the RIGHT one.
For example, I have a good friend who thinks The Godfather is a crap movie. She also accepts that her opinion may be wrong. See what I mean? Her reaction to that movie is a negative one, but she readily admits that the failing may be in her, and not the art.
It’s something I’ve been throwing around as an idea for a while, that certain ideas or pieces of art also don’t just need to be good to gain traction, you also need a populace that has the receptors, if you will, for that particular idea to take root.
The Avengers is a good example – the vast populace clearly has something in them that responds to the world presented in those movies. If they didn’t, it wouldn’t gain traction.
So when I say someone’s feelings about a movie may be wrong, I guess what I’m saying is that the possibility is that they don’t have the ‘hooks’ in them that are looking for what the movie is offering, to interface with its ideas etc, and that it mightn’t be the movie’s fault, especially if the VAST majority of people enjoy it.
This also works for negative ideas like racism etc – explains why it takes root better in some societies than others, and why those who reject negative ideas in societies like that have trouble understanding everyone else’s bigotry.
It’s just a fun thought experiment I’ve been running with for a while, and it’s one that has resulted in me looking inwards at my reaction to books, comics, film and TV a lot more than I used to. For example, if I’m repulsed by something in a movie, I accept that there’s something in MY experience or psychological make-up that is reacting to it. Person B might not have the same feeling at all.
I’m now prepared to be shot down.
totally disagree with your overall assessment, but I do agree a bit regarding Bane. During the final fight scene, I literally had the theme of Rocky streaming through my brain. It was too contrived on some level. But overall, I felt this was an incredible film and don’t think I understood it all. There are references in here that have forced me to add Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities to my reading list (since Nolan lists that masterpiece as inspiration for this film). I think this film will require several viewings to really appreciate its grandeur.
Loved the movie, but didn’t like that John Blake literally was named “Robin.” It didn’t take a comic-book fan to realize that Blake is Robin. My wife doesn’t know a thing about comic books and she came to that realization halfway through the movie.
I also disliked that, in the end, Bane was a bit of a softie. I’ve only read Vengeance of Bane and Knightfall. In any other books, does Bane have this sort of connection with Talia Al Gul?
well, in the comics they were lovers, so….
Thanks. (Like I said, I’ve read only two of Bane’s story lines.)
Also, in Gail Simone’s Secret Six, Bane was shown to develop strong paternal instincts for another strong willed deadly woman.
@Nightwing97
Dang, Talia sleeps with EVERYbody in the Bat-universe: Bruce, Jason Todd, Bane…
Just, wow. Blown away. Started off a little slow with Wayne being a hermit like character. But from there, it was all great. I enjoyed seeing his first night back out on the cycle, because it was the first time we had saw Batman from TDK, it felt like he had been away for that amount of time.
I’ll be seeing it again very soon, enjoyed it. I can’t even begin to compare it with the other 2 films, they are all very different, they are trying to achieve different goals and I think each one does exactly what is expected.
My biggest problem with the film is that the plot revolves around Bane starting a revolution by threatening to blow everyone up, which is going to happen regardless? Makes no sense to me.
I really loved parts of this movie and didn’t enjoy others.
Some shots should have been cut and others needed to be seen. EVERYONE in my theater laughed when Talia died and it was hilarious. Worst death I’ve ever seen in a good movie.
I think eventually this movie and the other two will blend very well into each other until we just think of them as one.
With a little more time in the scripting phase I think this could have been the best of the three. Bane was awesome, but extremely hard to understand.
Bane wasn’t actually trying to start a revolution. He was just fucking with the people of Gotham–giving them some hope for a chance of survival before killing them. The general population didn’t know that the bomb was going to go off no matter what.
@conor Thank you. I must admit I got pretty distracted at times and would without a doubt benefit from a second viewing! So simple and yet I over looked that idea.
That part was revealed during the conversation with Bane and broken back Bruce in the prison. The whole convo was about false hope making the torture worse.
1. I hated the Talia death, and you just reminded me how much, but it clearly didn’t stick 12 hours after the fact so it doesn’t really detract from the film for me.
2. I get the whole “Hope is your torture as it’s Gotham’s” but why the arbitrary amount of time for the torture? Why leave the cops alive in the tunnel’s for so long? And, if Talia had the trigger the entire time, why wait to “shove it in the face” of Batman when he’s supposedly never getting out of that pit anyway? “Oh Shit, Batman is ACTUALLY back? BLOW it all up!” – Movie is over.
There were a bunch of shots that were unintentionally hilariously bad acting. Talia’s death sticks out because it’s a main actress but there was also a man in the football stadium, a guy chanting while Bruce was climbing in the prison, and others. Didn’t ruin the movie at all I just thought it was very funny.
It really bothered me how much violence happened off screen. The most notable person dying offscreen was Matthew Modine who is firing and fine camera cuts back and he looks like he’s just taking a nap. His clothes don’t look messed up, no blood, nothing. I don’t need gore it just looks goofy when you’re missing the basic movie effects and it happened a lot particularly with Bane.
@halik That also bugged the hell out of me but it’s actually something that happened just as much in Dark Knight. Think of all the times that Joker killed someone, like when he slit Gambles mouth, or when he shot the cop with a shotgun, I know there are a few other moments too but I really feel like Nolans films are WAY too tame. I’m not asking for gore, but in PG13 film, he CAN show way more than he does, whats he afraid of?
@DarkKnightDetective While I know that happened in TDK it was not cut nearly as well in TDKR nor as often. Bane uses his hands a lot of the time and instead of seeing it…..nvm you know.
@DarkKnightDetective @halik: Excessive blood would have caused the violence in the film to be deemed “intense”, thus netting an R rating.
@Cahubble09 Not at all looking for excessive blood just some blood and not so much happening off screen. Other movies have done much more with a PG13 I felt it was distracting how much was cut away.
@halik: I don’t disagree with you, but I do remember reading that the reason the Two Towers (to cite one example) was able to avoid an R rating for the intense Helm’s Deep battle scene (I mean, seriously, heads and arms were being chopped off right and left) was that orc blood is blue. Of course, suspension of disbelief is particular to each individual, so I can see why you found it bothersome.
Tom Hardy’s performance was all about the eyes and he had ferocity in his scenes. Hathaway was perfect as Catwoman. This was Bale’s finest hour in a Batman movie. It was good to see him really get to flex his chops in this franchise. I know it was not perfect but I really liked the movie. I am not ready to say it was better or worse than TDK or Begins. I want more viewings first, but I will say that is a worthy successor and holds itself up with the others.
If you think that it is at the bottom of your list of the trilogy that does not mean that it’s a bad movie at all. Many people rank ‘Jedi’ as the worst of the first three Star Wars movies, and that’s not because it’s bad, it’s just that people like the first two a little more. Personally for me I rate the movies as Batman Begins: B+, The Dark Knight: A+ and The Dark Knight Rises: B+. My biggest gripe with the film is a bit of a more ridiculous plot compared to the first two films, but it’s helped by really great performances.
@jman. I totally agree. This was a good movie, but it missed the mark on being a “great” movie IMO. They tried to make the story WAY too big. There is always a suspension of belief with any comic book movie, but that is what set the Nolan movies apart from others was that they were mostly based in something that could actually happen.
The 2 things that really drove me crazy about the movie were:
1. The Pit. So wait, Bane got the crap beat out of him by all these evil vile criminals in this horrible prison. A place where he grew up in darkness and learned to have no hope. But when Batman gets thrown in there, does anything bad happen to him? No. Even after they nurse him back to health (For money from Bane, which is completely ridiculous because what does a man who lives in a pit and will never get out need with money?) Even after he is healthy again, they don’t beat him up. He’s this little rich snob and he doesn’t get the crap beat out of him by these evil horrible criminals who helped “create” Bane? Really?
2. Cops in the subways and sewers for 3 months?! Are you kidding me? I could believe that they would survive after a week. maybe even 2-3 weeks. But trying to say that 3,000 people would survive in there and sit and do nothing for 3 months. Totally unbelievable.
Now, the whole movie wasn’t bad. I loved the twists, and was so happy to see Talia in the movie. It tied in very nicely to the first movie. But it was not as good as the first movie. Begins B+, TDK A+, TDKR B-.
@Jim
1. Bane got beat up because he helped the little girl (Talia) escape. A bunch of depraved criminals forever banished in a hole in the ground already wasted through their first piece of female rape meat (Talia’s mother), Bane just helped their 2nd piece escape and got punished for it
2. Food/supply drops. Maybe you went to the bathroom during these scenes? Bane was keeping them alive. There’s literally a scene where there’s a net full of supplies being lowered into the tunnel of cops. There also a piece of dialog that said as much
Oh… also… not EVERY prisoner beat up Bane, just a select, rabid group. When Talia explains her story to Bruce, Ra’s had gone back down into the hole and took care of the animals, saved Bane, and left the rest behind.
@Jesse Thanks for the comments.
“Ra’s had gone back down into the hole and took care of the animals, saved Bane, and left the rest behind.”
I remember this part now. Good point so I can see how this would explain things a little better.
“1. Bane got beat up because he helped the little girl (Talia) escape. A bunch of depraved criminals forever banished in a hole in the ground already wasted through their first piece of female rape meat (Talia’s mother), Bane just helped their 2nd piece escape and got punished for it”
I get that and it makes sense. I was just surprised nothing really bad happens to Bruce while he was down there. It wasn’t even that dark in those scenes. It was darker and more depressing when he was in the prison at the beginning of Batman Begins.
“2. Food/supply drops. Maybe you went to the bathroom during these scenes? Bane was keeping them alive. There’s literally a scene where there’s a net full of supplies being lowered into the tunnel of cops. There also a piece of dialog that said as much”
I didn’t go to the bathroom, but I must have completely missed this part. I went and saw all 3 movies, so I was really tired at this point. I am going to see it again tomorrow, so I might be more attentive.
Again, thanks for the comments. Hopefully my reactions will change after watching it a second time.
I would like to point out that when they say “He’s paying us more to keep you alive” or whatever that line is, that I would assume they didn’t mean money, it’s probably in the way of favors. Maybe they’re getting extra food, maybe they have family on the outside that could be taken care of. That sort of thingl.
Also, the point of the prison was light, but with no hope for ever reaching it. There was a speech about it. “You cannot know true despair without having hope.” (paraphrase, but yes.)
I just wanted to say that after a second watching with more sleep, this movie was significantly better. I loved it the second time around, and just as everyone mentioned, there are explanations to all of my problems with the movie. I would give it an A now. I don’t think it’s as good as TDK, but it was much better than I thought the first time I saw it at midnight.
Thanks to all those who commented. -Jim
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See, I was under the impression that a lot of the denizens of the Pit, by the time Bruce wound up there, were the original guards and employees of the prison after Ra’s cleaned house, as well as enemies of the League that had been deposited there over the years. I come to that conclusion primarily because the prison doctor is still there, as he was left there for what he’d done to Bane. Also, when Ra’s rescued Bane from the Pit after Talia found her father, Bane didn’t appear to be in a massive amount of pain, unless the mask was applied under those bloody rags covering his face, and it didn’t appear that was the case. I could be wrong, though.
Loved it. As with most comic book movies i have to turn off my institutional memory so as not to jade my viewing. as this is the ‘Nolanverse’ you have to adjust just like with XMen First Class. I admit i was quite skeptical about Bane going in and was pleasently surprised. Also the the small touches/nods to the Bat mythos, crocs in the sewer, Deadshot etc. Sidenote for debate had Heath lived how would TDKR been? Bane’s tactics were quite Joker like in some instances.
If you think about it, Bane actually got further than Joker. With each movie, the villain has gotten closer to winning. Kind of strangely reversed dynamic, but I find it really interesting.
Nice notice on the crocs in the sewer. Where was Deadshot implied?
I think that if Heath had lived, he might’ve fit the role that Scarecrow had, had they decided to stick with Bane. Maybe not, maybe he’s too big of a character.
Doesn’t say crocs, says alligators.
SHOULD have said crocs though…
@ksaldana92
I know there was a sniper in the movie (so damn long) and I think it was when the baddies were chased out of the bar by Selina’s ploy with the congressman’s cellphone alerted the cops. The cops run through chasing them out into the alley and at some point after that a sniper is taking potshots at them from above. They cut to him a few times. Presumably that’s your Deadshot reference.
ya i remember a sniper too
was the burn gorman character supposed to be deadshot-ey?
Agreed… I’m pretty sure Black Mask was in the movie too… Lots of Bat baddies in the movie
Didnt pick up on Black Mask however he would make a great villian in the next one IF Goyer decides to do it. Also Daggett…i was expecting his right handman to get turned into Clayface..even though this Batverse shys away from the Monsters of Batman…whic isnt a bad thing…makes Batman more real IMO like a true crime drama
I really enjoyed it. Like all of Nolan’s films, it’s gonna take another viewing or two to really digest everything, but that’s fine by me. My first impression is that it was a wonderfully optimistic ending to what has become one of my favorite trilogies of all time.
I thought Tom Hardy did a great job. The voice he chose worked brilliantly, and aside from a line or two, I understood him perfectly fine. If Nolan couldn’t use the Joker, I think it was the smartest choice he could’ve made to take it in this direction. Not once did I draw comparisons to Joker or even DK during the film. Not once.
It was nice to see the focus shift back to Bruce in this one. That’s probably what I enjoyed the most, as it’s always been one of my problems with DK. I thought Bale kicked it up a notch in this one. He really showed us a full range of emotion. Something that I’ve missed since Begins.
Hathaway was competent. I have my issues with her, but she certainly conveyed the confidence and capability of Selina, if not the prowess. Cotillard was delicious as always. I thought she made a great Talia, and really sold me on it in the short time she had to twirl the figurative moustache. Gordon-Levitt really delivered. I’m a fan of his, but he impressed me here. I believed every second of it and really identified with Blake. He was US up there. He was the fanboy. I thought his entire arc worked beautifully.
The scale of this film was astounding. I’ve always loved No Man’s Land, and it was nice to see it get so much attention. The action was off the charts, and the tension was unbearable in some spots (the first fight between Bane and Batman was hard to watch, even for those of us who saw it coming). I thought the storytelling was much tighter than Dark Knight, and far more economical.
I have my nitpicks, but I’ve chosen not to post them. They’re too few to be of any consequence, and I’m trying to savor the optimism I drew from the ending of the film. This is bittersweet for me. On one hand, it’s all over. But on the other hand, as both a Batman fan and a movie buff, I honestly couldn’t ask for anything more.
You’re last paragraph is my general feeling as well.
I was cringing so many times in this movie when Bane was on the screen during the fight scenes & the stadium scene as well was so shocking. I think Bane was the Nolan Universe’s best Batman villain, IMO.
Blake isn’t Robin (aside from the name.) He ‘s Batman 2.
@theempireneverended: What? Not once do I refer to Blake as Robin.
A great end to this trilogy. It does have its faults, and not as near-perfect as The Dark Knight was, but its still really good.
Like someone else above said… TKDR isn’t bad, its just the first 2 are better. Its like owning 2 platinum diamond rings and 1 gold ring. Gold might not be as sought-after as platinum, but you’re not exactly going to toss it in the trash.
What amazes me is the amount of ‘theory’ that people come up with to parts that had no room for theory. Sometimes I wonder if people see something, and their brains just immediately deny what they’ve been shown?
I love the alternate take on the Batman story and myth. I’m a litte torn about the ending because, truthfully, I do not want to see a ‘sequel’ or spin-off from this franchise…. but yet the way Nolan left it, I kind of do! But I would vote more for having an all-new trilogy with all new story and characters. Just… we don’t need the origin story. Skip that part.
I want Batman Beyond and then once that is done reboot Batman.
This movie left me shaking. I was flabbergasted. I was suffocating under the intensity that I could not believe outmatched The Dark Knight’s tension. Bane vs. Batman was one of the most brutal & satisfying matches in superhero films (maybe in films general?) as well as the twist at the end which Nolan pulled the same trick over my head that he did with Ra’s in Batman Begins & its oh so wonderful. I really enjoyed Bane b/c of the fact that he truly BEAT Batman & DECIMATED Gotham. He achieved so much more than any other villain in the Nolan/Bale Batman Universe. And the hatred in Tom Hardy’s eyes really carries Bane’s intimidation. Also I loved the cameos of Ra’s & Scarecrow (especially). I always suspected that No Man’s Land would be an inspiration for the film, but I never would have guessed just how much of it was taken into the storyline. Knightfall had mostly its most famous moment be prevalent here. I was literally in tears during the last few minutes by hearing Alfred’s apology. I mean that was just so heartbreaking, I really think Caine deserves an Oscar for this. As well as Bale, b/c Batman’s recovery through Bale’s expressions & physicality really were haunting & sensational. The Dark Knight Rises was not only the best movie of 2012, it was the best movie of the new millennium, so far, IMO.
I also think that Caine stole the show as far as acting was concerned. He certainly deserves a nomination at the very least. He was superb.
Can’t believe no-one has mentioned the fairly big editing snafu:
Ok, so when we get to the end of one of the kangaroo court scenes with Scarecrow, Bane turns to a henchman and says ‘Bring her to me’, meaning Miranda.
Shortly after Bruce Wayne arrives at the court having been ‘captured’ – he chats to Gordon and asks that Miranda be looked after – she’s right beside Gordon at that point.
THEN, when Gordon has his moment in court and is sent onto the ice, he tells Batman that Bane had Miranda.
I think it’s pretty clear that the shot with Bane asking for Miranda to be brought to him was meant to happen at the END of Gordon’s ‘trial’. That gives a sensible chain of events. Somewhere along the line that piece got tacked at the end of the wrong court scene, thus breaking Miranda’s chain of custody, as it were.
It’s simply fixed though, just by moving the shot and, if they have it, putting in a reaction shot of Gordon seeing Miranda being taken.
End of editing lesson.
Didn’t spoil my enjoyment if the movie one bit though. Loved it.
@theronster I noticed this as well but figured I somehow missed something. It happened and I just though uhhh what? Strange no one caught that. I think there were a bunch of little areas of the film that should have been cut out as well.
Yeah I noticed her clothes but I didn’t think it was actually her so I was confused for a sec too
Very good, but not quite as good as TDK or The Avengers. I enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to the review podcast and Paul’s review.
I’m writing this sentence to avoid spoilers on the front page, writing, writing, writing, blah de blah blah blah batman and stuff and other things and whatnot yes yes.
Okay, there we go.
Can I just say I want something horrible to watch a movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Damien? With all of my heart. The guy owned this film, I honestly found him to be the star protagonist and when Christian Bale was on screen I honestly sometimes found my toe tapping a bit.
It was suggested to me that I would probably just prefer a cut where Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Bruce Wayne as well. This is probably true, I would watch that despite the potentially awkward scene with Joseph Gordon-Levitt telling Joseph Gordon-Levitt that he knew he was Joseph Gordon-Levitt the whole time. Done.
I totally get this. It’s a John Blake world and Batman just lives in it. I just dig the guy as a leading man.
I love JGL as an actor. He’s so good in so many movies. And something of a chameleon, too. He can really pull off that “I almost didn’t recognize him” trick that’s so cool in movies. Not by makeup, but just by his demeanor. Awesome chops. Check out The Lookout for a great noir crime story or Hesher which is just balls crazy. I was already looking forward to that bicycle messenger thriller he’s in called Premium Rush, but after this I’m definitely going to see it in the theater.
Best movie of the trilogy. I thought it was a much better paced movie than The Dark Knight. The one problem I had with The Dark Knight was that Ledgers performance was SO good that he overshadowed everybody else in the film, and I constantly just waited for the Joker to come back on screen. But with TDKR everybody’s performances were equally great with maybe a slight nod going to Gordon-Levitt. All in all this was a great ending to one of the best trilogies ever made.
Oh! And who else loves that Nolan sticks Jonathan Crane in every sequel for shits and giggles? I thought Cillian Murphy was perfect in his little role once again.
yeah i thought that was great, but it was also kind of weird because his set-up (a bizarre courtroom) would have been an obvious place to plug two-face into instead of scarecrow, but i guess nolan definitely wanted to keep two-face dead. and it worked for me
@thered I thought the exact same thing and agree with you 100%.
I push spoilers away. Like bull!
Did anyone else feel that Bruce came out of retirement too quickly? I get that Gordon got shot, but after 8 years of not being Batman it bothered me that he jumped right back into it after hearing about Bane primarily through reputation. I felt like more mayhem that was beyond the cops needed to happen first or that Bruce had to at least really wrestle with the decision.
That said, I loved the movie
I think what REALLY drove Bruce out of his shell was Selina. He was intrigued by her and that was the catalyst that lead to everything else.
It wasn’t just that Gordon was shot. It was several things. Like Selena taunting him about not giving back, or Alfred encouraging him to go back to living (Though he chose the way Alfred hated.) Fox was even pushing him back to it with the Bat.
I liked it, but I don’t think it reaches the same heights of quality that Dark Knight did. That’s probably partially my own expectations’ fault, but also because DK had such a fantastic villain and story. Catwoman was great, the best non-comic interpretation I think we’ve ever had. The supporting cast–Gordon, Alfred, etc.–were great. But a lot of things just felt…off, I guess. I didn’t “feel” like a Batman movie most of the time, the way the 1st 2 did.
Also, I started the movie with a fundamental problem, that Batman doesn’t quit. I get that in the 1st 2 they set up that connection between him & Rachel, and he felt really bummed about her dying, but Batman shouldn’t quit. And it was directly tied into my biggest problem with DK, with him taking the fall for Two-Face instead of blaming, say, Joker.
I dunno. As a trilogy, it’s fantastic, definitely better than the original batch of Bat-films. And I think any of the 3 could hold their own against any other superhero movie. Maybe my opinion will improve if I watch it again, without having done a marathon of the other 2 first.
I didn’t have an issue with that. I immediately thought it was a nod to The Dark Knight Returns, although somewhat more optimistic (ironically enough, given the rest of the film.) Instead of criminals running around unfettered, in this version we have a particularly strict city government that allowed the streets to be cleaned up as it were.
Batman not quitting was an issue I had with the ending. I thought it was done extremely well and fit perfectly in the context of the three films; but Batman doesn’t want to stop being Batman. That’s the life he wants and he would continue to do it as long as humanly possible, maybe longer. He’s 1000% committed.
Blew me away, from start to finish and the perfect ending. Where TDK was all about the chaos the Joker brings with him, this was a beautifully paced, planned and executed movie. Bane’s plan actually reminded me a lot of the Siege story from LOTDK way back (by Robinson and Rogers). In the end, while they take inspirations from great stories I feel they’ve become their own mythology…which is great because for me it meant that anything goes.
I was surprised by how much lighter it felt than the first two, even Bale managed a lot more smiling. His happy ending felt really earned. I thought Hathaway was absolutely exceptional and the movie turned Levitt from an actor into a star…it really hit home in the hospital shotgun scene.
I hope the book is closed here tho’, as it makes for a perfect trilogy. While it was left open ended in a well crafted way, I hope any future film is a reboot altogether. I’ll miss Oldman though, the most pitch perfect Jim Gordon we will ever see and the beating heart (with Alfred) of each of these movies.
This movie NEEDS an extended cut. It could greatly benefit. I would love that so so much, but I think Hell might freeze over first.
I hope there is a recut that add’s about 15-20 minutes of footage that helps explain some things and helps to develop more of the characters.
@Markavo Same. I’m hoping theres a scene showing how people get to certain locations and more of a reason for Alfred leaving for almost no reason. A little argument? Come on.
Also did the plane scene really work for anyone? No one I know liked it. Just didn’t feel right.
I thought it was fine other than the fact that the wreckage would have been so scattered that the government wouldn’t buy it.
That was one of those scenes where I wasn’t particularly following along what was happening and thought to myself, “Okay. So… I think all I need to take away from this is Bane = super bad guy. I’m just going to gloss over everything else.”
It was just a little clunky, kind of like some other bits in the film (even though I overall quite liked it.)
I thought it was impressive on a technical level and liked how it escalated, but it’s got nothing on the Joker character intro from TDK.
Thanks for the responses. I agree the film and that scene in particular were a bit clunky. It might sound stupid but I feel like everyone saying it was perfect and the best movie ever shouldn’t take away from my enjoyment but it does. A flaw of mine I guess.
I think the plane scene was too similar to Joker’s intro also the whole (I’ve been here all along thing. Do you see how smart I am?) That’s just my take though, and I’m glad it was as good as it was.
I loved the prologue. It was creative, and we were introduced to the degree of extremity and calculation that Bane would go to accomplish his ends. Perhaps I’m stating the obvious, but the man Bane kidnapped in that scene was Dr. Pavel, who was essential to the later fusion bomb plot.
@Cahubble09 Felt too over the top and too much like The Joker to me. I did love Bane though. Esp in the sewer scenes.
Sure it’s sexist but no one else has said it yet:
Ann Hathaway was stunning in her jump suit. I didn’t really like the “goggles” but the costume certainly played to her best assets. Those big bright eyes of hers were just what I think of when I think of Catwoman and each version were she is drawn with big eyes is my favorite version.
I think you’re okay saying that. I was happily placated with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and I think I managed to even oogle Tom Hardy even though he scared the crap out of me. That’s probably weird…
She looked terrific! I’m hot and cold on Anne Hathaway, depending on the role. But I loved her in this.
I went in with a chip on my shoulder even though I like Anne Hathaway. I wasn’t impressed with the preview stills and was a bit worried that she wasn’t right for the part. But I was convinced right away by her intro scene burglary where she (and the audience) meets Bruce. When she flipped backwards out of the window, escaping, I thought, “That’s Catwoman! They nailed it.” She really delivered throughout the rest of the film, too.
Catwoman is my favorite character, and I’ve been thinking about what it is that bugged me about her in this movie. You know what, I think I just find Anne Hathaway really obnoxious. Seriously, I couldnt stand her in Rachel Getting Married, and even in interviews for this film I found myself wincing and just thinking “I just hope this isnt how your Selina really acts”. Yep, I guess I sort of hate Hathaway maybe? Which is a shame because I thought the character was written ALMOST perfectly, but I also didn’t really buy the fact that Bruce would be into her even though she stole his mothers pearls, woah woah woah you dont do that, and then leads him to getting the shit kicked out of him by Bane. And he still has a thing for her? I dont know, theres a big leap in logic there.
Also, no whip? WHAT. THE. FUCK.
The whip makes no sense, even in the comic. I love Catwoman, but the only reason it works for her is tradition. It’s not a practical weapon, it’s not a practical swinging device, it’s not even a good belt.
I thought she was great. “No one told me it was uncrackable.“
@DarkKnightDetective: Selina has betrayed Bruce (usually for profit or to save her tail) plenty of times over the years. And he still can’t resist her. He loves her, and ya can’t help who ya love. Not even Batman.
I REALLY like the movie. I would go so far as to say I was more impressed coming out of this one than The Dark Knight. Though it may be because it is the ending, and I haven’t rewatched Dark Knight recently.
I went to the midnite release here in the Detroit area and while I liked it, that was a let down expecting to love it like I did the 1st two and didn’t think Nolan was gonna drop the ball and maybe he didn’t but there are a few things that could’ve made this have sooo much more impact. A trilogy of this caliber with that director should’ve had fireworks moment climax’s and instead they felt like smoke bombs. To be the epic conclusion to his Batman/Bruce Wayne trilogy the fights between Bats n Bane should’ve literally been 15min onscreen time knock down drag em out fights where Batman is all tore up by the time its over, bloody, costume destroyed and won on the 2nd fight by being a smarter fighter and also should’ve pulled out all the stops on the gadgets in saving the city from Bane and Talia’s master plan instead of that ugly Batwing type thing that didn’t do much.I didn’t mind the twists,thought Tom Hardy came up w a great voice for an original take on this character and he was evil, I liked the ending setting up for other things legacy wise but would’ve liked them to leave Talia alive and pregnant for Damian but a Joseph Gordon Levitt Robin/Nightwing should be cool on its own. Didn’t have the impact I thought it would have had but was still good.
Didn’t feel like a conclusion to a trilogy but the beginning of something else and thats exactly what it probably is with Nolan’s brother taking over but if its the end of Bruce Wayne as Batmans story, he deserved a bigger, better send off.
I thought the film was awful. It played more like a 3 hour collection of deleted scenes from a more engaging film. Disjointed scenes, clunky dialogue. Again the climax revolves around a “device” I came in without much expectation but still left really disappointed.
Christopher Nolan cannot seem to wrap his head around romantic relationships or relationships in general. It seems that way in all his films. Bruce’s connection to Talia is non-existent so the twist would have still been non-effective, even if we didn’t see it coming for over a year. Why does he run away with Catwoman? Because she’s there? How has this man not married one of the floozies he parades around with when he acts like a millionaire playboy? I”m surprised he didn’t marry that ballerina who he went on a date with in Dark Knight. She really liked Batman… and money.
Please! If I ever commit a crime, send me to that “Hell Pit” of a jail. No guards. All your cellmates are doctors. They help you get on the rope swing. They’re always chanting. Oh yeah, and there’s no threat of gang rape in the showers.
In a movie about a vigilante, why don’t any other citizens help the police in the end? Are all the able body men in gotham who aren’t policemen in jail now? Is that what the Harvey Dent Act is? End crime by locking up all the men?
Did we really need to call him Robin? We got the point! I wanted an extra bit at the end where they said the Mathew Modine’s character’s real name was Chief O’hara (The really Irish cop the always answered the phone with Gordon on the 60’s Batman program)
If they ever publish the last issue of Batman, and Jim Gordon didn’t know Bruce Wayne was Batman the whole time, I’ll rip my hair out,
Seeing Cillian Murphy kinda bummed me out. I like the Scarecrow character but you know that was the role for the Joker in this film. Yes, I know this was written years after his death but still… Also, too bad they didn’t just plug the Penguin in as the judge sending men off to their icy graves.
Any why Does Batman suddenly become MacGrueber when he’s supposed to be getting rid of the bomb. Just take off your mask, say “bye” and get rid of the thing!
I really thought Scarecrows’ fear toxin was going to make an appearance when they showed him as the judge, whether it be him using it on the “exiled” citizens or Batman (being the detective he’s supposed to be) using a weaponized version of his own to his advantage. The scene where that old blind doctor explains why you need fear kinda pushed that idea as well, I was surprised when it didnt pop up in this movie at all.
Also….wtf happened to Batmans grappling hook and batarangs? I dont remember a scene in TDKR where he uses either one.
Well I thought this was fantastic. This was the first time I went in with knowledge from the comics (TDK got me to venture into the comic shop for the first time), so I saw a few things coming, but they were executed so well it didn’t bother me. Admittedly my opinion is a little biased, because I love Batman, Christopher Nolan films, and the entire cast; they would have really had to try to disappoint me, and they didn’t even come close. I’m so happy that this trilogy managed to be so entertaining, and it really is in a class of it’s own as far as comic-based movies go. I loved The Avengers, and the movies that led up to it, but they are firmly in the “Popcorn” Marvel arena (righfully so), and the Batman films clearly aim for–and in my opinion achieve–something more.
I want to see it again so I can soak it all up without so much overexcitement, my heart and mind were racing the whole time. I’d been patiently waiting for this since I saw TDK, so my giddiness probably got the best of me. The cast was really wonderful, everyone did a great job portraying their respective characters.
I can’t wait to talk to you guys about this!…..
In about 48hrs cause I’m not watching it till Sunday at 2pm….so I won’t talk about it till 6pm or later that night….
So yeah, no offense, but I’m avoiding you guys like the plague. Until then:
LALALALALALALA!!!!
I absolutely loved this. Not sure where I rank it compared to the other 2 yet, but I can’t wait to go see it again!
so barbara as the love interest for JGL in the next one then?
please?
so, no next one?
Please?
Chris Nolan’s made it pretty clear he’s done directing Batman movies. And as much as I love these movies, I say good for him. Dude is SUPER talented and I’d rather see what other original ideas the man who made Memento and Inception has in his brain.
That said, I’d love to see this iteration of Gotham continue in some form, and Nolan and crew certainly left enough for some brave soul with male genitals made of a copper/zinc alloy to continue the franchise and/or let a JGL Batman join the Justice League.
There is no “next one”.
Also, if we’re to believe that the little girl at the end of DK is supposed to be Barbara (which I assume we are, since Gordon doesn’t have another “daughter”), she’d be about 15 at the end of this movie, and apparently living in Cleveland. So that would be creepy.
Just playing Devil’s Advocate.
Fantastic movie and one of the all time trilogies!!! Really enjoyed it!
Did anyone else think Nolan was going to end it with a smile and nod to the screen by Alfred and then cut to credits without actually showing Bruce sitting in the cafe? Figured he would go with an Inception type ending.
Yeah I totally thought that after watching it. I thought it would have been better because it would have been a good way to reference he was alive without actually having to show it. Although the last scene with Blake in the Batcave was badass.
It was okay. By the time I saw it, I brought too much real-world baggage into the theater with me.
You sort of turn on it when you realize the drama of the entire second act could be solved in about half an hour by everyone just getting on one another’s shoulders. I guess they don’t throw you in the pit for being too smart.
I also have a bad habit of writing the scenes that happen offscreen when my mind wanders.
“Hi, excuse me. Do you speak English? My name is Bruce, and I’ve been out in your neighborhood hole for the last couple months…? Yeah. So, listen: how far is it to your airport? I need to book the next flight to a city that has been completely blockaded. Although I don’t have a passport, or any money… no, I don’t mean I don’t have any money on me; I mean I am utterly penniless. Can I use your phone?… wait, everyone I’ve ever known is either dead or disappeared. I guess… I guess I’ll… how far is the nearest sea port?… I see. Landlocked desert, huh? Boy, I am just barely gonna make it in time for that explosion.”
It’s fun to watch you reach so hard.
Oh c’mon Jim, because climbing up the shoulders of 100’s of criminals is way easier than climbing a rockface with holds on it. I know it looks cool in ninja movies, but I don’t think it would work out that well. I’m sure all the murderers would have tried the idea, if only you had been there to volunteer to be on the guy on the bottom.
*Your added offscreen scene did get a chuckle out of me though.
The pit has not a single guard, countless inmates with nothing but free time, and tons of rock and metal bars. Nobody makes a ladder? People live entire lives down there?
It’s not so much a reach as it is the first thing that came to mind when I saw the exit.
Silly rabbit, ladders dont exist in Nolan movies…unless its for trap-doors. Bane teleports the broken bat to prison, broken bat fixes himself with sit-ups and pull-ups, he teleports back to Gotham after some post-broken spine rock-climbing and sets about pouring his kerosene bat-signal out for dramatic effect.
Meanwhile no one can leave the city, but its somehow completely empty. All the citizens are d-bags, except the orphanage kids of course.
My favorite scene was when Batman goes with Selina Kyle to meet Bane for the first time. Right after the ridiculously lame “he’s right behind you” part, there’s a scene where Batman is bouncing around in a dark hall while a thug is trying to shoot him down…..I laughed so hard because it looked like Batman was dancing from side-to-side. That scene alone made me enjoy the movie a bit more.
I like to imagine the smugglers he met in Batman Begins and later used in the skyhook scene in The Dark Knight are the one’s who transported him back into Gotham.
Aren’t smugglers almost by definition criminals? That always kinda bothered me that Bats would depend on criminals to catch a criminal.
It was a great film, my only complaint being that is was too long and that there was too much time where Batman was not on the screen and too much time between Batman being on the screen. For a movie with ‘Dark Knight’ in the title i would have liked to have seen more of the Dark Knight. I also went in not expecting much from Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle and was very pleasantly surprised. She stole the movie for me and Tom Hardy as Bane was not as bad as I feared, but the voice was slightly distracting. Overall i enjoyed it very much. The Dark Knight is still my favorite with the 1989 Batman a very close 2nd and this film tied for 3rd with Batman Begins. Will probably go see it a 2nd time in the next week or two. Maybe my opinion will improve.
Has anyone else wondered why Batman is so adamant about the whole no guns rule when all of his vehicles have prominent machine guns on the fronts and missile launchers (which last I checked were deadlier than guns……)
Intimidation mode.
The reason for his rule is not a mystery. And the way Nolan shows him using the weapons (destroying obstacles in his path, etc.) proves just how neccessary they are. Every vehicle Batman’s ever had has packed heat. It’s nothing new.
I loved this. I was on media black out for this whole thing, so it was all a surprise for me, which I loved. I can’t decide if liked TDK or TDKR better, but I think I’m leaning toward TDKR. I just loved the scale of this. And I loved the twist(s) at the end.
Though I still wonder what happened to the Narrows / Arkham, and also the train that Thomas Wayne built to unite the city. They were just kind of dropped after BB, which isn’t a slight on the series at all, just one of those random things that I thought about after watching BB before this.
Agreed, that monorail network is massive in Batman Begins, but in all the city shots of Gotham in TDK & TDKR, you never see it.
Hell yes, loved it! Great flick, great end to the trilogy. Nolan really brings his own take and isn’t afraid to make departures from the source, and it stands on its own as a great stand alone story. Very nice ending too. Also Catwoman rocked. Awesome.
I love it
Just saw it and loved it. Just wish when Blake gave his legal name at the end that it was Richard instead of Robin.
At first I thought the same thing. But in hindsight, I’m glad they made him an original character, albeit with influences from Dick, Jason and Tim.
Well I saw the film Saturday night and loved it, a few things jarred me though, first up, Banes voice seemed low level frequency dependant ( maybe the cinema I saw it in had that side of the audio cranked up to high ? ) and I found it hard to understand what he was saying a few times. Secondly needed more shots of Anne Hathaway’s backside on the batbike =)…. common she was flipping naughty looking.
It happened in my theater as well, I think its because they panned most of Bane’s voice to the subwoofer. Low frequencies are omnidirectional and quite a few people lose clarity in that frequency range.
what im reading is 50/50 on Banes voice,,i personally loved it and yes he does sound hella like sean connery lol but i thought the voice was awesome,,very different and unique. i might be alone on this but bane is my favorite villain out of the 3 Nolan movies. Every line he had was so powerful and scary,,I loved the part where he kills Dagget. “When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die”
Loved Bane’s huge spectacular ridiculous super-villainy. However, that goddamn score was so loud and constant I had trouble following the dialogue.
I loved it also. It was a really well done finale to the first two films. I would back Michael Caine for best supporting actor. This Batman film missed having a Heath Ledger type of amazing performance and the tone was even more serious than the last film. Anarchy was scary but violent class warfare is a tough sell for a summer blockbuster. Bane didn’t really deliver any surprises, the voice, mask and purpose was all exactly what we thought we would get. Tom Hardy was physically scary as hell though. Hathaway was spot in, and Gordon-Levitt was really good. I loved it more for being such a wonderful wrap up to the first two films than for it’s own merits however.
Unintentional funny moment of the experience… Some guy brought his nursery school age son to the movie. So batman kisses Selina, says good bye to Gordon and lifts off in the Bat with a nuclear bomb hanging from the toe line. He flies over the bay, sunset rising, score swelling up as we all await the explosion…and in this cute lil kid voice we all hear “good bye Batman” from the kid…cue the BOOM.
Haha, that’s nice!
Right after Batman kissed Selina, and Gordon walks up to say goodbye, I kind of hoped they were gonna break the tension with a joke about Gordon wanting a Bat-kiss too. Oh well.
That would have been funny. I really wanted Batman to break out of the bat voice and just say “goodbye Jim” in his normal voice.
Or in the Batman voice “What? You want a smooch too, Commissioner?”
Unbelievable close to the trilogy. Like many other trilogies, the final chapter brings a lot of sentiment and possibly resentment because it is the final chapter. But TDKR goes through so many emotions and closes with the inevitable conclusion, that “You can’t be Batman forever”….It looks at it realistically and has the inevitable, if not difficult for us fanboys to see, true ending of Batman. See Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” for a follow-up, but Nolan, Bale, and CO. did it right. It might not be the best of the series in some people’s eyes, but it was the right ending. As in the original Star Wars series, Empire always rode high, but Jedi was necessary to complete the series, as was TDKR. Great finale.
Walking out I just had one question that irked me. How did they get the motorcycles into the stock exchange?
Ha! My girlfriend had the same reaction to that scene!
Just saw this last night and loved it. And yes I am the rare outlier that liked Batman Begins more than The Dark Knight…and honestly I enjoyed myself more in Rises than in the Dark Knight as well. It may have had to do with just how DARK the second movie was that I felt so beat after watching it whereas I loved the way Rises closes the trilogy off. One thing I loved that people don’t seem to comment on is how Bruce Wayne became a person in this movie. Not just a symbol of justice or vengeance or whatever…he became a person who wanted to live. In my eyes, he became more of a hero because of this.
Did anyone else think the red helmet that Bane wore during the robbery scene was a nod to Jason Todd aka The Red Hood?
OK, Batman’s in a prison. He’s been there for a long time and he escapes. He has nothing but the clothes on his back and he’s in CHINA. How in the name of Stan Lee did he wind up back in Gotham to save the day? Bruce was BROKE, right? Just wondering if this annoyed anyone else…Loved the movie, though!
Even if he wasn’t broke he has no passport and no identification. How fast do you think that American embassy is moving for a guy like Wayne who also can’t explain why he ended up in their country.
“I was in Gotham, I was attacked and I woke up in one of your lovely prisons.”
Does anyone else see the similarities of this story is basically Earth 2’s Batman for old DC? If there was another movie it would be the origin story of Huntress.
You have to suspend a BUSLOAD of disbelief to enjoy this movie. Just sayin’. Even more so than Inception.
Also, is this really a Batman movie? Or just a dystopian future, hero’s quest, adventure story. Replace Bruce Wayne with Bruce Willis, circa 1990, and you’d have pretty much the same story.