The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

[CarMELita]

So, here am I, paying my tribute to a great Trilogy.

To be honest, TDKR has many faults and Andy mentioned them all. I mean, honestly, too much people, too less time to tell the whole tale. And although I hated the split of the last Potter-Movie into two, it could have been an option to make TDKR more accessible. I really need to watch it again. In fact I want to watch all three movies in a row to see how they work as a whole.

To catch up with Andy's rating, I would give BB a 5/5, TDK 4/5 and TDKR 3.5/5 - which is still a good rating. There wasn't a decrease in quality of the movie, I just feel the first and second work better as a movie. As mentioned above, too much story put into too less playing time. The mood Nolan created was awesome though, despite being a superhero-movie it totally felt real, depressing and emotional. Again I would've wished for more time to allow the characters to develop and give more insight into the psychological side of things, but well, it was still far better than any of the Batman stuff pre-Nolan.

I guess there will be another one with JGL taking over - I don't understand the hype about him, but it would be the logical choice regarding the ending of TDKR. I'm only glad that I take it as solid fact Nolan and Bale won't be doing another sequel. Not that I would complain Bale playig Batman, but as I said in the beginning - it is a great TRIlogy, there shouldn't be another one as a direct follow-up in my opinion ...

I was pleasantly surprised too by Anne Hathaway, not least because I'm not usually a fan. Her presence in the early going gave the trilogy it's only real dose of outrageous camp, and in general, I thought she was really rather magnificent. I've never understood previous moviemakers' obsession with giving Catwoman weird supernatural powers, so I'd take Anne's portrayal as an antiheroine grifter disguised as a socialite over any other, even Michelle Pfeiffer's.

Oh, and a special mention for Gary Oldman (which I'm sure he'll be very thrilled about), since he's seemingly gone under the radar. I thought he turned in a superb performance. What really struck me was that his voice was very different than in the previous two movies - he made Gordon older and more weathered, and it felt completely natural.

Anne as catwoman - I was surprised by the choice at first. I really really adore Anne, but I wasn't sure she would fit into the role. But she was perfect in my opinion. I would've loved to see more of her.

And thank you for mentioning Gary, Michael! Since I'm all biased about him (being one of the greatest actors around imo) it's good to see another one being completely taken by his developing of Comm. Gordon

[Cult Icon]

[cherrybomb]

TDKR for me, was good in normal movie standards...but not so much for Nolan. He's done much much much better in his career. Both batman begins and the dark knight were better than this movie.

[Socio]

I liked the movie. I think its good ending of the whole story. The creation of the Cat Woman by Anne Hathaway is what I liked the most. I think the movie has good balance beetwen the story and the all of those visual effects. Its quite long movie nad still I had fun of watching it. I like also the idea of puting more of Bruce Wayne (his emotion, drama) in front instead of typical Bat Man actions. All those viewers who had seen 2 past parts should like it.

[Cult Icon]

TDKR for me, was good in normal movie standards...but not so much for Nolan. He's done much much much better in his career. Both batman begins and the dark knight were better than this movie.

[Cult Icon]

So, here am I, paying my tribute to a great Trilogy.

To be honest, TDKR has many faults and Andy mentioned them all. I mean, honestly, too much people, too less time to tell the whole tale. And although I hated the split of the last Potter-Movie into two, it could have been an option to make TDKR more accessible. I really need to watch it again. In fact I want to watch all three movies in a row to see how they work as a whole.

To catch up with Andy's rating, I would give BB a 5/5, TDK 4/5 and TDKR 3.5/5 - which is still a good rating. There wasn't a decrease in quality of the movie, I just feel the first and second work better as a movie. As mentioned above, too much story put into too less playing time. The mood Nolan created was awesome though, despite being a superhero-movie it totally felt real, depressing and emotional. Again I would've wished for more time to allow the characters to develop and give more insight into the psychological side of things, but well, it was still far better than any of the Batman stuff pre-Nolan.

[Michael*]

Out of curiosity, what would be your rating out of 5?

I re-watched bits of Batman Begins and it helped me understand The Dark Knight Rises better. The two movies are very, very much related, and Nolan uses references throughout the two. He really did design part 3 as integral portion of the trilogy, and it was less stand-alone than I anticipated on my July 20th review. I actually enjoy 3 more for that reason, but not enough to raise my rating.

BB, TDK- 4.5

TDKR- 3.5

At the moment, I'm hovering somewhere between 3.5 and 4, but I think I'd like to see it again before making a definitive judgement. The idea of TDKR being better than TDK (a movie so good that even Eric Roberts couldn't ruin it) was obviously a complete non-starter, so by no means did I go into it with unrealistic expectations - it's just that I'd built myself up so much and was so fixated on being determined to enjoy it that I'm not sure I was fully 'in the moment' when I saw it, if that makes any sense whatsoever. One more viewing should help no end.

BB - 4.5

TDK - 5

TDKR - 3.5/4-ish

[Psylocke]

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give it a 4.5. My only big complaint was that it was hard to understand what Bane and/or Batman was saying every now and then, but the rest I thought was amazing. I want to go see it again. I didn't have that excited feeling to want to see it again with the first two even though they were quite good too. There is just something about this one...

[cherrybomb]

As a fan of the comics, I can't help but feel disappointed with the direction that Nolan went with the Batman/Catwoman relationship. Part of the film did a great job portraying it...the love/hate relationship between them. But that kiss before Batman goes off to save Gotham, un. necessary. and entirely cheesy. As was seeing them on a table together in Venice at the end ( I think it was Venice, I forget). WHY? Just WHYYY?! He turned it into a happy love story, and Nolan has gotten it right for the most part as far as the portrayal of the Villains in Batman go. But I was disappointed in this.

So I've liked Hathaway, up until TDKR. She was a decent Catwoman, no complaints. But her acting as Selina Kyle? :yuckky: :yuckky: :yuckky: :yuckky: :yuckky:. Cheesy, unnatural, and not so believable (to me anyway).

A lot of the time lines didn't make sense (re watch it and you'll see what I mean) I watched it 3x to catch everything I missed. Also there were just some entirely lazy moments. Nolan can do better and he knows it.

Anyone know how it is that Batman had time to talk to JGL's character while he was troubled to stop the bomb in time?

I'm a very very big fan of Nolan's Batman movies, but more so the comics. Without a doubt I think Nolan's trilogy has been the best adaption of Batman there has been. All I'm saying is, this film could have been loads better. It just felt so mediocre. I've noticed that the masses (ie the people that don't particularly care for the comics but just want a good film and jumped on the wagon after TDK) loved TDKR (but of course they were prepared to love it no matter what) and it seemed that a lot of Batman comic fans were less than thrilled with this last film.

Even with all said and done though, the film did have some extraordinary moments. And like I said in a previous post, very good movie in normal standards--not impressive in Nolan standards.

As always, Caine was a stand out. JGL was impressive. Hardy... I never really expected the mask to take away from Hardy's performance so much. But I have to say, the critics are right--it was hard to see much of Hardy through his costume. I did love his character though of course.

[ibizzza9]

One of the best movie of 2012

[Cult Icon]

In retrospect, I'm kind of disappointed at the turns the movie took and its overall lower quality. My vision of Bruce Wayne's story is considerably different. But I viewed the film once, and w/o really watching BB/TDK closely until after my experience. I had forgotten about the movies, so I went to the theater only equipped with my memories. So at the time, I was expecting a big, expansive film that matched TDK/BB in quality.

I have realized that the pivot point of the Trilogy is right here in TDK:

Bruce essentially chooses to either:

1. Fight to the end as Batman with "All (his) strength, all (his) resources, all (his) moral authority "

2. Find a successor to take up his mantle- in this case Harvey Dent. Retire and marry Rachel.

...Under the condition that Gotham is always protected by a 'super', especially able force like the Batman or Dent. This force defends Gotham against a particularly special evil like joker, league of shadows, scarecrow, organized crime, etc. that are capable of circumventing societal institutions and laws. And this 'Super' entity is to be eternally prepared to intervene against the type of chaos that the GPD and city governments can't handle on their own.

This is the spirit of noblesse oblige..

So we know how that ended up. I find the turns of TDKR and Bruce's choice to be a recluse as being inconsistent with the earlier situation and his commitment with protecting Gotham. His obsession w/Rachel is also a weak portion of the trilogy...He can endure all sorts of things, except 'move on'...

At the moment, I'm hovering somewhere between 3.5 and 4, but I think I'd like to see it again before making a definitive judgement. The idea of TDKR being better than TDK (a movie so good that even Eric Roberts couldn't ruin it) was obviously a complete non-starter, so by no means did I go into it with unrealistic expectations - it's just that I'd built myself up so much and was so fixated on being determined to enjoy it that I'm not sure I was fully 'in the moment' when I saw it, if that makes any sense whatsoever. One more viewing should help no end.

BB - 4.5

TDK - 5

TDKR - 3.5/4-ish

[Socio]

So, here am I, paying my tribute to a great Trilogy.

To be honest, TDKR has many faults and Andy mentioned them all. I mean, honestly, too much people, too less time to tell the whole tale. And although I hated the split of the last Potter-Movie into two, it could have been an option to make TDKR more accessible. I really need to watch it again. In fact I want to watch all three movies in a row to see how they work as a whole.

To catch up with Andy's rating, I would give BB a 5/5, TDK 4/5 and TDKR 3.5/5 - which is still a good rating. There wasn't a decrease in quality of the movie, I just feel the first and second work better as a movie. As mentioned above, too much story put into too less playing time. The mood Nolan created was awesome though, despite being a superhero-movie it totally felt real, depressing and emotional. Again I would've wished for more time to allow the characters to develop and give more insight into the psychological side of things, but well, it was still far better than any of the Batman stuff pre-Nolan.

I have all three films on my desktop

The third movie didn't work well enough with the first two in my view- still an entertaining watch though. To me, Nolan's Batman ended with TDK. I could probably write a short essay on why I think it ended with part 2. I could probably recreate my own version....

Bruce Wayne is fundamentally a conservative/right wing figure and a man from the 19th Century rather than the 20th/21st. It is clear, from BB, that he is the embodiment of noblesse oblige, nobility, total self-sacrifice, and knighthood. Part 3 should have continued this theme in a more complete way.

Well I think the story is kept that way. For me this third part is like Bruce Wayne, the capitalist is going against the revolution. Its very interesting motive for me. One of the best part is when the peoples court can sentenced defendant on exile, or the dead by exile. Bat Man represents the rules of the law against to rules of social justice of his opponents.

[Lkjh]

Am I the only one thinking this is actually pretty funny?

[CarMELita]

Am I the only one thinking this is actually pretty funny?

[Cult Icon]

bumping this just to say: I hope I get to watch it a second time.

[Michael*]

On 8/8/2012 at 2:35 AM, cherrybomb said:

As a fan of the comics, I can't help but feel disappointed with the direction that Nolan went with the Batman/Catwoman relationship. Part of the film did a great job portraying it...the love/hate relationship between them. But that kiss before Batman goes off to save Gotham, un. necessary. and entirely cheesy. As was seeing them on a table together in Venice at the end ( I think it was Venice, I forget). WHY? Just WHYYY?! He turned it into a happy love story, and Nolan has gotten it right for the most part as far as the portrayal of the Villains in Batman go. But I was disappointed in this.

 

I understand the argument (and objectively don't disagree), but given the way the trilogy unfolded, I found it impossible to begrudge Wayne a happy ending. The thing about him (the one exception being golden age Batman, who I believe retired and married Selina) is that he's stuck being Batman forever in the books, which of course is fine, because comics are an open-ended medium. Cinema is a different proposition though, and Nolan, to his credit, had the conviction to deliver a real conclusion where so many would have opted out, even if that conclusion was never going to be everyone's cup of tea.

 

On 9/13/2012 at 4:28 AM, Cult Icon said:

Now that I have a copy of Batman Begins blu-ray rip, who would like to see me take and post a collection of screenshots from all 3 movies? I've always wanted to do this, but I lacked the necessary (full) motivation...

 

Sounds good to me.