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Faceplams: Weeeelp... gonna have to see it now.Originally Posted by review
The Enhancer
Weeeelp... gonna have to see it now.
Behold the morning star
I was kinda looking foward to this after I saw the trailer. After reading the review, I feel like I will be let down. The trailer made it seem like it was going to have some serious attempt at some acting and such.
I might still check it out.
Flaccid Member
I thought Bane's whole image was completely ruined by essentially making the end seem that he wasn't this brilliant master-mind after all, he was just following Talia. It probably could have been worth while if not for Talia only driving a truck for like 5 minutes afterwards and dying without doing much of anything.
Either way, I absolutely loved it. I thought Tom Hardy did an amazing job and surprisingly enough I think Anne Hathaway stole the show, she really did an extraordinary job.
Stubby Member
Except having one of the silliest movie death acts of all time.
But I agree. There really was no other spot to put her big reveal and have it be as impactful as it was, but I would have liked for her to be Talia for longer. I don't necessarily think Bane was just following her orders though, since when she left he told Batman he was going to kill him even though she said not to. She may have been pulling some strings, but Bane wasn't just a puppet with a sweet mask.
Stubby Member
It only occurred to me as I read your post that that was exactly how I felt coming out of the cinema. As soon as Talia comes into the equation, Bane just seems so much more human—he even looks like Tom Hardy for the first time in the movie. They could have been trying to play the 'human underneath all those muscles' card but I don't think that was what they were going for. It just undermined his whole character.
I watched TDKR for the second time yesterday at the cinema (the smell of popcorn lured my companion and me inside). I caught a lot of stuff I'd missed the first time around (like the bomb being given an estimate of five months to go off, where I'd previously thought the movie took place over a month or two), which really helped me appreciate the movie more. One thing I didn't notice the first time around was Gordon's surprise upon seeing that the bat signal had been repaired. The first time, I'd thought he was responsible for it—that he was trying to make Batman, the symbol, live on. Now I feel like it's undeniable that Bruce survived at the end—and I was one of those who thought Alfred imagined him with Selina.
The ending felt a little bit rushed the second time around, though. I think when I first saw it I was so busy mopping up tears of sorrow over thinking Bruce was dead that the reveal completely knocked me off my feet and I didn't have time to think about it too much. Second time around, it doesn't quite stand up. It almost feels crammed in there, which is a shame since it was executed incredibly well in terms of a twist for first-time viewers.
Last edited by Hula; 07-27-2012 at 09:35 AM.
Active Member
I agree more with this than spegetti's view above, regarding Bane.
Except, again, I at least didn't make a fuss about Talia's death scene when I first watched it...the only time. I remember her driving the truck, falling through a hole in the road, being somehow fatally injured, getting out some words about her dad's goal, and then just dying. Was there something about her face that was funny, or was it how she even got fatally injured, or?
Last edited by Amaro; 07-27-2012 at 12:52 PM.
Stubby Member
I don't know about anyone else, but I smirked when she took her last breath since it was just the tiniest bit overacted. That, and the way she calmly closed her eyes at the end after dramatically expiring.
Stubby Member
As Hula stated, it was overacted. It was just your typical "I am getting the last word out, then dying right after" movie death scene. It wasn't that bad, it just made me laugh a bit.
Active Member
I wondered if her role was cut down for the final movie. To me, it seemed with a little more development and especially with her and Bruce getting together that it would have made the ending that more emotional with the betrayal and reveal. It was already a long movie, but with a little more development with Bruce falling for someone new, it would have made it much more emotional. Here's someone who wanted to do great things with the world, like Bruce, but it was all a ploy to fuck him. Should have made the movie 15 minutes longer to add a little more of that.
Behold the morning star
I have to disagree with ya on the ending, my second viewing, the ending was just as powerful. I think its the best partof the film. The big pay off.
Throbbing Member
I never took it as Bruce falling for Miranda (Talia)... This is evident when she asks about the picture of Rachel in the rain and about Alfred, and Bruce says, "He left...taking everything with him." He was feeling very vulnerable, and saw her as attractive and a powerful professional ally. That's probably the first time he'd ever kissed someone in eight years. The second viewing allowed me to catch these nuances in the characters' relationships. But when she did stab him, and you see Bruce's face, I was like, "Ahhh shit."
I'll be damned, but..I think TDKR might be my favorite of the trilogy.
Last edited by joplinpicasso; 07-27-2012 at 05:08 PM.
Active Member
I know it's a little more news-related, and I don't mean to derail, but I thought this was worth posting here. Hans Zimmer released "Aurora," an original composition put together for the Aurora Victim relief organization. You can get it for a minimum donation of 10 cents.
https://watertowermusic.moontoast.com/estore/embed/1336
Only By Night
For me TDK was just so much more emotional for me. Plus, every time The Joker was on screen I couldn't take my eyes off of him; I just wanted more whenever a scene ended. I am not taking anything away from Tom Hardy, but Heath Ledger just does it for me all around when it came to portraying The Joker like he did. TDKR is in third for me, but I enjoyed it so freakin' much.
Throbbing Member
Props to Zimmer - will be getting soon.
Hmm, I feel TDKmay beis definitely more cerebral, but I think I'm more emotionally connected to 1 and 3.
Alright, question: How do people feel about the pressure Bane put on the city that drove a lot of people to ransack the rich, take advantage of the lack of cops, and steal and pillage? How many people were going on with their normal lives? What would constitute a normal life for five months? Do you think it's a bit at odds with the moral fortitude shown in The Joker's ferry conundrum, or do you think the stakes were just that damn imposing?
Balls in Your Mouth
Finally saw this film so I don't have to mindful of the internet now.
Some personal opinions and notes:
- Bane: meh. He didn't do much for me. It might have been the fact that I...
A.) Could barely understand what he was saying half the time.
B.) Was confused by his Dutch (or whatever the fuck that was) accent. (I think someone appropriately mentioned earlier in this thread that it was a poor Sean Connery throwback. That's almost too spot on of a comparison. "I'll take Anal Rapist for $600!") Isn't he supposed to South American or something?
C.) His voice was horribly mixed with the rest of the movie. That may just be me with sensitive ears, but it was painfully obvious that it was dubbed.
- Anne Hathaway blew me away. I'm not a huge fan of hers and was going into the theater with the mindset that I would continue to not like her, but I was pleasantly surprised. Her character was one of my favorites in the film and had a lot of depth I wasn't expecting.
- Blake's character was solid. Who doesn't love JGL?
Overall, it was a very well-made film that wrapped up the ending for - what I think - is the best Superhero trilogy ever made. Sure, there were some bumps and bruises along the way in terms of plotline and certain production choices, but I really think that it was a fun, entertaining film.
Active Member
Levitt is on the rise this year, for sure. Between this, Premium Rush, Looper, and something else I'm probably unaware of, he's got a big summer/fall season.
I agree on Bane's voice, too. I'm sure it was a bit of a challenge to try to get it just right without making it any more gutteral-sounding. I tried to do some tweaking on voices like that for a project last year and it was a nightmare. But given the budget they had and pressure on the movie, they probably could have done something a little better. I'm just glad I could understand him (more or less) this way.
I thought about that a bit, too. I mean, the city was literally caving in on itself with Bane's help, but you have to think of all the people of Gotham that weren't as politically charged or as oppressed. Maybe the lower class was so intimidated by what was happening, they mostly just kept things the way they were out of comfort and familiarity. Maybe they felt scared, like someone was trying to FORCE them to rise up against the rich. Sure, nobody particularly wants to live in slums or anything, but you have to wonder how many of them would ransack homes if given the chance, versus however many would still just be trying to scrape together a living in a new social order.
And besides - if I were in that situation, knowing that someone in the city, unknown to me, was holding the trigger for the bomb, I'd probably be a little cautious about the people I bump into, ya know?
Last edited by ImTheWiseJanitor; 07-28-2012 at 05:27 PM.
Only By Night
Yea, there were a lot of times where me and my girlfriend had to keep asking each other what he was saying in some points of the movie. After awhile it got really frustrating at times having to focus on just what he is saying to understand it. It wasn't that bad though. That's why I love when comes out on Blu-Ray or DVD, subtitles!
And JGL is also coming out with Spielberg's "Lincoln", and is said to be in the Little Shop of Horrors remake. And it's Looper
Throbbing Member
Administrator
For those of you who follow Lt. Randazzo on Facebook, you've probably already seen this. For the rest of you, figure out why I posted this video here.
Active Member
My girlfriend just was playing that yesterday and asked me who it sounded like... I actually took a little while, granted I wasn't totally focused, but that's quite spot on.
Last edited by Amaro; 07-28-2012 at 08:53 PM.
Active Member
One thing I love about Nolan's movies is the left-of-center approach to casting. Some of the people you usually see in smaller roles you'd never expect to find in a modern tentpole summer movie. Tiny Lister and Eric Roberts had some of the best lines in The Dark Knight. Tom Berenger hadn't been in a major Hollywood film for almost a decade, and he has a rather pivotal supporting role in Inception. All of his movies since Memento has this, and I was glad to see it continued here. Matthew Modine has a small role, but it has an arc all it's own and his final scene, however brief still managed to be effective. Also glad to see Aiden Gillen (most of you probably know him from Game Of Thrones, I mostly know him from The Wire and as the villain in a John Cena movie from a couple years ago) and William Devane in smaller roles in Rises.
Throbbing Member
I'd love to hear him state, "It's not about the money, it's about sending a message..."
Throbbing Member
Some one needs to go through his interviews, cut them up and mash them together into Joker quotes.
Viral video achieved.
Throbbing Member
I know about 30% of the movie was pretty much 'meh', but still: I'm blown away. I'd expected a bit of a disappointment after TDK, which I loved, but it didn't happen. Sure, some bits and pieces were silly: why does The Batman, once he's revealed to be Bruce Wayne, not just drop the shitty voice that is fooling absolutely no one except everyone in the cast? How does he know - without the visor shit of TDK and with no proper ways of communicating because of the city's broken down infrastructure - where everyone is all the time? Why does Gordon carry an incriminating letter with him all the time? How come Bane's army doesn't grow: after five months, half of Gotham should've gotten some form of Stockholm syndrome?
Silliness aside, I really hated 'the big reveal', mostly because of the crappy way Ra's Al Ghul floated around a bit and Talia's death was pretty much ridiculous. As was that Batman/Catwoman kiss. Mmm.
On the other hand, I though Bane was magnificent. Even the spot of crying at the end didn't ruin him for me. I'm a little upset they didn't keep the original mix of the voice - subtitles would have been a far more elegant solution I think - but it didn't bother me. He's clearly speaking through a filter, so why not assume it magnifies his voice? You can see Tom speak beneath the mask, and I think the dubbing was well done. I also liked that his accent sounded rather a lot like a poor man trying to speak in an upstanding way. And the physiciality of the character was spot on, to me.
I wasn't too impressed with either Bane/Batman fight, but I did LOVE the fact that he broke his back by smacking him to the floor. I knew it was coming, and while my way-too-empathising self was shifting in my chair, my inner geek was jubilant.
Another thing I loved was the dynamic between Alfred and Wayne. I've always loved Michael Cane's Alfred most in the previous movies, and he was so spot on here. He's the thing that had me in tears at the end, apologizing while he was in fact so right.
I also liked the fact that everyone's right: Gotham's not worth it. It's stupid residents are not worth it. When the bomb explodes in mid-flight, they cheer. They're greedy, ignorant and cowardly, and the few people who are actually trying to make a difference are pretty much at the bottom anyway. That's the whole point, I suppose, but I was really upset when I thought Bruce had actually died (which I would have preferred as an ending) for those people.
I also LOVED the music, it was - in the correct sense of the word - awesome. And I thought it quite fitting that the end of the trilogy was the most comic-booky of all.
Behold the morning star
Elke, I agree with your last paragraph.
Throbbing Member
I agree with my last paragraph too.
I also noticed I forgot to mention Gordon and Blake, who I thought were both excellent.
Throbbing Member
Since I now saw it, I can browse through the whole thread, and I have to say I could not disagree with any statement more than this one.
I think one of the more clever themes of Nolan's trilogy, from the beginning, is the inability of people to think outside the box. The villains in each instalment are people who simply destroy the box: Scarecrow by drugging his victims, dragging them from reality; The Joker by changing the rules of the game to a game with no rules; and Bane by handing out some very simple rules that in a sane reality would make no sense - a civilian has the means to blow up the city, no one can get out, those ridiculous courts...
Bane manages to be the most disruptive of structured societal thinking, because he manages in the span of one speech to create a whole new set of societal rules that cannot be anything but contested, and still no one seems to be in a position to contest them.
In all three movies, there has been criticism of 'society' as an almost Heideggerian Das Man, a sort of bland uniformity of desires and vices that only occasionally manages to shake itself out of its apathy to do something - usually the wrong thing. And there's been the idea that individuals can change the course of events, that individuals can break through that apathy not AS individuals, but as symbols of something greater than themselves. Jim Gordon is not a flawed and fragile human being, he is the face of law and order - more even than the totally mythical Harvey Dent.
The whole school bus thing shows a non-symbolic individual in this society, try to push at the rules (the perverse Bane-rules) and banging his head against the brick wall of inflexibility that's always at the heart of how Nolan portrayed Gotham. The startled disappointment Blake displays when his efforts at communication are so ill recieved, is what in the end makes him swing through that waterfall. That's why he tosses his badge into the water: in that moment he sees and experiences what Jim Gordon tried to explain to him.
So that moment was not only crucial to one of the more interesting characters in this movie, it also mirrors the cliffhanger of TDK where the apathy of Das Man IS destroyed by humanity, and by ordinary individuals making a very iconic decision.
Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it
Administrator
Throbbing Member
So how did he get back into Gotham? Anyone?
Throbbing Member
Maybe he used a grappling hook on one of the bombed-out bridges. Maybe he took advantage of his League of Shadows training to walk across the ice. Maybe he took advantage of same training to sneak across the one functioning bridge. Hell, maybe there's some underground passage only he knows about. Doesn't really matter.
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