The Dark Knight Rises

[ZariusTwo]

Third act of TDKR in it's entirety. MAJOR SPOILERS

Spoiler:

[ToTheNines]

Yo! Went to the midnight showing and was blown away. I wasn't expecting much out of this, but I was so wrong.

Both of the fights with Bane were brutal. Very well done. Bane's voice was kind of cheesy, and I miss the latino accent, but they tied him in with the league of Shadows so it was acceptable that he was Siberian or whatever.

CATWOMAN. Anne stole the show, I think. I wasn't much excited about her either, but... wrong again. She nailed it perfectly, I'd really like to see her get voice work as Catwoman in the future.

The John Blake thing went in the direction I was hoping it wouldn't. I originally saw him as more of a Harvey Dent type of character.

Spoiler:

I didn't mind him taking over the mantle at the end, but the "Robin" thing was just retarded. I actually might have enjoyed that part if his legal name was Jason Todd, Tim Drake or even Jean-Paul Valley. But his real name is Robin? So clever and realistic Nolan!

The worst part about the trilogy, at this point, is that Batman never amassed a decent rogues gallery. I envisioned the 8 year gap to be Bruce running himself ragged fighting Hush, Riddler, Penguin, Deadshot etc. But now all I have to toy with in my head is the one year gap between the first two and

Spoiler:

Robin John Blake and his merry band of orphans.

What was kind of messed up was how

Spoiler:

Talia and Bane were trying to destroy Gotham in the name of Ra's Al Ghul, even though, in my mind, he gave up at the of Begins because he decided Batman did have what it takes to save the city.

I could ramble for a good while longer, but I'll stop now lol.

[Raph's Girl]

I just have to say that I loved this movie. It's not my fave Batman film (nothing will EVER beat Mask of the Phantasm or Return of the Joker) but it'll be on the list for sure. Twas a surprise to see Chris Judge in it as one of the bad guys (an extremely minor role but I was like "Wait... is that...?" and the credits confirmed it).

Now a couple interesting points.

Spoiler:

I basically figured out that Miranda was Talia near the beginning of the film. Yay for predictability! I kept on waiting for her to do her "turn" to the dark side... and her death scene was rather lame and bad acted. But hey... Talia finally made it to the big screen so... WOOT!

As for Det. Blake. In my mind as soon as he figured out that Batman and Bruce were the same person I kept on thinking "Oh...so he's gonna be Robin or Nightwing? I thought they said Robin wouldn't show up...." and then in the end when it was revealed his NAME is Robin I chuckled a bit.

As for Bane. Eh.. I could barely understand his muffling. It was a couple interesting twists with the character tho.

Oh and Catwoman. We never did figure out the full motive behind Selina wanting to disapear. But at least she wasn't a bad guy really. Sad that Holly was just a hanger on but nice that they included her just the same.

As for the Deadliest Catch: The Movie er uh Man of Steel trailer. Interesting to say the least. Got a couple cheers from the audience (which was packed). Im just curious as to what Deadliest Catch crew will be in the film now.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Yo! Went to the midnight showing and was blown away.

Too soon

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by The Ninjinister

Too soon

Woah, really didn't mean it like that.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Woah, really didn't mean it like that.

I didn't think so. Watching the movie, however, and thinking about all the victims, I couldn't help be wish we had more real-life heroes who could stand between the mad-men and the innocents.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

CATWOMAN. Anne stole the show, I think. I wasn't much excited about her either, but... wrong again. She nailed it perfectly, I'd really like to see her get voice work as Catwoman in the future.

Agreed. I totally didn't expect to enjoy Hathaway's performance to the degree that I did. I feel bad about making fun of her costume/visor after the photos of that fight on the steps were leaked last year.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

The John Blake thing went in the direction I was hoping it wouldn't. I originally saw him as more of a Harvey Dent type of character.

Spoiler:

I didn't mind him taking over the mantle at the end, but the "Robin" thing was just retarded. I actually might have enjoyed that part if his legal name was Jason Todd, Tim Drake or even Jean-Paul Valley. But his real name is Robin? So clever and realistic Nolan!

Spoiler:

"John Blake" struck me more as a "Tim Drake" (see it even rhymes!) than anything else. He doesn't have the athletic skill and acrobat experience that Dick Grayson had. And I don't really see how "Robin" is the full name for a guy named "John." But... whatever, I still loved that part. Especially, considering how much Nolan always said Robin would never appear in his Batman movies.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

The worst part about the trilogy, at this point, is that Batman never amassed a decent rogues gallery. I envisioned the 8 year gap to be Bruce running himself ragged fighting Hush, Riddler, Penguin, Deadshot etc.

Yeah, after I first watched Batman Begins, I imagined that there were limitless possibilities for the future of Nolan's Bat-verse. I guess there's always some video games to fill in the gaps of the continuity (although TDK didn't even get a game!). But, I think the gravity of the Joker-Dent coverup and the death of Rachel were believable reasons as to why Batman would want to hold up forever.

[Raph's Girl]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Spoiler:

"John Blake" struck me more as a "Tim Drake" (see it even rhymes!) than anything else. He doesn't have the athletic skill and acrobat experience that Dick Grayson had. And I don't really see how "Robin" is the full name for a guy named "John." But... whatever, I still loved that part. Especially, considering how much Nolan always said Robin would never appear in his Batman movies.

Spoiler:

Det Blake's name is a play on Dick Grayson who's birth name is Richard John Grayson.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Raph's Girl

Spoiler:

Det Blake's name is a play on Dick Grayson who's birth name is Richard John Grayson.

Spoiler:

I actually didn't know that... but I still don't see the logic in it. Maybe "Detective Richard Johnson" might have worked better?

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Spoiler:

I actually didn't know that... but I still don't see the logic in it. Maybe "Detective Richard Johnson" might have worked better?

Dick Johnson...

[The Stryker]

Thought it was pretty lame honestly. Can't really muster up any kind of care to really talk about it in detail though.

Lame.

[ZariusTwo]

All joking about the ending aside, here's my detailed take

Spoiler:

It was much more like a sophisticated "Die Hard With A Vengeance", and a lot less grounded Batflick compared to Begins or Dark Knight. I missed Bruce's Tumbler, and didnt feel like "The Bat" gave anyone a fair shake at posing a threat to Bruce

Bruce and Talia's little get together felt random...and should have happened much later in the movie so the betrayal came across a little sharper and cruler at a more urgent time. That said, I loved the twist with revealing she was the child who rose from the pit and Bane was her guardian (in the comics, there lovers)

Alfred waiting eight years to tell Bruce about Bane is stretching it...yeah, I get this version of Alfred doesnt want to bury Bruce, but maybe if he had told Bruce the legends about Bane, Bruce would have been constantly on his guard and never brought himself to retire. Sadly, with the actors getting up there in age, Alfred and Fox were relegated to bit parts who did nothing, which is a shame because they are the wiser spirits of the Nolan films. I did like hearing Alfred's fantasy...even if it was a clear set-up to the Disney ending we got.

As for Selina...hmm, I liked her speech to Bruce at the ball and pilfering the peirls at the Manor, but didnt quite "feel" her wearing that outfit. It looked like something Fox could have come up with for her later on in the movie.

The two fights with Batsy and Bane were very good, one was a note perfect enactment of "Knightfall", complete with the back breaking, and another set up Talia's betrayal. It's just a shame Bane's fate is taken out of Bruce's hands when Selina comes in and guns Bane down.

Bruce had some serious "Star Wars" vibes going on in this...first the "fear is why you fail" guy and the vision of Ras' Al Ghul. Very impressive direction here with the attempts by many to rise from the pit. Good touch with the bats pouring out as Bruce makes his final attempt.

If I had to wager a guess, Bruce and Selina used the "Clean Slate" to go off the grid, allowing them to live out their lives without any prying eyes. I'm only guessing because the CS device was mentioned a lot, but nothing seemed to come of it after Selina agreed to help Bruce. The choice of ending is ballsy, as every comic fan worth their salt will be pouring Kool-Aid down their throat and proclaiming "BATMAN NEVER RETIRES", I guess they never read some stories where Golden Age Bruce settled down with Selina and produced Helena (aka Huntress)

And lastly...Robin. I called it the instant I saw him in the TRAILERS. The film leaves it open to whenever he'll become Batman or Nightwing (but Dick went from being Robin, to Nightwing, to Batman in the comics anyway), but the notion he will "rise" is a powerful one, and goes back to Bruce's idea that "Batman could be anyone", it allows the Nolan 'verse to live on without the director or Bale, if WB take up the option.

Overall, very entertaining movie despite some flaws. The movie got a standing ovation at the end, which in my area is pretty rare (British audiences are so more reserved than the wilder American moviegoes)

[Raphael86]

I honestly didn't care for this one. It had some good points, but I absolutely hated the ending.

Spoiler:

Bruce's eight year exile made absolutely no sense to me. I had hoped that after eight years of working and perfecting his craft, he'd finally be the Dark Knight from the comic books - honing his detective skills, getting a new Tumbler in addition to the Batpod and having various villain paraphenalia for trophies to hint at other cases in the interim, etc. But most of all, I expected him to become darker and pushing himself harder like after Jason Todd's death in the comics as opposed to stopping all together and locking himself away to weep over his dead girlfriend.

As for the ending, I have always hated Batman Inc. IMO, only Bruce Wayne should ever wear the cape and cowl. Anything else is just not Batman to me.

As for the Superman trailer, I freaked. Looked better than I thought it would.

[Jelly Bean]

I was surprised at how much I liked Anne Hathaways catwoman. She was surprisingly very grounded and relaxed in the character, and all the little facial "ticks" Anne alway seems to do with all her characters she acts in. She didn't annoy me once. Although, I was confused as to why she was not some socialite like I've seen her be before. And who was the girl that was with her?

[Raphael86]

Originally Posted by Jelly Bean

And who was the girl that was with her?

Spoiler:

She's a character from Batman: Year One named Holly. She was a child prostitute in the comic that Selina took under her wing, obviously older here.

[Jelly Bean]

Originally Posted by Raphael86

Spoiler:

She's a character from Batman: Year One named Holly. She was a child prostitute in the comic that Selina took under her wing, obviously older here.

gasp!

you mean the Holly from this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aJ2f...eature=related

I thought she was jusat some random girl created for this animated short!

[Raphael86]

Originally Posted by Jelly Bean

gasp!

you mean the Holly from this version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aJ2f...eature=related

I thought she was jusat some random girl created for this animated short!

Yep, that's her. She was in the animated movie too.

[Cure]

This joint was pretty bangin'.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Raphael86

Spoiler:

She's a character from Batman: Year One named Holly. She was a child prostitute in the comic that Selina took under her wing, obviously older here.

Spoiler:

Heh, I kinda figured they were part-time lesbians on account of that one scene where they were getting a little intimate. I guess the ending suggested otherwise... maybe.

It was strange that they never told us what happened to her after the big conflict with Bane.

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by Raphael86

Spoiler:

As for the ending, I have always hated Batman Inc. IMO, only Bruce Wayne should ever wear the cape and cowl. Anything else is just not Batman to me.

That's ridiculously selfish and shows why change-fearing comic book virgins shouldnt be listened to when making movies about these types of heroes.

Spoiler:

I didnt mind the ending because I love legacy characters, I actually feel that if comics are to matter more in the future, they should move on from the old guard and embrace new characters, but the stubborness of comic book geeks won't let them try that.

Peter Parker is my favourite Spider-Man, but I learned a long time ago to move on from him because the other characters in the suit (Ben, Miguel, Mayday) were just as good as him. Ditto for Batman and characters like Dick and Terry taking up the mantle either breifly or permanently.

You're also missing the whole point of the movie

Spoiler:

Bruce told Blake that he created Batman to be a symbol and a mythic character who "could be anyone". He long intended for it to carry on WITHOUT him in the event of death or retirement

Batman Inc is also one of the best ideas to come down the pipeline in a long time, it doesnt take anything away from Bruce and it creates fresh new characters that enrich the franchise.

[Raphael86]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

That's ridiculously selfish and shows why change-fearing comic book virgins shouldnt be listened to when making movies about these types of heroes.

So...because I READ Batman, Inc. and because I didn't like it I'm a "selfish comic book virgin"? That's funny.