278 replies to this topic

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[Colonel Green]

Just got back from the midnight showing.

All in all, I'd call it a fitting conclusion to the trilogy, and likely the best new movie I've seen so far this year (admittedly not a huge amount of competition). Nolan is skilled at cinematic sleight of hand, but I will say that I guessed pretty much the entire climax/denouement midway through, after thinking about how Alfred might reappear -- there's a whole series of foreshadowing pieces scattered throughout that all slide into place pretty easily. I don't think that really takes away, though, because it still has surprises, and a story that plays fair with the audience always runs that risk (plus one reveal that anybody who knows anything about the legacy of Ra's al Ghul will have guessed long before).

Perhaps the thing I most liked about this one is how it takes apart the morals of the ending of the second movie.

I've seen some people who have been very critical of Nolan's female characters, and while I'm not wholly in agreement with that sentiment, I will say that I think Hathaway's Selina Kyle is easily the most interesting lady in any of his movies.

Edited by Colonel Green, Jul 20, 2012 @ 1:25 AM.

[thuganomics85]

Also just got back from the midnight at the IMAX. Line was huge but entertaining. Favorite part was someone mentioned that if you didn't know what the film and just saw the main cast list, you'd would have thought you were seeing some kind of Oscar drama. Because damn: it had four Oscar winners (Bale, Caine, Freeman and Cotillard), two Oscar nominees (Oldman and Hathaway), and both JGL and Hardy are great actors in their own right. This really is a hell of a cast.

Actually, I loved how Nolan filled out the entire movie with familiar faces in various small roles. Off the top of my head, here is who I remember seeing: Brett Cullen, Wade Williams, Josh Stewart (remember him as Joshua on No Ordinary Family), Thomas Lennon, Reggie Lee, Chris Ellis, Rob Brown, Robert Wisdom, Desmond Harrington, Will Estes and Aidan Gillen. It was kind of awesome.

I'll probably post more when I have time to settle on everything but overall, I loved it! I thought it was a great ending to a great trilogy. While I did see the majority of the story coming, I still enjoyed the journey and thought Nolan handled the majority of the story perfectly. The acting was excellent; won't spend too much on the ones who've been in the past films, but the newbies were equally great. As a total Anne Hathaway fanboy, I totally get why some were "Huh?" about her casting, but I thought she more then proved herself. She was great as Selina/Catwoman and despite her good gal image, I easily bout her as both an ass-kicker and calculating seductress. I'm just thrilled for her. Tom Hardy was a beast as Bane, but I actually really liked him as well. I know he will probably always be unfairly compared to Heath's Joker, but I thought Bane was interesting bad guy. I liked that while he was physically imposing, he was also very smart and calm, and seem to always be a step ahead. And while blunt, he could also be strangely charming at times.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard were both great, even though I suspected who their character would end up being.

Without a doubt, the biggest reaction from the audience was the Dr. Crane/Cillian Murphy cameo. And Ra's/Liam Neeson's scene as a vision in Bruce's mind. Makes me sad about what happened to Heath, because I wonder if they had a Joker cameo planned. I understand why they didn't do anything with him out of respect to what happen, but a part of me almost wishes they maybe had a little moment, like maybe during the prison break, someone goes to open a solitary confinement door, only for Bane snap "No! Keep him in there!" And as they leave, you briefly hear the Joker's maniacal laugh behind the door. But I can see why they didn't want to risk coming off manipulating or heartless.

A few minor complaints: the sound was just too damn loud at time, drowning out dialogue. Zimmer's score is awesome, but there is too much of a good thing, movie. A few holes I wish they answered like where did Alfred go when the shit went down. Wish they did a better job introducing Dagger besides him being a jerk and then just having someone talk about how powerful he is (might as well just had him wear a sign that says "I'm a doomed asshole" for his character was worth.) And while most of the acting was great, the exception for me was Matthew Modine as the deputy commissioner. Granted, part of it was his character was just the typical antagonist to Gordon and JGL's Blake, but Modine didn't have any energy in it. I remember reading that Nolan was trying to get Treat Williams for a role but he was busy with something else, and I wonder if this was it, because he would have been a better fit (especially with his past work on Prince of the City.)

But overall, I thought it was close to a perfect send-off. The rest of the crowd seem to love it too, especially the last two scenes. Thank you, Nolan, for making Batman awesome again. Looking forward to what you do next. Same with the cast. I especially hope Hardy continue to rise and Hathaway continue to pick different kind of roles like this.

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[Jaman]

My viewing was very different than the two previous posters. Just saw it in Korea, and while the audience was filled with fanboys and fangirls they're not nearly as reactive as an American audience. Because it lacked the community factor I think my viewing wasn't quite as enjoyable. I liked DKR, but of the three superhero movies this summer it's going to be my least favorite. Also like a lot of people, I'm sure, this post is coming from a place of shell-shock because there was so much packed into the film. I'm sure my thoughts will be better organized tomorrow.

Like the posters said above, this film nearly had it all. The cast was pitch-perfect. Not only were they perfect and they all turned out amazing performances, but each character had ample screen time. With such a large cast I went in worried people were going to be cast aside, or just for show. Nope. They all worked together well, and we got to know each person and understand why we should care.

The music didn't bother me. Any Zimmer is good Zimmer.

The problem for me was the script. It just...didn't engage me until the last ten minutes. The action was spread too far out, and Bruce's time in the prison felt more like an origin story (even though I know it wasn't). Having the film take place over five months didn't gel with me either--we were told about the suffering over those months, but it wasn't shown very well. Then there's the whole foreshadowing. It was so heavy-handed that almost nothing surprised me, and I'm a very casual Batman fan; I've just read a handful of comics.

All that being said...the last ten minutes were perfection. The moment we saw Alfred cry and apologize, I remembered this was a Christopher Nolan film. I hadn't been moved or surprised before, but as soon as Michael Caine let out the waterworks I was a gonner. Even though I guessed JGL's role, it was great to see the reveal. While the final scene could have been a little hokey, I LOVED it. Classic Nolan, and so emotionally satisfying. I'm sure I'll end up seeing the movie again in theaters just for the last ten minutes.

[harvester]

I enjoyed the ending very much as well, but this movie dragged for me. Bruce Wayne spent eight years pouting in a room by himself? How fun.

My issue is the long slog through the middle which is filled with many, many speeches from Bane. How does this guy get so many followers when he so readily kills them? Watching lots of dialogue from a character with very little visible face is tedious, and I had a hard time understanding him.

JGL was my favorite role by far. While the surprises were really clearly marked, they came to a satisfying end.

[scarynikki12]

My friends were cracking up because I cheered when Bane broke Bats' back. Knightfall was such a great story and I was worried that Warner Bros. wouldn't let Nolan do that but he did! I was also delighted to see Talia and Robin. And, while I wasn't remotely worried about Anne as Selina, I was thrilled with her performance all the same. More thoughts later, but I really enjoyed it.

[chailey]

I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was at the same level as The Dark Knight. The ridiculousness of the nuclear bomb plot took me out of the film a bit. There's no way that the bomb wouldn't have affected Gotham (could the Bat really have gotten 6 miles away in around a minute?) No one was blinded by looking at the blast--there was no shock wave. The whole "orphans on the bus" bit was just stupid.

Also didn't get much of a feel for Gotham under siege--12 million people in the city and almost everyone stays indoors?

Wished that we could have seen more of Bane's face, but Tom Hardy worked around the mask through the sheer physicality of his performance. Even when he was just standing in place, he just radiated dominance and arrogance. I loved the way that he out-thought Batman/Wayne almost every step of the way.

I enjoyed Hathaway's performance a great deal. Considering how many disastrous Cat Women we've seen in the past, she did a good job. She was a good foil for Wayne. Did anyone else think that her blonde buddy would be killed by the end of the film?

I'd forgotten that Liam Neeson had filmed a cameo and was glad to see him again, and the Scarecrow bit part was great as well. I was sorry that Alfred was missing through the greater part of the film, but his point of view was stated in Batman Begins and his departure was a logical progression of that. I still think that it was lousy of Bruce to allow him to think he was dead. He should have given him hell in that cafe in Florence. (How did Bruce know which cafe? What is he living on now that he's lost his money?)

I guess that I'm nitpicking--I liked the themes that Nolan explored and his attemot to tie up the saga. Endings are rarely as fun as beginnings

[harvester]

I'm puzzled how 3,000 cops can live in a sewer for five months. Granted, the film stated they were given food, but feeding 3,000 for months on end has to be a logistical nightmare. Even though they only had one set of clothes for five months, they emerged looking pretty fresh.

The climbing thing took too long. I had no doubt he would make the climb and get to the final fight, so it was just too long. I did wonder how he got back to Gotham without any money or resources, and how did he get in the city?

I'm sounding like I hated it, and I did not. However, it did not blow me away.

[Redtracer]

I liked it a lot, but it was definitely my least favorite of the trilogy. There was just too much of everything. Too much plot, too many characters, too many speeches, and so on. I appreciate ambition, but reeling everything in just a bit might not have been a bad idea. The running time was excessive, but at least the pacing kept up. I agree with previous comments about the sound mix; the music was sometimes so loud that I couldn't hear the dialogue. And I also thought Matthew Modine was surprisingly not good.

Also didn't get much of a feel for Gotham under siege--12 million people in the city and almost everyone stays indoors?

Agreed. I thought Gotham had a lot more presence in the previous two movies, if that makes sense. Here, the city seemed more like a movie set (even though I assume most of it was shot on at an actual location) rather than a real place.

On the positive side, I thought this was a big improvement in terms of the action scenes. I've found the fight scenes a little-to-a-lot choppy in the past, but everything seemed so much smoother here. The camera managed to capture as much of the action as possible without it being overwhelming, and there was a limited amount of hyperactive editing. I thought this was Christian Bale's best work in the series as well. He's always been good, but this was the first time where I thought Bruce Wayne/Batman was the most interesting part of the movie (although that might speak more to Bane being a step down from the Joker). Hathaway was terrific too. The last ten minutes or so I thought tied everything up nicely. I wasn't sure how open-ended they were going to go (especially considering that it was pretty obvious where Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character was heading), but the felt like a fitting conclusion to the trilogy, rather than a way to set up the inevitable reboot.

It definitely has some significant flaws, but it's still worth seeing. I'm glad the series was able to go out on a strong note.

Edited by Redtracer, Jul 20, 2012 @ 2:34 PM.

[Watermelon]

I'm so not a dissector of movies but the big thing that truly took me out of the movie was when Bane took over the NYSE it was daylight, but somehow, in between driving away with hostages and going into a parking garage(?), it turns pitch black outside. I soooo didn't get that.

My only other complaint was Bane's mask and altered voice sometimes made it hard to know what the hell he was saying.

[chailey]

My only other complaint was Bane's mask and altered voice sometimes made it hard to know what the hell he was saying.

See, I had the opposite problem--Bane's voice was so enhanced that it sounded unnatural (but understandable). I had real problems hearing/understanding Gordon's voice, though. It was like he was muttering under his breath half of the time.

[Fabrisse]

Perhaps the thing I most liked about this one is how it takes apart the morals of the ending of the second movie.

I saw all three movies back-to-back last night as a marathon, and the morality themes were fascinating throughout.

Off the top of my head, here is who I remember seeing: Brett Cullen, Wade Williams, Josh Stewart (remember him as Joshua on No Ordinary Family), Thomas Lennon, Reggie Lee, Chris Ellis, Rob Brown, Robert Wisdom, Desmond Harrington, Will Estes and Aidan Gillen.

And William Devane as the President. Well, it had to be Devane, Morgan Freeman was busy.

I loved the Scarecrow cameo. It was so fitting for both the character and the theme of insanity (and how we cope and who copes) throughout all three movies.

My audience also reacted loudly to finding out John Blake's name. *G*

I thought Hathaway was terrific as Kyle, but I got a lesbian vibe from her relationship with her roommate. I guess, from the ending, she's bi.

I'm usually disappointed in the third film in a trilogy. While The Dark Knight remains my favorite of the three (and seeing it again last night on the big screen really cemented how good it was), this was nearly as good. One of the reviews I'd read said we don't see Batman until about an hour in. When I saw Batman I straightened up. I couldn't believe it had been close to an hour.

[windy31]

I loved it and I'm bummed that they won't continue the story with the same crew. I thought Anne Hathaway was great.

I too had a tough time understanding Bane. It did sound more clear when he had a longer bit of dialogue but his one-liners were too muffled for me to catch. I think that Heath Ledger's amazing performance aside, the Joker is probably the best comic book villian out there. It's tough to follow up. Jack Nicholson was dynamic as the Joker too. It's just an awesome character period. So no matter how great Bane could be portrayed, it's hard to be as interesting as the Joker.

The ending wasn't a surprise at all re: Bruce and Selina but the JGL reveal was to me.

The movie was a bit slow but I loved it. Patrick Bateman was great and I wish he could play Batman forever.

Edited by windy31, Jul 20, 2012 @ 6:32 PM.

[Writing Wrongs]

I hated Bane's voice. Was he supposed to have an accent or something? At times, it sounded high and effiminate at others menacing. I had a hard time with some dialogue, because the music was so loud.

I really liked the ending.

[AimingforYoko]

I'm puzzled how 3,000 cops can live in a sewer for five months.

Also lack of sunlight apparently retards facial hair growth.
The Talia twist was guessed as soon as Cotillard was cast, so that heel turn didn't have as much sting as it should have. And I kind of guessed that Blake was going to inherit the suit, but I still liked that his real name was Robin.
The fight scenes with Bane were awesome, the best of the whole series.

[portiaslegacy]

I went into this this movie anxious about it. It is probably my least favorite of Nolan's Batman films, despite having Catwoman, my fave Batman characters.

First, I can't say my viewing wasn't affected by current events. I probably will re watch some time after re watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight as I definitely want to review the mythos of the League of Shadows and Harvey Dent's legacy. The movie works better as a tie up than on its own, so it should probably Like many of you I had difficulty with the sound:the score drowned out the dialogue a few too many times and Bane was unclear most of the time. I haven't read the comics so Bane doesn't mean much to me. Compared to The Dark Knight there was definitely a good centered villain. I didn't believe that he would be able to have an army of believers, even with his connection to the League of Shadows. Being physically intimidating doesn't do much. (Also Tom Hardy doesn't do much for me). So much has already been said about trying to make sense of the olitics of the movies, but it is more about

I liked every scene with Anne Hathaway as Selina in it. Catwoman is like the anti-Joker as the chaos she create/desires is not for the sake of chaos, but because the system failed her. I also liked Marion Cotillard, though I agree that I figured out the twist from preproduction. Also by now nuclear bomb plots are more of a pet peeve than a threat.


The audience I was with was pretty enthusiastic, cheering and clapping at moments like Liam Neeson's cameo, the first appearance of Batman, etc.

The ending was great. In other movies it would feel like a cheat but it was pretty welcome at the end. (Also I ship B/C in any incarnation)

Batman Begins is on now, and I have to say Bale has aged. Part of it must be have been related to his change for The Fighter, and given his extreme dedication, he probably kept his weight down for the recluse/prisoner scenes.

[Turkish]

I thought Hathaway was terrific as Kyle, but I got a lesbian vibe from her relationship with her roommate. I guess, from the ending, she's bi.

In the comics, Holly was a street kid who eventually became a protege/ward of Selina's. She even took over the role of Catwoman for awhile. Holly was gay but I don't remember Selina ever being portrayed that way. If anything, I would describe the Holly/Selina relationship as more mother/daughter(or even sisterly). Selina always seemed to feel like she had a responsibility to look after Holly. I never got a sexual vibe from their encounters at all. I don't think the movie was trying to imply that Holly was anything other than Selina's accomplice but that's admittedly colored by the fact that I went into the movie with that knowledge so I didn't read their scenes that way.

Edited by Turkish, Jul 20, 2012 @ 10:18 PM.

[ethanvahlere]

I don't think this measures up to The Dark Knight, but I do think it is good in its own right. Part of the problem is I think Nolan has some clumsy moments throughout, starting with the beginning; as a piece of action cinema, it's pretty good, but it seems like something like James Bond, especially when you have the CIA agent (as a fan of The Wire, I will say it was nice to see Carcetti here, as well as Robert Wisdom aka Bunny Colvin as the head of the National Guard) asking Bane about his "master plan". I thought that was a little risible. And there were times when Nolan was either explaining things too much (Michael Caine pulled off the scene where he's standing over the graves, but I think it would have been even better if he didn't have any dialogue), or not enough (the whole Daggett/Bane connection).

That said, there's still a lot to recommend it. One reason is Nolan's movies have always been about the personal cost Bruce Wayne faces in being Batman, or not, and they dramatize that very well here, right from the beginning, when he's a shell of his former self. And Christian Bale is very good at exploring that, especially in the scene where he finds out about what Alfred did in regards to Rachel's letter. There's always that little boy who watched his parents die in Wayne, and Bale is terrific in bringing that out. I should have guessed, but in fact I was fooled about Miranda Tate being Talia, and Cotillard never telegraphs it. Bane isn't as dynamic a villain as the Joker was, but I think he was interesting in his own way, and Hardy, though hard to understand at first, I think made a good villain. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Caine were their usual dependable selves; Oldman especially shows how living the lie has cost him as much as the heartbreak has cost Bruce.

But the best performances in the movie, I thought, were Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I had qualms about Hathaway, partly because the only movies I've really liked her in were Brokeback Mountain and Rachel Getting Married, and partly because Catwoman is such an iconic character, and has been portrayed so memorably elsewhere, that I didn't see how she could add anything to the role. But she was not only convincing physically, but she brought humor and sexiness to the role, and even handles the serious parts well (when she's pleading for Batman to come with her). I sort of guessed Blake was being shown as a Batman replacement character, especially when Batman tells him about wearing a mask, but it never seemed like a gimmick because Gordon-Levitt showed the character's sincerity, doggedness, intelligence and heart the whole way through. I was especially impressed with the scene where he reveals how he knew Batman and Bruce Wayne were the same; it would have been easy to play the pathos of that speech, but Gordon-Levitt underplays it, making it all the more powerful.

[benteen]

I just got back from The Dark Knight Rises. Amazing and epic film, a worthy conclusion for the Nolan Batman trilogy.


-While he wasn't quite as good as the Joker, Tom Hardy was an excellent villain as Bane. He's come a long way since Shinzon 10 years ago. I thought they did a great job with the voice although it was difficult to hear what he was saying at times. I'm glad too they kept the iconic moment of him breaking Batman. They kept his fascinating backstory relatively in check too.

-I absolutely can't believe I didn't see the Miranda Tate twist coming. I knew about the character too but for some bizarre reason didn't put two and two together.

-And speaking of which, I TOTALLY didn't see that twist coming. Excellent twist with the John Blake character. Joseph Gordon Levitt is another Nolan favorite from Inception and a damn good actor in his own right. It's nice to be surprised and I was twice with this film.

-I definitely appreciated the callbacks to the original film. I knew that Neeson made a cameo and was thrilled to see him. It was great seeing Crane again too...I really do appreciate that kind of continuity.

-I read a few weeks ago that Nolan decided to make no reference to the Joker due with his relationship with Ledger and not wanting to exploit a tradgedy. I get that although it felt really strange not to mention the Joker at all, to say that Harvey helped rid the city of him in the beginning and so on.

-I was leary about the Ann Hathaway casting at first but I can see my concerns were unfounded. She was a terrific Catwoman. Was Bruce with Selina at the end of the movie?

-Michael Caine F'n rocked it.

-I could have without all the Occupy Wall Street complaing some of the character spouted out during the film and I thought that Digger (was that his name?) character was ridiculous.

[Enero]

My issue is the long slog through the middle which is filled with many, many speeches from Bane. How does this guy get so many followers when he so readily kills them? Watching lots of dialogue from a character with very little visible face is tedious, and I had a hard time understanding him.

This. Bane was boring. There were way too many scenes of him pontificating about resetting order and not enough Bruce Wayne/Batman. Perhaps he would've held up better if the actor wasn't wearing a muzzle the entire movie and actually had presence.

That said I thought overall the movie was good, not the best of the triology. IMHO that honor goes to the 2nd movie, but good nonetheless. Like others I enjoyed the appearance of characters from the previous movies, specifically Cillian Murphy.

I loved the fact that Batman couldn't just jump back into the game after being out of commission and grieving for 8 years. I liked the fact that he had to train up to take on his formidable foe. That he had to be "broken" and reborn. I enjoyed his chemistry with Miranda and hoped that my suspicions about her were wrong. I was hoping Bruce would sail into the sunset with her instead of Selina. Though Anne Hathaway held her own, IMO she had zero chemistry with Christian Bale.

I was disappointed with the discovery that Miranda was Ra's Al Ghaul's child and thus the child that escaped the dungeons. It seemed to come out of nowhere. After Bane spent most of the movie wrecking havoc on the masses I was expecting this huge show down between him and Batman instead we got a five minute fight scene that was descent enough and Bane going down with a whimper (though he was blasted into a wall) and not at Batman's hand. I was very disappointed by the fizzle of his death.

Plot holes: How did a little girl find her father with no money, no guidance, no nothing after living her whole life, up until that point in a cave? How did Bruce make it out of the foriegn country where he was held, make it back into the "US" and over the blocked bridge with crawling military to get back inside of Gotham? How did Fox manage to keep a few extra Bat toys hidden from Bane and his crew after they seized Wayne Enterprises and Gotham? Why did th ice not break when Gordon was sent to his death of exile? Once Batman showed up they were running around on the ice like it was solid ground.

I loved the movie implying that Blake would take up the "Batman" mantel in the name of Robin. I called the ending when Alfred was telling Bruce his hopes for him. I'm so glad that call was right though I do wonder if Bruce would've realistically ran off with Selina after her betrayal earlier in the movie.

[thuganomics85]

At times, it sounded high and effiminate at others menacing.

Maybe some of those tubes and knobs on his mask actually change the way his voice sounded through the mask. For all we knew, maybe one of them secretly would have auto-tuned his voice, T-Pain/Kanye West style. That would have been priceless!

I have to say that I really do love Gary Oldman as Gordon. I remember in The Dark Knight how upset I was when I thought he was a goner and him coming back and pointing a gun in Joker's face was one of the biggest hell yeah moments of the movie year. And it was the same way here; I feared for him both in Bane's lair and when he was "exiled." While I like the majority of the characters, Gordon really was the guy who I was pulling for the most and would have been crushed Agent Phil-style, if he got offed. I'm glad the guy made it and even had his moment of badassery.

How did Bruce make it out of the foriegn country where he was held, make it back into the "US" and over the blocked bridge with crawling military to get back inside of Gotham?

Now that I've calmed down a bit, I have to say that does bug me as well. Not to mention he was broke, so most of his resources were gone. I really can't see how he pulled that off unless he hitched a ride on Wonder Woman's invisible jet.

The fight scenes with Bane were awesome, the best of the whole series.

Strangely, I loved how simple it was. No aerobics or flashy kicks like Catwoman or Black Widow in The Avengers (even though I still loved those battles); just straight-up brutal slugging and brawling between Batman and Bane.

[Emily Thrace]

I could have without all the Occupy Wall Street complaing some of the character spouted out during the film and I thought that Digger (was that his name?) character was ridiculous.

That was actually one of my favourite parts because Nolan didn't simply push a political agenda he deconstructed the whole idea behind Occupy Wall Street and the idea that destroying the old power structures automatically makes something better. He pointed out that simply tearing down the establishment usually does little to improve the lives of those actually in the revolution. The idea that "fat cats" are the root of all evil and rounding them up and excuting them (as has been sugested by many on both sides of the real life political spectrum) simply means we wind up with a new bunch of "fat cats". Without going too off topic I'll say it was a rather clever statement that was well made without pandering to one side or the other.

I am of two minds on Banes voice it worked in some scenes but not in others. I think it was more Hardy's very upper class sound it gave him authority but it sounded like a miss match in a lot of scenes. Something more growly and closer to Batman's would have worked better, I think.

I thought Hathaway was terrific as Kyle, but I got a lesbian vibe from her relationship with her roommate. I guess, from the ending, she's bi.

I got that vibe too, so you are not alone.

And speaking of which, I TOTALLY didn't see that twist coming. Excellent twist with the John Blake character

I actually thought he was the boy Batman saves in the first movie all grown up at first.

I was disappointed with the discovery that Miranda was Ra's Al Ghaul's child and thus the child that escaped the dungeons. It seemed to come out of nowhere.

There was a bit of forshadowing in the first scene Carcetti(since I don't remeber if he got a name I'll call him that so you know who I'm talking about) notices a scar on Bane, and later Bruce notices Miranda has the same one in thier love scene. I figured she was really Thalia from that, although I wasn't sure if she was on Bruce's side or Banes until she stabbed Batman. I knew some of her story from speculators and Tvtropes but the comics go back and fourth on whose side shes on so I was still surprised in the end.

Also between Carcetti, Bunny Colvin and Delmond Baptiste(of Treme) I'd say Nolan is a serious David Simon fan. I suspect there are others I missed as well, maybe we should try to make a tally?

edited: cuz spelling counts even at one-thirty in the morning

Edited by Emily Thrace, Jul 21, 2012 @ 1:29 AM.

[benteen]

That was actually one of my favourite parts because Nolan didn't simply push a political agenda he deconstructed the whole idea behind Occupy Wall Street and the idea that destroying the old power structures automatically makes something better.

The film did make a great argument against the whole OWS movement, I would definitely say.

Little detail...the line about killer alligators made me think of Killer Croc, another Batman villain.

[Chas411]

All around fantastic film. Great casting, great characters, great call backs to the previous instalments. I loved that we saw more of Bruce in this film then the batman. Although I love The Dark Knight, I found I easily forgot about the joker and Harvey Dent etc the minute we met Bane in that plane sequence. I found him terrifying. Both his physicality and (at the time) his intelligence, calmness etc were all the attributes I could want in a villain. He was a perfect match for Batman.

However, while I loved the above, it also leads to my biggest pet peeve which was the big reveal at the end with Marion Cotillard. It just came out of nowhere and suddenly Bane didn't seem half as frightening. He just seemed... whipped or something. I understood his motives better when I thought he was just a chaos creator. The character ended up going out with a whimper after setting us up for so much in the first two hours. And all for... his friend?... some little girl he liked? I really just didn't understand a mercenary like him, who kills so viciously following the orders of some kid. Having said that I found the Ras A Ghul/League of Shadows story from the first film to be the least interesting of the franchise so while I can see why Nolan couldn't resist fitting in that final twist I also didn't particularly enjoy it. Tom Hardy was fantastic as Bane and I felt him and the character were sort of shoved aside in the end. Not to mention Talia didn't even get a particularly interesting send off.

I did find it sort of amusing that both Batman and Bane had to be rescued by their lady sidekicks at one point though. Talia stabs Batman once Bane is down while Catwoman blasts Bane through a wall.

I thought Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon Levitt were fabulous additions to the cast. Levitt's reveal at the name was brilliant although I am curious as to why they went with straight out Robin, I thought his name was Dick? Also, who was going to help him takeover Batman or whatever.

I was doubtful whether Catwoman had a place in this trilogy but Hathaway was more then able to handle Bale's Batman and anyone else who crossed her. I'll admit to strongly disliking Hathaway ever since that Oscar hosting fail but wow, did this role make me love her again (fickle, thy name is Chas). Loved the ending with her and Bruce together and Bruce's nod to Alfred.

The theme's throughout the film were very interesting.

A brilliant film, all in all!

Just a sidenote though, I didn't get Bane's accent. Assuming he spent most his life in a tunnel I expected him to a be a bit more... rough or something? He sounded like Roger Moore in Bond at times.

[Generic Name]

Okay, I'll be that guy: I hated it.

Does anyone else get the idea that Nolan just doesn't particularly *like* Batman? For a movie that was described to me as "Bane breaks Batman's back", it had startlingly little to do with Batman's back getting broken, or Batman at all.

Sure, there were your garden variety plot holes about the nuclear bomb, the underground cops, and the time of day, but it was the grand-scale plot holes that really bothered me: what the heck was the point of Bane/Talia's plan? Why torture Gotham just to blow it up five months later - to torture Batman? If so, why the elaborate/nonsensical class warfare schtick?

And rewinding almost to the beginning - the Dent Act. Good? Bad? We're given literally no information about what the Act actually does, just the facts that a) it was named after someone evil, and b) it put a lot of criminals behind bars. Given that we were told that Gotham legitimately was corrupt in the first two movies, I thought that meant the Dent Act was good - it nabbed the corrupt people. And Bane later criticizes it, and generally I'm for whatever the guy who breaks Batman's back is against. Except, JGL is disgusted with Gordon for participating in the whole Dent lovefest, and we're supposed to be too? And something, I'm never told exactly what, was bad about Batman taking the fall for Dent's death? Just that it made people lose faith in Batman, even thought that was Batman's entire point in taking the fal? Oy, vey.

But getting back to Batman's back, I ask again: why even *bother* breaking his back, or including the character at all, in what was clearly an unrelated urban warfare movie? I heard the idea and thought, oh, cool, Batman will hit rock bottom and have to claw his way back to life. Great! Except that his back getting broken doesn't really mean anything storytelling-wise, because it's portrayed as merely a symptom of his being out of shape, and he claws his way back by, what, learning Bane's backstory, doing pushups, making a long jump, and something about not wanting to die? All the while JGL and Bane are getting twice the screen time?

Sigh.

Nolan didn't simply push a political agenda he deconstructed the whole idea behind Occupy Wall Street

Deconstructing Occupy Wall Street = a political agenda.


Okay, so things I liked, I guess:

• Airplane opening, classic Nolan innovative action scene; ditto the football field.

• Burn Gorman, whooo Torchwood!

• All the main leads - their performances were fine, they just didn't save the film.

• Hathaway in particular, for bringing some much-needed humor to the movie.

• JGL being Robin.

• "So that's what that feels like."

[chailey]

I don't know how Wayne made it back to the U.S., but getting into Gotham would have been relatively easy. The city was like a prison--much harder to break out of than to break into. He probably just hid in one of those food trucks.

Child Talia, now, after escaping the Well, is another story...

[Colonel Green]

Except, JGL is disgusted with Gordon for participating in the whole Dent lovefest, and we're supposed to be too? And something, I'm never told exactly what, was bad about Batman taking the fall for Dent's death? Just that it made people lose faith in Batman, even thought that was Batman's entire point in taking the fal?

The problem JGL had (same with the film itself) wasn't the Dent Act itself, it was the use of Harvey Dent as a false idol to deceive the public into passing it.

[Enero]

There was a bit of forshadowing in the first scene Carcetti(since I don't remeber if he got a name I'll call him that so you know who I'm talking about) notices a scar on Bane, and later Bruce notices Miranda has the same one in thier love scene. I figured she was really Thalia from that, although I wasn't sure if she was on Bruce's side or Banes until she stabbed Batman. I knew some of her story from speculators and Tvtropes but the comics go back and fourth on whose side shes on so I was still surprised in the end.

I’m not a reader of the comics so I’m not familiar with the Batman mythology. However, I did see the mark on Miranda’s shoulder and thought hmm she might be working with Bane, but I had no idea in what capacity. I also was suspicious about her when Bruce set her up to take over Wayne Enterprises and Bane didn’t blink an eyelash about this. It seemed obvious at that point that she was at least apart of his plan even if she didn’t know it.

The problem JGL had (same with the film itself) wasn't the Dent Act itself, it was the use of Harvey Dent as a false idol to deceive the public into passing it.

But would anything of the sort have been passed if the people knew that Dent himself had become corrupt? The people believed in him, saw him as a symbol of goodness (who didn’t hide behind a mask), someone who wasn’t corrupt and could weed out crime in the city. I think that’s the point Gordon tried to make to JGL that being deceitful to get the act passed was more complicated than simply telling the truth and going from there. It was a classic case of the ends justifying the means.

All the while JGL and Bane are getting twice the screen time?

I so agree with this. This movie was more about JGL/Bane than Batman/Bruce.

Edited by Enero, Jul 21, 2012 @ 11:47 AM.

[portiaslegacy]

And rewinding almost to the beginning - the Dent Act. Good? Bad? We're given literally no information about what the Act actually does, just the facts that a) it was named after someone evil, and b) it put a lot of criminals behind bars.

While not that explicit, it implies that the film makes it harder to get parole and is attributed Selina going into an all male prison.

Deconstructing Occupy Wall Street = a political agenda.

If the film wasn't already in production before OWS I might agree with you, but it wasn't. And anyway Bane's appeal to the masses part wasn't really played up. Attacking the 1% was more a way to cause terror for all of Gotham, not to gain the appeal of the lower classes. As for class rights in these movies, Bruce is always too uncomfortable with his class. He is distrustful of fundraising events and insults those who host them. When he plays up the "Billionaire playboy" it always comes off as a parody, and loosing his money definitely comes off as kind of liberating for him. The only regret is not funding the orphanage.