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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 19, 2012 5:50:56 GMT -5
Nope that happened nearly 24 hrs ago. ^ ------------ Well guys the Dark Knight certainly rises to the occasion. Hard to describe how much I love it, it's certainly is one of my favorite films of all time. Everything about it was pretty much perfection in my eyes and maybe I am overselling how good it is but I really thought it was a fantastic conclusion to what is undoubtedly one of the greatest trilogies of all time. The only issue I really had was (Spoiler): Blake being able to deduce that Bruce was Batman so easily.
I think one of the major talking points will be the ending but honestly, I thought it was fantastic (major spoilers on the ending and another plot point): I think some people won't like that Bruce chose a new beginning with Selina in Italy but I think he's earned a little happiness and anyway, Gotham has 'Robin' Blake watching over it now. That plot twist really caught me off guard but it was a nice surprise. I'll be interested to see if WB expand on the character in future Batman films even though it seems unlikely. Speaking of surprises, I loved how Nolan included Roland Daggett in the film.
Christopher Nolan, I salute you.
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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 19, 2012 9:23:50 GMT -5
always hard to gauge your opinions right after viewing, but its good to hear a positive reaction with only a few "buts"
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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 19, 2012 23:40:06 GMT -5
Seen it twice now, still overwhelmed by the film's epicness.
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Post by BackinBlack on Jul 20, 2012 3:49:36 GMT -5
Got back from my midnight showing. So EPIC. Like we've heard from other screenings, it got a round of applause at the end. It was definitely a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wouldn't be fair to compare it to Avengers though, given how different the films were. I did have a few issues though, one of them being Bane was hard to understand at times. That and *How did Bruce get back to Gotham? *Even though we knew she was Talia, I think they made it a little too obvious; I think only those who aren't familiar with the comics or avoided news wouldn't have gotten it. And Spidey, about the first spoiler you posted... Since his name was Robin, that could have been a shot at Tim Drake, who was able to decipher Bruce and Dick's identities. As for the ending... As soon as the bomb was about to go off, I knew Bruce was going to take it out to sea with the Bat and sacrifice himself. I wasn't sure if they would show if he survived or not, but it was a nice touch. I also enjoyed the emotional parts, especially Gordon realizing it was Bruce and Alfred feeling like he failed. As much as it would be cool to see some kind of John Blake Batman action, it doesn't seem like WB will go anywhere with that, given they'll reboot with Bruce again (of course what's a Batman movie without Bruce ). However, give it some time, and DC could do a digital first series like they're doing with Smallville Season 11 and do a John Blake Batman series set in the Nolanverse. You've done fans a great service Mr. Nolan. You brought Batman back from the edge after Batman & Robin and delivered an epic trilogy worthy of the character. Thank you sir.
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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 20, 2012 4:50:41 GMT -5
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Post by Webber3000 on Jul 20, 2012 11:06:59 GMT -5
Yeah, it'll hurt its numbers for sure. That's terrible.
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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 20, 2012 11:36:21 GMT -5
who knew sleeping in would hold but such horrible news. damn.
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Post by Webber3000 on Jul 20, 2012 12:04:50 GMT -5
Yeah... It's extremely shocking.
Well on a less sensible note... How do you think this will affect how the film does financially?
I think it'll hurt in a lot in the coming weeks, because people are afraid of copycats... But in the very long run... Like in many years from now, it might become that iconic film... The film of the tragedy. And people might pick it up just out of curiosity.
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Post by Spidey 1923 on Jul 20, 2012 18:04:13 GMT -5
In terms of Box office: The film hit $71M worldwide, $30.6M came from Midnight Screenings: www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=64219Warner Bros. is considering canceling ALL showings Of film: www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/GraphicCity/news/?a=64212Meanwhile the premiere in France was cancelled: www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MovieManiac/news/?a=64199All planned publicity events for the film's stars have been halted and all advertisement for the film has been removed from television. Christopher Nolan has issued the following statement... "Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families." The death toll stands at 12 with 59 injured. The shooter who is now in custody, told police that he was 'the Joker' when they apprehended him and was apparently dressed up like the character.
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Post by brocksir on Jul 21, 2012 22:28:55 GMT -5
The shooting was an absolute shame, and my thoughts go out to everyone affected. I hope to see TDKR sometime during the week, and in preparation I've been rewatching the Nolan Batman films, watched Batman Begins so far. I gotta say, I hadn't watched BB probably since around the time it first came out, and rewatching it, I actually understood it a lot more than what I remember. When I was younger, alot of it to me was just "blah blah drugs blah blah toxin blah blah smuggling blah blah water supply It also led me to realize how insane Batman is, dressing up like a bat and fighting crime and whatnot. Dude's got issues.
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Post by mr. excellent on Jul 22, 2012 15:23:00 GMT -5
There's no spoilers in this write up, so if you haven't seen the movie, you should be fine to read it.
Loved this movie. Saw it last night in IMAX, my first IMAX experience ever. Have to say, in my opinion, it is better than 3D. The screen absorbs you, it's crazy. As for the merits of the film itself, I think it was great. Bale delivered what is easily his best performance as Bruce Wayne. For all that the critics are saying about this movie not being fun, I say to them "What movie were you watching?" As it is, many people still stubbornly cling to the notion that Nolan's Batman films shouldn't be so dark. I've already read a few reviews where the reviewers come out and say "Aren't superhero movies supposed to be fun?" as if the films weren't engaging because they are serious.
Make no mistake though, I had fun with the movie. It had comedy when it should have, good dialogue, sometimes great, and all of the emotions felt earned to me. To really get a better feel for this film, I do need to see it again, but as it stands, it affected me more than any other film has this year. Story wise, it was the hardest to follow, but that's not because it was convoluted as some have accused it of being. Some have also said it was a bit choppy in the first act. Whether or not that's true, remains for each of us to determine for ourselves. To me, if a movie is hard to follow, but makes perfect sense in the end and never loses its footing, I don't like to criticize it. Unnecessary complications in a story, yes, those are annoying and worth negative criticism, but that wasn't the case here for me. Nolan was just being a good story teller, and his pieces fit together just fine.
Let's make some comparisons now, shall we? The execution of the narrative lies somewhere between TDK and BB. The story in this was the most complicated one yet, but while there may not have been the narrative clarity of the first two films, it told its story in spectacular fashion. The performance from Bale and Cain were at their best here, while Gordon and Freeman deliver performances on par with what they did with prior installments. Perhaps their characters were only "adequately serviced", rather than taken to the next level (although their characters' definitely had arcs to them), because Nolan had to make room for Hathaway and Levitt. IMHO, I think it was worth it. JGL is very good as Officer John Blake, and his relationship with both Gordon and Bale works out wonderfully, while Anne Hathaway nearly steals the show every time she was involved. She was brilliant, and there never should have been as much controversy about her playing the role to begin with. Oscar nominated actress and all.
While Tom Hardy's Bane was not as "in your face" as Heath Ledger's brilliant and iconic performance as The Joker, he was a worthy adversary, worthy of the film, worthy of the franchise as a whole, and worthy as a follow up to what Ledger did in TDK. I actually found him to be scarier than the Joker, in my humble opinion. True, his dialogue was completely unintelligible at some parts, but the performance and writing for the character was so good that I was able to get past it. At one point I feared he would only be a brute, but rest assured, he's not. There are a couple of scenes that he commands with such ferocity, it's a wonder to me why the critics are being so apathetic toward the character. But Bane, coupled with the addition of Catwoman and John Blake make this movie just as engaging as the last two.
In some ways it's better. That was never going to be a surprise to me. In the end, what's so great about this franchise is that you can look back to each film, and debate over which has its merits over the other. Each is so different, but they all fit together so well. I salute you Nolan, and I look forward to seeing your other projects too.
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Post by Caveboy0 on Jul 22, 2012 16:35:16 GMT -5
I've had time to go back and forth on the film. beginning with "really dug the film, but i literally in the middle of the climax went nostalgic on TDK. I was like "this is getting really intense and i'm getting antsy kind of like TDK. aahhhh TDK what a nice movie" From there though I went very positive when I looked at teh film in a different perspective, but then I started to realize what I was not thinking about the film or talking about the film and I ended up being fairly critical on the main plot as it where. The character Miranda Tate was introduced rather choppy the romance with her and Bruce while not forced or rushed simply underdeveloped and not really believable. Bane was entirely concerned with Gotham as if Batman was this after thought. By extension the film was almost not about Batman. And really my final kind of beef with the film is how the scope was so large that it betrayed some believability. It felt surreal at times for what a franchise has championed on believability and realism. The first act just could have been done better and faults a lot of the movie in my opinion. now into some spoiler territory into what i liked and more detail on what the the main flaw of the film actually is the film doesn't feel as long as it is and that compliment is also its greatest flaw. The Film is essentially The Dark Knight Returns, No Mans Land, Knightfall, and Dark Victory all rolled into one package. That doesn't even include the Catwoman subplot. Everything matters everythign is given time and each individual element is great to even excellent. I just don't think they all worked togther. To me I love the film as a sort of Dark Victory/Battle for the Cowl spiritual adaption. A Robin story essentially. Blake's story has the best arc and arguably the most intersting character. Anne Hathaway's performance was very good, but didn't steal the show like it did for others. for me that was JGL's performance. I liked the character I liked the performance I liked his story and I liked his ending. Most imporntatly though I'm a big Robin fan so that was more than a pleasant surprise. His story also embodies the strongest theme of the film in displaying Gotham needing a Batman, not just as a symbol, but a role that must be filled. Gordon at one point practically said he wanted someone to be his Batman. Blake also had some of the best scenes especially the ones with Bruce and Batman. Seeing them team up and working together. Blake on his own was an intersting hero. But do you see the problem with how solid that aspect of the story is? It has nothing to do with Batman's Return, Fall, or Rise. I can talk about Blake's story as if its the main story but it isn't its pretty much a subplot for an importnat supporting character. I loved this part of the film especially how it ties into the ending, but this wasn't the main story or even the main character.
Once again with Selina Kyle you have a strong story strong arc, but anotehr story that can be told with only needing a vague mentioning of the main plot. I wish this Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle relationship which had a lot of time was actually more of a focus, more of a point. Rachel was a love interest for a Bruce Wayne that hasn't existed since he was 8 years old. Selina Kyle is the type of girl for him today. Someone as broken and lost as he is. This was very much a strength of the film, but at times an after thought. Finally we have Bane/Talia/League of Shadows. For once a subplot that actually matters to the main plot. This by the end of the film is one of my favorite parts. The strongest most coherent thread in the film was Bane's backstory and the build up and fleshing out while Bruce was in prison was so well done and answered questions about Ra's Al Ghul all the way back in Batman Begins. The story was excellently told and had a great twist that felt right and rounded out Bane as a character. He is not cold he is not evil he can care and cares very deeply about someone. I do wish they expanded on Ra's role in the film. One scene wasn't enough. It wasn't edited as well as I would have liked. it happend quickly and ended even sooner. This should have been a slow broken up scene. Regardless this is the aspect of the main plot I actually really really liked. To go a bit fanboy I always missed Ra's Al Ghul's League of Shadows having a real kingdom like in the comics. Like they aren't just an organization they do have a place and in those flashbacks the desert backdrop and story of royal family was just right. But between Blake, Bane/Talia, and Selina/Batman we have entirely differnet nearly unrelated stories. Nolan is a great filmmaker and storyteller he did a fantastic job making these unrelated stories flow between each other in a way that keeps pace, but that doesnt' make them any more connected. Great parts doesn't equal a great whole. A worthy finale, but a slight dissapointment.
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Post by BackinBlack on Jul 22, 2012 17:56:42 GMT -5
I've had time to go back and forth on the film. beginning with "really dug the film, but i literally in the middle of the climax went nostalgic on TDK. I was like "this is getting really intense and i'm getting antsy kind of like TDK. aahhhh TDK what a nice movie" From there though I went very positive when I looked at teh film in a different perspective, but then I started to realize what I was not thinking about the film or talking about the film and I ended up being fairly critical on the main plot as it where. The character Miranda Tate was introduced rather choppy the romance with her and Bruce while not forced or rushed simply underdeveloped and not really believable. Bane was entirely concerned with Gotham as if Batman was this after thought. By extension the film was almost not about Batman. And really my final kind of beef with the film is how the scope was so large that it betrayed some believability. It felt surreal at times for what a franchise has championed on believability and realism. The first act just could have been done better and faults a lot of the movie in my opinion. now into some spoiler territory into what i liked and more detail on what the the main flaw of the film actually is the film doesn't feel as long as it is and that compliment is also its greatest flaw. The Film is essentially The Dark Knight Returns, No Mans Land, Knightfall, and Dark Victory all rolled into one package. That doesn't even include the Catwoman subplot. Everything matters everythign is given time and each individual element is great to even excellent. I just don't think they all worked togther. To me I love the film as a sort of Dark Victory/Battle for the Cowl spiritual adaption. A Robin story essentially. Blake's story has the best arc and arguably the most intersting character. Anne Hathaway's performance was very good, but didn't steal the show like it did for others. for me that was JGL's performance. I liked the character I liked the performance I liked his story and I liked his ending. Most imporntatly though I'm a big Robin fan so that was more than a pleasant surprise. His story also embodies the strongest theme of the film in displaying Gotham needing a Batman, not just as a symbol, but a role that must be filled. Gordon at one point practically said he wanted someone to be his Batman. Blake also had some of the best scenes especially the ones with Bruce and Batman. Seeing them team up and working together. Blake on his own was an intersting hero. But do you see the problem with how solid that aspect of the story is? It has nothing to do with Batman's Return, Fall, or Rise. I can talk about Blake's story as if its the main story but it isn't its pretty much a subplot for an importnat supporting character. I loved this part of the film especially how it ties into the ending, but this wasn't the main story or even the main character.
Once again with Selina Kyle you have a strong story strong arc, but anotehr story that can be told with only needing a vague mentioning of the main plot. I wish this Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle relationship which had a lot of time was actually more of a focus, more of a point. Rachel was a love interest for a Bruce Wayne that hasn't existed since he was 8 years old. Selina Kyle is the type of girl for him today. Someone as broken and lost as he is. This was very much a strength of the film, but at times an after thought. Finally we have Bane/Talia/League of Shadows. For once a subplot that actually matters to the main plot. This by the end of the film is one of my favorite parts. The strongest most coherent thread in the film was Bane's backstory and the build up and fleshing out while Bruce was in prison was so well done and answered questions about Ra's Al Ghul all the way back in Batman Begins. The story was excellently told and had a great twist that felt right and rounded out Bane as a character. He is not cold he is not evil he can care and cares very deeply about someone. I do wish they expanded on Ra's role in the film. One scene wasn't enough. It wasn't edited as well as I would have liked. it happend quickly and ended even sooner. This should have been a slow broken up scene. Regardless this is the aspect of the main plot I actually really really liked. To go a bit fanboy I always missed Ra's Al Ghul's League of Shadows having a real kingdom like in the comics. Like they aren't just an organization they do have a place and in those flashbacks the desert backdrop and story of royal family was just right. But between Blake, Bane/Talia, and Selina/Batman we have entirely differnet nearly unrelated stories. Nolan is a great filmmaker and storyteller he did a fantastic job making these unrelated stories flow between each other in a way that keeps pace, but that doesnt' make them any more connected. Great parts doesn't equal a great whole. A worthy finale, but a slight dissapointment. Well I can see why Bane wouldn't have been too concerned with Batman. He seemed pretty confident in the first fight, since that was before Batman knew who he was dealing with. Bane thought he beat him after he broke his back and put him in that prison, thinking he would never escape. And when he came back, Bane might have been thinking "I broke him before, I can do it again." But in the second fight, Bruce knew about Bane's mask, and thus his weak spot. Sucks to hear about what happened in Colorado. Very surreal and creepy. I went and seen this movie yesterday and was very anxious because of the whole situation. I mean i live in Kentucky but cmon' guys you know there's some crazy rednecks around here for sure lol. The movie was amazing. The very beginning was boring but it got better as it went on. I wasn't a fan of Bane's whole accent but you get used to it. There's a lot of plot twists in the end and it leaves you wanting so much more. By the time it's over it doesn't feel as long as it really was because your constantly at the edge of your seat and have the strong urge to bite your nails. A few things I didn't like though: Scarecrow makes yet another cameo, but serves no real purpose. He's about as useful as Ultimate Shocker at this point. But I still love his character so much that i really dont even care at this point lol. Also, I have no idea who Selena Kyle's friend was. All I know is I had a weird feeling she might end up being Harley Quinn. But anyway. It was a good movie. A couple boring parts and it needed more of Batman instead of other characters but all in all it was bad ass. It was probably my favorite. The fights were actually fights. Bane and Batman actually go at each other for real. It's not like in most action movies where the hero runs towards this big huge guy and gets thrown around and then gets up and somehow manages to kill him with some dumb explosion or something. It was kick ass. You guys should go see this if you havent Though she wasn't explicitly named in the film, it's most likely Holly Robinson, a close friend of Selina's in the comics. She made her first appearance in Year One, and became Catwoman for a time after Selina had her daughter.
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Post by BackinBlack on Jul 22, 2012 18:50:35 GMT -5
Joker wasn't even so much as mentioned in this movie. I was kinda hoping during the infamous prison break scene we'd see some batman villains Considering the only surviving villains Batman faced in these movies were Joker and Scarecrow, there wouldn't have been that many. Joker was probably locked up in Arkham, not Blackgate, and since Arkham was in the Narrows and not part of the main island, Bane probably wasn't too concerned about that and didn't release anyone, including Joker. Before you say Crane was released though, as far as I could tell Crane wasn't as crazed as his comic counterpart and was placed in Blackgate as well. I think Blake should have referenced Joker though when talking about the last Batman sighting.
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Post by mr. excellent on Jul 22, 2012 18:56:31 GMT -5
Yeah, but I was tickled by the reference to Killer Croc. To Caveboy, I respect your opinion on this a lot. You've come to a conclusion that I've seen in a few different comments sections, but the way you arrived at that conclusion is a lot more fair. It has been frustrating to see certain reactions to the plot of this film, but only when the criticisms come from people who missed something in the plot that was actually explained. For example, Ebert completely missed the part that explained where Bane's men and resources were coming from. He thought it was silly that Batman and Bane were having a fist fight in the middle of the riot fight scene, after Bane blew up the bridges. What else were they supposed to do? Batman wasn't going to mow down Bane with his aircraft while he was mixed in a crowd with a bunch of cops and Gotham's citizens, and he's pretty clear on the no guns situation. It's not as though they stepped into a boxing ring and had a referee. I'd put this stuff in spoilers, but it's all in the trailers. Some critics couldn't keep track of all the new characters at the beginning of the film, and failed to see their importance for the rest of the production. While I'll admit that it was a bit difficult upon first viewing (I haven't seen it a second time yet), it became pretty clear to me having just sat down and reflected on the movie a bit more afterwards. That was without going to the internet for clarification. But I'll say more on this in the closing of this post. For now, I'll say that for as long as the movie was, it could've been a bit longer even. Because there were so many great parts to this film, I think it would've been a disservice to have shortened one thing here, and cut a little out there in order to expand the things that needed expanding. Not that you were saying to do that or anything. But like you said, Selina and Bruce's relationship, Miranda Tate and Bruce's relationship. Ras's part, showing the passage of time a little better or at least making it more clear. I remember hearing it in the dialogue that 3 months had passed. . It made sense to the story, but for some people, it was a bit abrupt. So, I do think a longer run time might have done the trick. Take a little more time to develop the connections, and a lot of people might have been more appeased. Then again, there were a lot of people who simply weren't into the first act of the movie at all. As much as that sucks to hear, people are entitled to feel the way that they feel. It would be pretentious to assume that given more time, multiple viewings and long term consideration, that people will suddenly "see how great this film is". I think it's great, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With "The Amazing Spider-man", over time I was less impressed with it on a whole as I was impressed with the way it evoked my emotions and the way the actors interacted. Not what I wanted, but it's what happened. With Batman Begins, over time I came to the conclusion that it was my favorite Batman film, sometimes I wonder if it's the best batman film. I don't know where I'll end up with on this movie.
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