The Dark Knight Rises

[Heisenberg]

Okay I don't want to post spoilers but I just seen this movie tonight and got home about 45mins ago. I'll just say the movie was awesome and very long too. But damn you don't even notice how long it goes for as it keeps you interested. It was a good movie with amazing acting. I really liked the Bane character and Hardy played it well, had a very frightening feel to him. Alfred (the butler) delivers a heartfelt performance throughout the movie too. But I'd have to say just about everyone in the movie played their character extremely well.

9/10

 

[AF.]

I'd say Christian Bale is the best in this movie. We didn't see much of him in TDK because that was all Joker. I'm glad they focused more on Batman in TDKR.

 

[We Are Legion]

Tom Hardy (Bane) and Marion Cotillard were by-far the best actors in the movie. If there is any reason to see this movie, it is for those two first and foremost. Both were absolutely amazing. Bale's performance was alright, but nothing extraordinary. The movie definitely didn't seem as long as it was. The movie never lets up once, it's completely full-throttle through the entire movie. There's no down-time or dragged-on story towards the end like in the other two Nolan Batman flicks, it's completely solid throughout and keeps you completely immersed.

Spoiler: Catwoman

Even though I was never a particularly big fan of the Catwoman character, this version of Selina Kyle did not do it for me. My biggest gripe about her was that her background, motives, how she came to be such a good thief/fighter, none of this is touched on at all in the movie. She literally just pops up right at the very beginning with all that kung fu shit and she's treated as a character that's already established for the rest of the movie. Like, "You guys already know who Catwoman is, so we're not going to waste our time explaining again", but that's bullshit. This was hardly the same Catwoman, she didn't even have a whip for God's sake. And I'm actually pretty certain she was never referred to as "Catwoman" once the entire film. She does nothing but fuck both Bruce Wayne and Batman over the entire movie, yet Batman makes mention towards the end that "There's more to you than that...", implying he sees good in her, I guess. Ok um... WHY? Where is the beacon of hope you see in her? This is never explained either. And the scene with her and Bruce Wayne dancing in the ball room, an obvious allusion to Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfieffer's scene in Batman Returns... why would Nolan even go there if he never intended to make Catwoman that type of character or even half as deep? You don't pay homage to someone else's version of a character that completely pwns your own version. I didn't get that at all. Anne Hathaway was still very good in the movie, despite what little development her character was given, although I wasn't blown away by her performance the slightest like many seem to be.

Spoiler: Ending

Did any of you get the impression the ending was left open to interpretation? Nolan is definitely known for endings like this (Inception), so this would hardly be a first. Did Batman really survive or was Alfred only dreaming seeing him in that restaurant in the end (a dream he mentioned having earlier in the film)? Did Robin go to the Batcave at the end to become the next Batman (or Nightwing) or to join Batman? Lucius Fox receives notice that Bruce Wayne recently signed for Batman's repairs at the end of the movie, but could Robin have forged the signature?

And lol @ the Steelers being New York City's football team in the movie. I know most of the movie was shot in Pittsburgh, but still. That had to hurt for Giants fans especially after just winning the frigging Super Bowl. Gotham City is clearly New York City or at least DC Universe's equivalent. All of the skyline scenes of "Gotham" were obviously NYC. Yet there's Big Ben and Hines Ward wearing "Gotham" jerseys. Oooo that had to hurt.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

^Metropolis(home of Superman) is DC's New York City, it is possible that Gotham is just a burrough(as the Statue of Liberty is under attack often in Batman lore), but chances are its New Jersey.

 

[We Are Legion]

Gotham City is humongous. I'm pretty sure it's not a DC New Jersey lol

 

[The Hoov]

I think Gotham would be sort of a Boston-type city. Almost equivalent to Metropolis (NYC) but obviously Gotham isn't entirely based off of Boston.

Anyways, to my thoughts. I absolutely loved this movie. Honestly, as weird as this sounds, Batman Begins is the weakest film of the 3. The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises were captivating from beginning to end. And, for my questions concerning the end, I'll put in spoiler tags.

Spoiler: ENDING

I also got the feeling that maybe Alfred was dreaming and that he really wasn't seeing Bruce and Selina sitting there at that cafe but honestly, why would they have that without explaining? My thought is the plane really had auto pilot and Bruce got the eff out of there and met up with Selina and hit the bricks, having faked his death to "start fresh" with her because, let's face it: Catwoman isn't the only person psychologically to need a fresh start. It's been one tragedy after another for the guy. He deserves some happiness and peace. Anne Hathaway and Christian Bale had tremendous chemistry. And yes, Catwoman isn't given much backstory but she's given enough to be relevant. Also, Joseph Gordon-Levitt......becoming Batman....or Robin/Nightwing? I have a feeling SOMEONE is going to pick that up as an entirely new franchise. If it was my money, I wouldn't sell it as "Robin" I'd go for Nightwing.

Overall, awesome flick and definitely worth a watch. Don't let that maniac from Colorado ruin it for you.

 

[AF.]

I think we can finally start posting spoilers, anybody who hasn't seen TDKR shouldn't be entering this thread.


SPOILERS BELOW

Did anybody else get the feeling that the next movie in the TDK trilogy will be simply 'Robin'? That's the vibe I got and I haven't seen anyone think the same as I have. I think Batman has accomplished everything in these 3 movies as we've gone from his origin, to his prime, to his retirement and return to the cape. There isn't anymore they can do in the Batman franchise, Bane and his attempts to take over Gotham were as extreme as it gets. Joker was the ultimate villain and there won't be any villains who are more powerful than Joker, Ra'z and Bane left.

Anyway, still buzzing over this movie. I think the second half of this film is the best of any film I've ever seen. Sure there were a few loopholes/potholes in the plot but tying up every loose end would take the movie over the 3 hr mark. Enjoyed the Pit stuff, although slightly random that there's a prison underground and anybody can escape at any time as long as they can make the jump. Would have also liked to see how Batman got back into Gotham considering Bane's message of anybody returning to Gotham will set off the bomb. Would have also liked to see a little Catwoman origin stuff but her childhood is explained loosely and TDKR being the last movie in the trilogy it would have been irrelevant to include her origin.

 

[AF.]

Tom Hardy (Bane) and Marion Cotillard were by-far the best actors in the movie. If there is any reason to see this movie, it is for those two first and foremost. Both were absolutely amazing. Bale's performance was alright, but nothing extraordinary. The movie definitely didn't seem as long as it was. The movie never lets up once, it's completely full-throttle through the entire movie. There's no down-time or dragged-on story towards the end like in the other two Nolan Batman flicks, it's completely solid throughout and keeps you completely immersed.

Spoiler: Catwoman

Even though I was never a particularly big fan of the Catwoman character, this version of Selina Kyle did not do it for me. My biggest gripe about her was that her background, motives, how she came to be such a good thief/fighter, none of this is touched on at all in the movie. She literally just pops up right at the very beginning with all that kung fu shit and she's treated as a character that's already established for the rest of the movie. Like, "You guys already know who Catwoman is, so we're not going to waste our time explaining again", but that's bullshit. This was hardly the same Catwoman, she didn't even have a whip for God's sake. And I'm actually pretty certain she was never referred to as "Catwoman" once the entire film. She does nothing but fuck both Bruce Wayne and Batman over the entire movie, yet Batman makes mention towards the end that "There's more to you than that...", implying he sees good in her, I guess. Ok um... WHY? Where is the beacon of hope you see in her? This is never explained either. And the scene with her and Bruce Wayne dancing in the ball room, an obvious allusion to Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfieffer's scene in Batman Returns... why would Nolan even go there if he never intended to make Catwoman that type of character or even half as deep? You don't pay homage to someone else's version of a character that completely pwns your own version. I didn't get that at all. Anne Hathaway was still very good in the movie, despite what little development her character was given, although I wasn't blown away by her performance the slightest like many seem to be.

Spoiler: Ending

Did any of you get the impression the ending was left open to interpretation? Nolan is definitely known for endings like this (Inception), so this would hardly be a first. Did Batman really survive or was Alfred only dreaming seeing him in that restaurant in the end (a dream he mentioned having earlier in the film)? Did Robin go to the Batcave at the end to become the next Batman (or Nightwing) or to join Batman? Lucius Fox receives notice that Bruce Wayne recently signed for Batman's repairs at the end of the movie, but could Robin have forged the signature?

And lol @ the Steelers being New York City's football team in the movie. I know most of the movie was shot in Pittsburgh, but still. That had to hurt for Giants fans especially after just winning the frigging Super Bowl. Gotham City is clearly New York City or at least DC Universe's equivalent. All of the skyline scenes of "Gotham" were obviously NYC. Yet there's Big Ben and Hines Ward wearing "Gotham" jerseys. Oooo that had to hurt.

SPOILERS BELOW


You have the same issue with Catwoman as I did. They never mentioned her as Catwoman because she wasn't well known. Bruce didn't even know who she was until she stole his necklace and finger prints and if you remember in the bar, she sat there and cried and nobody recognized her, they saved her even. Like I mentioned in my previous post there is no Catwoman origin because this movie goes all for broke. There is no time in this movie for petty origin storylines (Bane is the only one needed, we see Robin's origin story in this movie) although I do believe they should have taken the time to indulge in Catwoman's background a little more. I can see why they haven't. Anne Hathaway was looking delicious. That's all I'm going to say about her performance other than it was perfectly fine.

Tom Hardy nailed it whenever he was on screen but he needed more moments like the football field or the fight with Batman.

As for the ending discussion; Batman had auto-pilot. There was no reason for him to sit in the thing and kill himself when he can simply turn auto-pilot on and escape. As for Alfred dreaming, just seems over-analyzed more than anything. Bruce knew Alfred's restaurant in France because Alfred told him about it. Bruce went to the restaurant because thats exactly where he knew Alfred left about 3/4's into the movie.

As for the future of TDK, IMO it's going to be about Robin.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

This is the last part of the series, Nolan is not returning to do a Robin movie, and DC has already announced they are rebooting Batman after the Justice League movie, which will see the new Superman "Man of Steel" as the starting point for their new movieverse.

@Hoov, I have always looked at it like this, Metropolis=NYC, Bludhaven=Detroit, Star City=Hollywood, Coast City & Gotham both appear to be amalgamations of cities. But for sake of geographically putting them on a map, I have to assume Gotham is New Jersey(as Batman has responded to issues in Metropolis faster than Superman, and in a Spawn/Batman crossover Batman does not have to travel far to find Rat City in NYC), and even Kevin Smith agrees with me. Jersey might not be as developed as Gotham, and could very well be Boston or Chicago when Bob Kane originally wrote the stories(Metropolis was originally based on Toronto).

 

[Mr.Mayhem]

This is the last part of the series, Nolan is not returning to do a Robin movie, and DC has already announced they are rebooting Batman after the Justice League movie, which will see the new Superman "Man of Steel" as the starting point for their new movieverse.

@Hoov, I have always looked at it like this, Metropolis=NYC, Bludhaven=Detroit, Star City=Hollywood, Coast City & Gotham both appear to be amalgamations of cities. But for sake of geographically putting them on a map, I have to assume Gotham is New Jersey(as Batman has responded to issues in Metropolis faster than Superman, and in a Spawn/Batman crossover Batman does not have to travel far to find Rat City in NYC), and even Kevin Smith agrees with me. Jersey might not be as developed as Gotham, and could very well be Boston or Chicago when Bob Kane originally wrote the stories(Metropolis was originally based on Toronto).

Rebooting batman franchise would be a very very bad idea and all i can see is , it will fail . Unless they reboot it after 6-7 years , untill then the fans will forget the masterpiece given by Nolan and Christian bale .

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

^Just look at Spider-Man right?

well I think that is what DC did, Marvels Avengers did so well that they want to ride on the coat tails. But DC wants their JLA movie, and Bale & Nolan are out of the question. Superman, Batman, & Green Lantern are all getting the reboot treatment.

 

[AF.]

Nobody will ever top Nolan's Batman. They should not even try to attempt it.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

^ Someone has, his name is Tim Burton. Atleast in his movies the only thing I could complain about is that Harvey Dent is black. To this day Keaton is the only actor to properly potray both Bruce Wayne, & Batman. Joker, Penguin, & Catwoman all had origin stories that were very similair to the comics, although much like every Batman movie has never hit the mark on being a mystery movie.

 

[Keith]

The first Burton Batman is pretty dull through when you watch it again now. Keaton as Batman is totally overshadowed by Jack as the Jorker and he is just doing what became the norm for him at that point in his career. Also the look of Gotham just felt so off in that film. I loved Batman Returns more, the characters had far greater depth and I like how they use christmas as a sinister setting.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

I kinda liked how Gotham had the Film Noir appeal, it was definately better than in Batman Forever where all of Gotham was on ecstacy.

And yes, Returns was the better of the 2, but when you have Christopher Walken its expected, but I still enjoy watching Batman more than the original Superman movies.