The Dark Knight Rises

[MontyServo]

OK then...

I saw all three films back-to-back-to-back last night at the theater.  My local multiplex had the Trilogy on their two largest screens and our screen was sold out.  I had only seen Batman Begins one time before and it has been a while since I had seen The Dark Knight. After watching all three, I can say that the second film is easily the best and my favorite.  The performances, not only of Heath Ledger but of Aaron Eckhart, just put this film over the top.  I do like the way all three films tied together as a trilogy.


I enjoyed Dark Knight Rises, but did have a few issues with it.  Plot holes mostly.  Like how did Bruce Wayne get back into Gotham so easily after escaping the prison, and how did he find Catwoman so quickly?  If she still had the pearl necklace, then that would explain it because of the tracking device, but he took the necklace back at the mask ball.  I also had an issue with how easily Alfred and Bruce split apart.  This is almost as bad as Alfred letting Vicki Vale into the Batcave in the first Burton Batman.  Totally out of character.

After the second film taking on a more realistic tone, we were back to having cartoony supervillians with mega weapons threatening to destroy Gotham.  I could have done with a more realistic plot.  Speaking of Bane, after such a build-up, his death seemed anti-climactic.

And what was the point of Matthew Modine's character?  First he was an asshole, then a good guy, then a coward, then a fallen hero.  Didn't get it.

I think they should have said something about the fate of The Joker in the new film.  They establish that Scarecrow is running loose after Bane takes over, so you could easily assume that Joker gets free as well and would obviously want to go after Batman or Gordon, but that possibility is never even broached.

I didn't mind the "Robin" bit at the end as I think that gives WB a clever way to tie this trilogy into a potential Justice League movie with Blake as the new Batman.  Bruce Wayne gave him the location of the cave and presumably all of his toys are still there.  I actually like the idea of an actual detective becoming the new Batman as Bruce Wayne was more of a high-tech ninja than detective in this trilogy.

And having Bruce Wayne alive at the end gives Nolan and Bale an out if they decide 10 or 20 years from now to revisit the franchise.



All in all, I enjoyed the film and loved seeing the trilogy the way I did.  Will be trying to go and see it again in a few weeks after the crowds die down a bit.  I might like it better seeing it removed a bit more from the superior second film.

[gojikranz]

really my biggest issue is
why wait to blow up the bomb?  if their goal was all along to destroy gotham just do it.  also why leave the other part still their destroy it immediately to stop any chance of people defusing the bomb.  and why leave lucius fox alive basically just seemed like to many easy things left open to give batman a chance. 

also i thought it was weird that tate would want to die with the bomb rhas al ghul seemed to plan to survive gotham's destruction in Begins so why be suicidal now?

anyways i definately enjoyed it but just some things bugged me.

[Relaxing Dragon]

really my biggest issue is
why wait to blow up the bomb?  if their goal was all along to destroy gotham just do it.  also why leave the other part still their destroy it immediately to stop any chance of people defusing the bomb.  and why leave lucius fox alive basically just seemed like to many easy things left open to give batman a chance. 

also i thought it was weird that tate would want to die with the bomb rhas al ghul seemed to plan to survive gotham's destruction in Begins so why be suicidal now?

anyways i definately enjoyed it but just some things bugged me.

Because the whole point wasn't just the basic destruction of Gotham. They had to make an example of the people and the destruction of their will and hope, too. Bane explains this when he drops Batman off at the pit, but it's the idea that they have to be put in that situation for a while, have their hopes of survival and rescue build up bit by bit, have the anarchy reign overall to make the city an example to the rest of the world... and then the bomb goes off. It's a long-term crushing of the spirit, and it's the sort of plan that fits right in to a trilogy that's chock full of long-term planners and super-meticulous schemers.

And Monty, Nolan went out of his way to say that he omitted all mention of the Joker due to Ledger's legacy. Admittedly it probably hurts the connection between the two films a bit, but then, death does sorta mess things up like that. Anything they put in the movie would've felt exploitative, or at least upset somebody. Really was no classy way to handle it, so they left him out.

[MontyServo]

really my biggest issue is
why wait to blow up the bomb?  if their goal was all along to destroy gotham just do it.  also why leave the other part still their destroy it immediately to stop any chance of people defusing the bomb.  and why leave lucius fox alive basically just seemed like to many easy things left open to give batman a chance. 

also i thought it was weird that tate would want to die with the bomb rhas al ghul seemed to plan to survive gotham's destruction in Begins so why be suicidal now?

anyways i definately enjoyed it but just some things bugged me.

Because the whole point wasn't just the basic destruction of Gotham. They had to make an example of the people and the destruction of their will and hope, too. Bane explains this when he drops Batman off at the pit, but it's the idea that they have to be put in that situation for a while, have their hopes of survival and rescue build up bit by bit, have the anarchy reign overall to make the city an example to the rest of the world... and then the bomb goes off. It's a long-term crushing of the spirit, and it's the sort of plan that fits right in to a trilogy that's chock full of long-term planners and super-meticulous schemers.

And Monty, Nolan went out of his way to say that he omitted all mention of the Joker due to Ledger's legacy. Admittedly it probably hurts the connection between the two films a bit, but then, death does sorta mess things up like that. Anything they put in the movie would've felt exploitative, or at least upset somebody. Really was no classy way to handle it, so they left him out.

I am not saying they should have made him a big part of the film.  There should have been some sort of closure for the character, such as what Harvey Dent got.  Even if it was just a throwaway line about them moving him away from Gotham after the events of the second film.  It was just really noticeable that his character didn't get any mention in the third film, especially when Dent and Al Ghul both play a major part.  This is really true when watching all three films together.

[MrTorso]

Maybe there should be two separate threads here, one for the movie and one for the shit that happened at the theater.

and I have some PMs asking the same thing... Locking this one TEMPORARILY while I do the split!

[MrTorso]

All done:

http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php?topic=25530.0



Please use the new thread for the ongoing discussion of this horrific and pointless event...

[Nergol]

Making the rounds:

[D.B. Barnes]

[Darth Geek]

Just got out a little while ago. I liked it, but didn't think it was great. WAAAAAAY too long for one, especially given that at the end of the day, the crux of the threat is just another bomb. Bane's voice was at times difficult to understand, and the rest of the time just silly sounding. I hated that Batman had just dissapeared for eight years, and everything righted itself in Gotham just fine. And if Bruce wasn't Batman for 8 years, why was he still limping?

He recovers from a broken back (or just slipped disk, since they don't actually say "broken back") very quickly, and then survives several falls stopped by a rope? Hell, that should have ripped him in half!

That and plenty more bothered me about this movie. Although I did enjoy it. I just think simpler (and shorter!) would have been better.

[Starman!]

I saw it last night and I enjoyed it, though it is the least of the trilogy IMO. It does have some plot holes as everyone has stated. Bane is a weak villain too, especially when compared to Ledger as The Joker. And Tom Hardy sounds like Sean Connery in the movie.

It's hard for me to take it seriously at times because it was filmed near where I live, though that's really not the movie's fault. Although sometimes it seems obvious (at least to me) that Gotham is actually a bunch of different cities (seriously, in the beginning, there was an obvious New York shot, then they showed the Golden Gate Bridge).

And while I love to see Pittsburgh on the big screen, let's be honest, that stadium scene was unnecessary. When I found out there was a stadium scene last year, I was excited because the stadium is Heinz Field (which I think does work well as a Gotham stadium, it has an odd look), but it also made me think "oh God, this scene is going to make this movie so stupid, on Schumacher levels". It wasn't that bad, but I got this campy vibe from a football scene. Hines Ward's cameo also seemed campy, even if it is cool to see him in the movie.

And I'll be honest, I don't completely understand the ending. Did Bruce Wayne actually die? I think that seeing Bruce and Selena at the end was all a figment of Alfred's imagination.


Despite that, it was pretty good, but I still like The Avengers better.

P.S. Anne Hathaway is hot.

[Tripe]

Hey! I'm close friends with Robin, or Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of those.

On the plus side, my friend Jim didn't get cut out of a movie again, so, well done him.

[mrbasehart]

I thought Bane was a pretty good villain.  One of the best scenes in the movie is his first confrontation with Batman.  It's also the best action scene with Batman, too, which is where I thought the film was weakest.

And yes, Anne Hathaway is superhot.

[Darth Geek]

Ann Hatheway was very sexy as Catwoman. I was very glad they made her a formidable fighter, but never did a fight between her and Batman.

[Russell]

Just got out a little while ago. I liked it, but didn't think it was great. WAAAAAAY too long for one, especially given that at the end of the day, the crux of the threat is just another bomb. Bane's voice was at times difficult to understand, and the rest of the time just silly sounding. I hated that Batman had just dissapeared for eight years, and everything righted itself in Gotham just fine. And if Bruce wasn't Batman for 8 years, why was he still limping?
He recovers from a broken back (or just slipped disk, since they don't actually say "broken back") very quickly, and then survives several falls stopped by a rope? Hell, that should have ripped him in half!

I didn't feel its length at all Darth Geek. Mostly because I never even got the urge to check my watch. Also, I didn't hear you complaining about the bomb in the Avengers movie.... I feel that what's important is that Bane and his plan are carrying on motifs established in Batman Begins. Honestly, I don't know why Bruce Wayne was limping. I might be wrong, but wasn't he limping when he ran back to the bat pod at the end of TDK? Seriously, I don't care about ancillary details. I'd rather the film respect my intelligence and allow me to make reasonable inferences. Honestly, would answering those questions make the movie any better? Because if they did tell you, I think you'd just be like oh... okay, and that would be it.
Also I am pretty damn sure rope will not do that when tied around someone, otherwise mountain climbing and sky diving would be a much more gory ordeal. The Mythbusters also tested something similar to this.

[Russell]

I didn't feel its length at all Darth Geek.

Oh you!