The Dark Knight Rises - POTENTIAL SPOILERS

[XZero]

Saw it last night. Gotta say I liked it. Maybe on repeat viewings (going with friends next week who are busy this weekend) I'd like it more than Dark Knight, but so far it's the middle of the pack for this trilogy, with Begins being the worst (comparatively) and Dark Knight being the best (again, comparatively).

The acting was solid throughout. I don't know why people are complaining about Bane. I understood everything he said perfectly. Actually, the only line I couldn't understand was one of Batman's toward the end of the movie when he gets into the Bat plane thing. Anne Hathaway nailed Catwoman in my opinion. I've never cared for Catwoman that much no matter which incarnation (Batman Returns, The Animated Series, Arkham City, etc.), but this was the one time I was always happy to see her on screen.

I'm not going to get into spoilers for the plot. It really was more of a sequel to Begins than Dark Knight. The impact of Harvey Dent's death and the way it was presented to the citizens was fully explored, but it felt weird that the Joker never even got a mention (though I understand the directorial decision supporting that approach completely).

One thing that did bug me about the movie was that in The Dark Knight, Nolan made a big deal of the fact that the people of Gotham are better than the Joker gave them credit for. However, here, when left to their own devices courtesy of Bane, they proved the Joker right. The second Bane attacked the football game and freed the prisoners, instead of recognizing what he was doing (ala the prisoners on the boat in Dark Knight), a large amount of the population gave into animalistic instincts rather than maintaining an orderly existence. The Joker would have slow clapped the hell out of that show because it effectively showed he was right for the most part. Yes, there were still good people out there, but too many of the people of Gotham figuratively ate each other just as Joker said they would last time.

I'm probably overanalyzing here, so I'll leave it at that. Otherwise, there were a few plot holes, some bigger than others, but they didn't bother me much. The movie was worth it for me because really with these movies, you want 3 things: good characterization, hard-hitting and fast action, and quieter, more psychological and philosophical moments. It had all of that and really lived up to the hype. Great end to a great franchise.

Now on a more important note, please tell me someone else here caught that the music for the Superman trailer was either ripped from or an arrangement of the music from Gandalf's death in Fellowship of the Ring. I put that track on my ipod on the way home and I swear that was it. Go to 6:11 in this video:

[FuriousFure]

Having to focus on what a character in the movie was saying took you out of the movie?

Yes, to consciously make an extra effort outside of merely paying attention. if it takes even a small conscious effort to make sure you understand what a character is saying instead of being able to just comprehending by merely listening as it is with every other character in the movie without the extra effort. Even if it is minimal amount of effort does take me out of a movie a small bit.

This is not a complaint, or comment on the artistic interpretation of Bane, it was nothing more other than an observation and my personal reasoning why people might have an issue understanding Bane. It appears that I rely on seeing mouths more than I thought I did.

As for the Movie, I thought it was great. yes, some plot holes and the script was not so subtle at times, rarely, but those lines stick out. but that has been the case on rest of the trilogy.

Catwoman was good, I like that she wasn't some sort of freak/cat lady. I was impressed by Hathaway's acting was superb. the way she could flip the switch with her character was awesome.

[CasualVader]

Now on a more important note, please tell me someone else here caught that the music for the Superman trailer was either ripped from or an arrangement of the music from Gandalf's death in Fellowship of the Ring. I put that track on my ipod on the way home and I swear that was it. Go to 6:11 in this video:

I don't think they showed the Superman trailer at my showing. I feel let down.

[Subz1987]

Now on a more important note, please tell me someone else here caught that the music for the Superman trailer was either ripped from or an arrangement of the music from Gandalf's death in Fellowship of the Ring. I put that track on my ipod on the way home and I swear that was it. Go to 6:11 in this video:

That pissed me off the most. At first, I thought it was a The Hobbit trailer, but when they showed Clark Kent I figured they must have mixed up the audio somehow. That music completely took me out of the mood for that trailer because I couldn't get LOTR out of my mind, and it is not music that I expect for Superman.

[Benjamin Briggs]

all I have to say about this movie is

oh my god anne hathaway is so hot

[Bleck]

Yes, to consciously make an extra effort outside of merely paying attention.

It takes extra effort to pay attention to what a character in the movie is saying during a movie?

[FuriousFure]

It takes extra effort to pay attention to what a character in the movie is saying during a movie?

... No.

If you look at what I have written, you would see that I said that if it was necessary to put in conscious effort to try to understand a character in a movie, (which it was for me, at times, for that specific character, most likely due to the combination of the obstruction of his mouth and the distorted sound of his voice) it could potentially take away from the movie. So while it does not take extra effort to play attention to what characters are saying in movies but if it is, for whatever reason, hard to understand a character, it might affect the enjoyment of a movie a small amount.

Let me try to explain it in a way that you might understand.

let's say there was a key plot device that was shown on a paper in the movie multiple times but the font was not easily readable. an extra effort must be made to be able to understand the plot device. I believe this required extra effort would be enough to lower the immersion of an audience member.

This concept is not so hard to understand and hopefully, I won't be misunderstood or be "Trolled" anymore, whatever the case may be.

As for the movie,

The ending was a bit too ambiguous for me, and it was sad that after such a great villain of the TDK, that the plot went the way it did. I felt that the main threat of the movie when it was revealed has been overdone in last few years. Perhaps I am a bit naive but that's just too great of a leap of faith to make in such a serious, down to earth movie. (as far as Superhero movies are concerned)

Overall, I think that the movie was very entertaining. Great acting all around, even though it was a bit of a Inception Reunion. I will most likely purchase it for home viewings when the trilogy pack comes out on Blu-ray.

[Ethan Rex]

all I have to say about this movie is

oh my god anne hathaway is so hot

My dark knight was rising

[PixelPanic]

With the combination of Bale's growling and Hardy's muffled british accent, I think it's fair to say dialogue wasn't the key part of fight scenes.

P.S. "the crime he committed was that he loved me." Lost it.

[Bleck]

if it was necessary to put in conscious effort to try to understand a character in a movie, (which it was for me, at times, for that specific character, most likely due to the combination of the obstruction of his mouth and the distorted sound of his voice) it could potentially take away from the movie.

You realize that almost every single time Bane is speaking, his dialogue is the focal point? You're not missing anything by focusing on what a character is saying during a scene where that character is saying something and nothing else is happening. It's also sort of irrational to imply that it's somehow impossible to both pay attention to a character's dialogue and also, at the same time, experience any other facet of the movie.

[Gollgagh]

It's also sort of irrational

enjoyment of any given thing isn't necessarily strictly rational so telling someone he's not being rational about some facet of enjoyment is kind of silly (not that I'm disagreeing with you, of course)

[Super-Duper Sombrero]

I had trouble with much of what Bane was saying. It seemed like an audio balance issue, though. His voice was so loud it was almost painful, and very difficult to properly hear, if that makes any sense.

Also I kept expecting him to say "Shtay a while, and lishen!"

[Magnetic Ether]

Just got back from it. I wasn't particularly impressed.

I also had trouble with Bane's voice...I think it would have been easier to understand if it wasn't so overloaded with bass.

Batman's was a bit better, but still difficult to make out sometimes.

[Kenogu Labz]

I've gotta agree with Bane's voice. It'll probably be much easier when I watch it again on DVD; theater sound systems have heeeavy bass, and it caused all his words to be highly muffled. The problem is that, while you're trying to decipher the last thing he said (and yes, you have to decipher it), the next line of dialogue is being said, so you're trying to parse two things at once. Not terribly easy to consciously parse through a set of blurred phonemes to work out what words they could be in the first place, much less doing so while trying to listen to normal dialogue simultaneously.

[Toadofsky]

I don't think they showed the Superman trailer at my showing. I feel let down.

You didn't miss anything. It looks like another version of Superman Returns only as a reboot. Superman is mopping along on the road, then he's a fisherman on a boat. Then they cut to his logo and him flying. Nothing worth getting excited over.

I'm not looking forward to Snyder's version of Superman. I liked 300, and I've watched a little of Watchmen, but there's something about him doing Superman to me that just doesn't match up. When more footage is shown, I'll be willing to give it a shot. Other than that, I'm leaning towards skipping it, at least for now.

Now, as far as the Dark Knight Rises, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I really wish they would have had more time with it, it feels more "boxed in" where as the Dark Knight felt pretty big and open. Maybe that was all part of the plan with the film? A number of my friends complained about Hathaway being Catwoman, to which I say, "People complained about Ledger as Joker, and look how wrong we were." I liked Hathaway, there was plenty of chemistry that I wish could have been explored, but again, time was not on their side with this film.

There are problems in some of the story-line, and even Bane's voice sounded like they over compensated for those who complained about his dialogue in test screenings, but I liked him. I didn't mind the ending though I hear plenty of complaints by numerous outlets (Bad Ass Digest's main guy Devin Farcey has been quite critical of ALL the films).

It wasn't exactly the ending a lot would have wanted, but I think it was fitting. I feel that all 3 films feel fairly congruent with one another, and this was a noble effort by Nolan. I can't wait to see what he goes on to do next, I'd love to see a Sci-Fi film from him again (though I guess Inception wasn't exactly a Sci-Fi film was it?).

[Fishy]

Personally I loved Bane's voice. It was very theatrical. Reminded me of Cid from FFXII mixed with Sean Connery.

Also someone at my showing cracked a fairly tasteless joke by standing up to wish everyone luck just before it started. Most nervous laughter I've ever heard from a crowd.

[Soma]

Personally I loved Bane's voice. It was very theatrical. Reminded me of Cid from FFXII mixed with Sean Connery.

Also someone at my showing cracked a fairly tasteless joke by standing up to wish everyone luck just before it started. Most nervous laughter I've ever heard from a crowd.

I liked his voice quite a bit, I just couldn't understand it.

The now classic Batman scene of "WHERE ARE THE OTHER DRUGS GOING!?", when Batman did it to Bane in this movie, I couldn't understand most of it. He did it in TDK to Joker, but I don't remember about what.

That's pretty inappropriate, part of me thinks it's funny though. (only because it didn't happen in my showing, I'm sure)

[Avatar of Justice]

I enjoyed this movie, I did have a hard time understanding a lot of the dialogue because the sound system was SO FUCKING LOUD. I didn't see a lot of movies in 2011 (possibly nothing besides the Lion King rerelease, can't remember). I've seen 3 movies in 2012 at 2 different theaters, and they were all ear hurtingly loud. Is this the new trend for movies? They really need to turn things the fuck down so that I can hear the goddamn dialogue over the music.

[PixelPanic]

Oh! Almost forgot!

After the football field was completely destroyed, and there were many bombings, did the jumbotron at the stadium still work, AND focus on Bane??? I just it was weird.

Also, if there was a safety rope for the Lazarus Pit, why didn't anybody just climb THAT?

[Kenogu Labz]

Oh! Almost forgot!

After the football field was completely destroyed, and there were many bombings, did the jumbotron at the stadium still work, AND focus on Bane??? I just it was weird.

Also, if there was a safety rope for the Lazarus Pit, why didn't anybody just climb THAT?

All it takes is strategic placing to prevent knocking out city power. Bane had the brains to ensure precise placement.

The safety rope only went partway up, and I'm guessing there was no nearby route by which you could reach the top if you made it to the hook.

[JH Sounds]

I also found it amusing that a key scene showing Batman's failure features a tablet. I guess he needs to update his tech some more.

[RiverSound]

I saw this with subtitles, so I pretty much just enjoyed Bane's Sean Connery meets Darth Vader performance. After all, it is a comic book movie and the voice just contributes to his supervillainy IMO.

And listening to Batman and Bane growling to each other was just hilarious, but not in a bad way. I think it was very enjoyable.

Some of the characters I felt were unnecessary, like Miranda. I just didn't care for her. I wanted to see more Selina and would have given Miranda's screentime to her instead.

That maybe pisses me most. Catwoman isn't even in this film, and if she is, she's never even mentioned by name. Selina's character is way too shoved aside to give room for other uninteresting characters, but that's all up for debate.

But yeah, you gotta give credit for the sheer size and scale of what's going on in this movie. I was impressed just seeing the whole city going apeshit and isolated. Definitely the biggest movie in the trilogy, but I'm not sure if this is the best. The beginning feels a bit slow with a ton of dialogue and introducing new people. It gets better soon, though.

Very enjoyable movie with a lot of effort put into it, and it shows. Go see.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Why would you want to leave out Talia Al Ghul? That was an important piece of the story.

[Fishy]

DEATH!

...by exile.

[A14 Headmaster]

And listening to Batman and Bane growling to each other was just hilarious, but not in a bad way. I think it was very enjoyable.

Incoherent speech must give major points if you're applying to the League of Shadows.

I have to say that Batman's response to being walked out on by Catwoman was priceless.