Hmm. I haven't seen the movie and don't plan to see it anytime soon since I was quite disappointed by the first two. Regardless, I cannot help but ask myself the following :
Based on the trailers of this third installment and the overall mood of the trilogy ... wouldn't it be best if the hero characters in these films simply didn't wear campy, funny costumes ? Now I am all for fun and colorful comic book characters (like the original spandex Batman series and the first few Batman movies) ; also a big fan of Kickass ; and I loved the gritty graphic novel feel of Sin City, providing a perfect (and necessary) suspension of disbelief through its abstract visual treatment. But isn't this Nolan Batman taking things too seriously ? Bale looks ridiculous as Batman (as anyone in such a costume would) but the pretentious high caliber "serious" setting of the trilogy just doesn't seem to click. I mean, look at this guy with pointy ears riding his serious military Batmobile or whatever it is called now. It would look great in a more graphical or comical setting, but here ... it kinda looks really lame doesn't it ?
Anyone else got that weird feeling ? It's as if the sleek sophisticated style of Nolan just doesn't fit these characters and universe at all (with the exception of the Joker - since he was given a very believable psycho vibe that the character naturally allows for).
I am having a bit of a hard time putting my finger on it - I guess I just feel like DelToro or Terry Gilliam would be able to give a gritty, tormented Batman a much better treatment than Nolan did in these recent films.
i agree with Pior. if they'd explored the whole ninja thing from the first movie a bit more, combined with the stuff he was wearing when he first went into gordon's office... that would have been pretty badass.
well, i kinda agree. i keep hearing about how nolan's movies are DARK and GRITTY.
i saw only the dark knight so far so i can't judge other two.
but i definitely find that slightly surreal atmosphere of Batman and Batman Returns to be much more fitting and certainly not less dark. The whole stylization was great in these.
Original gotham really felt like a place that had psychos hiding behind every corner, it looked like a place that could give birth to those twisted personalities easily.
and in new movies gotham seems to have transformed into a normal boring city, which makes everything 10 times less creepy.
also,
in theory i don't even mind the idea of trying to answer questions like "how would society react if there really was a superhero" and other attempts to confront the whole childish "superhero" concept with reality.
but thing is, result usually turns out silly as hell.
so yeah, i'd rather see a more twisted and abstract batman with as little daylight scenes as possible and no social problems.
I thought the movie rocked. I loved the second, not so much the first, and this was a positive surprise. I expected much less cuz of all the aircraft and catwoman bullshit, but it was well done - relatively. The editing and the soundtrack was as good as u'd expect, I really enjoyed it.
I totally bought into the story, too. Much better ending than the previous films...
Of course, the highest point of the movie was Bane. I thought he was a fantastic character and very well presented. I just wished there was more 'acting' involved as the mask obscured any acting persona the actor may have had. Not as good as the last joker, obviously, but still awesome.
Hey Batman comic fans, maybe you can settle this once and for all. Ra's Al Ghul pronounciation. Is "Ra's" "Raaz" (rhyming with Mars) as in the movie or "Raish" (rhymes with creche) as in the Arkham Asylum games?
Really agree with Pior and Blastoids coments.
I kept being taken out of the world by these dumb outfits and cartoony characters in this realistic setting.
Why the hell would an entire citys poliece force go crawling through the sewers looking for an army and leaving their posts to enforce traffic laws, and prevent crime.
Also, although i suppose we'll never know since this was the end, I don't think this character was ever intended to turn into Robin or Nightwing or whatever, but rather he would just become Batman.
I find it strange that people had trouble understanding Bane, maybe you went to a shitty cinema? Bane and his voice were my favourite parts of the movie, I think Tom Hardy did a brilliant job.
There was so much hype for this movie going in that I'm sure it didn't live up to it in the end for some people, but for me it was everything I had hoped for, the perfect ending to the trilogy.
felt like it was very meh. I never got why people get so armored up only to have the weakest part of their gear be the weakest. Also how doesn't anyone notice who batman is, the only billionaire guy in the tech industry in that city and no one can make that connection? oh well, it wasn't the worst movie nor the best. Very forgettable trilogy for me.
Personally I think Hardy did his best acting with his eyes, posture and fists :P I too found some of the dialogue hard to hear, but not only from Bane, characters like Lucius Fox too. It's actually a problem I have with a lot of Nolans movies. And I saw it in an IMAX, so it wasn't a bad cinema.
well except for sitting 2nd row at IMAX I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not as good as Dark Knight but not bad at all. Had no problem understanding Bane's voice, but I did find it hard to take him seriously, I just found it really comical. As far as the performance, I was discussing it with my friends and I think the reason he seemed so flat was that he didn`t really express any emotion. Right until his death he was always just kind of pleased with himself, so his eye`s don`t do very much.
Same as Star-Wars frankly speaking, First was was great, Second one was the best and the Third has flaws, but a great conclusion to the series, whole Trilogy balances out fairly well.
I'm still not to keen on the voice, you would thinking having a flying car, Bruce could afford a voice muffler implants or something...
oh well, it wasn't the worst movie nor the best. Very forgettable trilogy for me.
Completely agree, its odd though as I feel like the masses of people who are giving this movie the thumbs up, don't see that in 5 years this will be just another attempt to create a memorable cinematic experience based on the batman universe.
I feel like once the hype wears off this wont register so much as a blip on the radar of important moments in Hollywood.
additionally, I resent those who say that its, "just another summer action movie" as though that excuses it from being held to the same levels of intellectual and directorial prestige as the classics. If this movie hadn't stepped into the world political realm and attempted to use cultural phonemes as a way of generating mass appeal, It wouldn't, but the truth is it did, and that means it doesn't get a free pass from all ideological and metaphorical analysis
it was interesting, not what I expected but entertaining. I felt there just wasnt enough batman in it a problem i had upon watching the dark knight for the 1st time, but there was literally 3 sequences with batman in this one. and waiting almost an hour or so to see him again was kinda meh for me.
I liked it. I don't go to a movie holding my comic lore book to make sure they're spot on with story. If it keeps me sitting down the entire time, then i'm entertained. Try to think about it too much, you can pick apart any movie for its flaws. Plus, imagine the people who don't give a shit about comics, but still want to see a batman film. can't please everyone completely, but enough to get your money
Saw it a couple days ago, and I was on the edge of my seat for parts of it. I think I enjoyed it more than Dark Knight, but that could be just because I find the actress for the love interest in that one incredibly annoying.
I really enjoyed the Ra's Al Ghul / Bane connection. I feel like not enough trilogies or series bring things back from the past. I feel it was a good way to connect the movies.
I liked how Gotham felt more like a made up city, like the first Batman. Not just typical bad-guy in New York sort of deal.
I do wish he would have used his belt more, or at least his glider cape even once.
But yeah it was hard to take seriously at times, because some of the lines were just SO CHEESY. I realize it's a dramatic and dark trilogy, but some scenes are just so dramatic it's almost laughable.
Definitely worth the time and money. There were quite a few satisfying scenes (which is hard to do in a serious movie; Avengers aced that satisfying feeling).
The ending was kind of similar to Dark Knight. I love those kind of endings, where everything sort of gets wrapped up in a mini-montage.
feels like I saw a completely different film to most you guys haha, saw it in IMAX and fudging loved it!!!!!! probably my favourite of the three..... Im a return of the jedi sort of person aswell haha, screw you empire!!!
I watched it unfortunately, and there is one scene that defines how horribly pretentious and full of itself this movie is:
Gordon and friends are sentenced to death by exile and are forced to walk out onto a frozen river in an attempt to escape from the city. No one else has survived walking across the frozen abyss and they are all scared shitless. Suddenly, Gordon comes across a goddamn flare, on the ice no less, with a trail of gasoline that leads up to the base of the blown out bridge above them. Batman takes out some bad guys and tells Gordon to "light it up". He does and the gas ignites and burns all the way up the bridge and reveals a giant flaming bat signal.
Then Batman appears and talks to Gordon and company, ON THE FROZEN ICE RIVER where people just died by falling through the thin ice, and they begin to have a 45 minute conversation about how to save the city in the most nonchalant manner possible.
I watched it unfortunately, and there is one scene that defines how horribly pretentious and full of itself this movie is:
Gordon and friends are sentenced to death by exile and are forced to walk out onto a frozen river in an attempt to escape from the city. No one else has survived walking across the frozen abyss and they are all scared shitless. Suddenly, Gordon comes across a goddamn flare, on the ice no less, with a trail of gasoline that leads up to the base of the blown out bridge above them. Batman takes out some bad guys and tells Gordon to "light it up". He does and the gas ignites and burns all the way up the bridge and reveals a giant flaming bat signal.
Then Batman appears and talks to Gordon and company, ON THE FROZEN ICE RIVER where people just died by falling through the thin ice, and they begin to have a 45 minute conversation about how to save the city in the most nonchalant manner possible.
>_>
^ This. I saw that scene, knew what was going to happen (Batman saves Gordon). But then the amount of things that happened while they were on the ice without it breaking made me go "what?". The guy before, 1 person, fell through. But a group of five? six? cops don't break it and give Batman and co. time to discuss strategy? No.
http://nowplayingpodcast.com/
This is a really great deep discussion that goes into the social/political themes and analyses the agenda. something I think no one is really tackling at the moment
The apparent pro-conservative slant is something that's gotten some discussion in the mainstream media in Australia. I kinda feel like I need to watch the movie again to decide on my interpretation and how I feel about it. Like most things Batman-ish the commentary is far from black and white.
Just watched it last night and I loved it. I loved the dark tone of the movie. I had a bit of trouble understanding Bane but I thought he was a great villain. I'm glad we have these two kinds of superheroe movies, the Dark Knight approach that is more real and dark and then the Marvel approach that is more popcorny and with a lighter tone.
I don't really like Christopher Nolan's films too much in general. Inception and Memento, two films of his that I really like, are almost entirely held up by the cool concepts they are built around, not really the execution as much.
As for The Prestige, which I also like- David Bowie.
Anyways, I just came back from watching TDKR, and I would have to say it (along with the rest of the trilogy) is from being the "10/10 masterpiece" I see people calling it (imo!), but still a p good film. The ending (
Everything from Bats flying the bomb away, to the credits
) was pretty phenomenal though!
I think I'd give it a 8/10, though even that may be a tad too generous.
In relation to the rest of the trilogy, I'd say this one was the best. I really didn't enjoy The Dark Knight too much, for me it's just a 7 out of 10. And Batman Begins was just a few levels above forgettable superhero schlock.
Dylan. I respect your opinion. But I feel that you missed a few things
1. The military did confirm it was radioactive. That's it. So they knew not to fuck around with this guy because he wasn't joking. There was no part about understanding it was a time bomb.
2. Not all police went into the tunnels. Just a majority of them.
3. I think you way overead the OWS comparison. I saw it more of an anarchist style society.
I hope you had even worse things to say about Transformers.
I liked it more than the first but not as much as the second. It got a little corny in parts and forced. like Batman and Bane finding one another in the battle.
Though Catwoman was the best version on the screen yet. She was a bit cliche as mentioned, and there wasn't enough time spent with building up her character's change of heart.
Personally I think they should have made it two partner, like the last Harry Potter. End the first one with Bane Breaking Batman and leaving him in the Prison.
hahaha its funny how everyone is ripping on batman begins, I think its my favorite of the 3 then dark knight and then this one. the biggest problem I had with this was the total lack of batman for most of the film. when I saw begins in theaters I was just about shitting my pants with glee the 1st time I saw him yank falcone outta the car and say "Im batman!" and proceed to give him a savage headbutt.
or the whole "its not who I am on the inside, but what I do that defines me" and then leap off the building and spread the cape.....gave me chills. there was none of that really in this one for me (well a little bit when he made the ledge jump and the bats flew out the hole in the wall and shit but it was minor)
hahaha its funny how everyone is ripping on batman begins, I think its my favorite of the 3 then dark knight and then this one. the biggest problem I had with this was the total lack of batman for most of the film. when I saw begins in theaters I was just about shitting my pants with glee the 1st time I saw him yank falcone outta the car and say "Im batman!" and proceed to give him a savage headbutt.
or the whole "its not who I am on the inside, but what I do that defines me" and then leap off the building and spread the cape.....gave me chills. there was none of that really in this one for me (well a little bit when he made the ledge jump and the bats flew out the hole in the wall and shit but it was minor)
Agree 1000000000000000%, but I personally prefer TDKR to TDK.
Batman was cool. I was mostly happy to see Mayor Carcetti find a new job outside of politics and that Bunny Colvin managed to get back into what he loved.
went to see it today,tried to keep my head out of this topic for the last few days to stay neutral. Havnt read the discussion yet but i`ll catch up later.
I found the movie very enjoyable, i cant say if i liked it better than the second one but it did get me dragged into the story quite well.
The casting/acting was great, seriously no bad word about from my end.
some inconsistencies did bother me during the film but not enough to ruin it.
2 examples
The batman burned logo on the bridge made no sense/ they didn't have any spare time to waste at that point.
He takes 8 years to barely recover from his TDK wounds but recovers from a dislocated spine in a few months and doesn't seem to need the leg devices any more either.
Shit you guys you ruin movies. Was just going to post in here how much I liked it. Fuck that. The movie sucked. You guys suck too.
Not really reading into the robin thing much, but it would be interesting to see him become "Batman Beyond" and have Bruce come back as a mentor. I mean, there's really not a whole lot of room for anything further to happen, although I'm sure it could be forced in some way since Batman is such a cash cow. The problem is, Bruce has no money at the moment due to fraud, there's a god damn orphanage being run out of Wayne Manor now. Just to name a few. Can't say I would enjoy a Batman Beyond spin to things, but it does fit a little. "Robin" needs Wayne's money, at the very least, to continue being batman. Especially since Bane took most of his stuff.
Finally saw it, was fucking amazing! Anne Hathaway was so badass, loved Bane, really well done overall. Would have preferred a slight update to the batsuit helmet to make it more frank miller... But whatever. Awesome movie, would watch again
I loved Caine's performance throughout- he made me well up twice. Good film all round and I didn't come out feeling that it was especially long which was great for nearly 3 hours worth!
On a side note, Hathaway was extremely sexy, her voice! I want to marry her. Now.
Edit:
One thing that did stick out to me was Wayne's recovery from the spinal injury- surely he'd be unable to climb, never mind fight- even after months of recovery!
In my opinion Nolan tried to pack in too many characters and their story archs, and bounced between them all so much that all of them come across as under developed and the movie is left feeling schizophrenic. The previous ones felt more solid because there was a clear main character, Batman Begins was about Batman, Dark Knight was about Joker, this one was about....Batman, Selena Kyle, 'Robin', Bane and a lot more times where the supporting cast brings the storyline to a halt.
Again, I enjoyed it but it was so packed with jumping between characters that it took away from the movie being FUN. It would have been nice if it had been chopped into two movies, allowing for less frantic pacing and more focused storytelling.
I saw this movie about a week ago, forgot to visit this thread though. I liked the movie, it didn't disappoint me like the first one did because I knew what to expect.
It's pretty far from the Oscar-material people say it is though, the movie tries to be serious and smart but silly lines and weird-ass scenarios removes all of that. I found the soundtrack to be great, the setting as well. The story was good too, it was nice to see Batman get beaten up and then rise to become the hero he is. Not sure if he became stronger though, seemed like everyone else got weaker because they realized it was the end of the movie. There were some other things such as the whole brawl on the street between the police-men and the league of shadows, catwoman's cheesy lines and Batman's quiet growl-voice in the middle of the battle which made me laugh.
I take the movie for what it is though, there is only so much a comic-book movie can do.
Replies
Based on the trailers of this third installment and the overall mood of the trilogy ... wouldn't it be best if the hero characters in these films simply didn't wear campy, funny costumes ? Now I am all for fun and colorful comic book characters (like the original spandex Batman series and the first few Batman movies) ; also a big fan of Kickass ; and I loved the gritty graphic novel feel of Sin City, providing a perfect (and necessary) suspension of disbelief through its abstract visual treatment. But isn't this Nolan Batman taking things too seriously ? Bale looks ridiculous as Batman (as anyone in such a costume would) but the pretentious high caliber "serious" setting of the trilogy just doesn't seem to click. I mean, look at this guy with pointy ears riding his serious military Batmobile or whatever it is called now. It would look great in a more graphical or comical setting, but here ... it kinda looks really lame doesn't it ?
Anyone else got that weird feeling ? It's as if the sleek sophisticated style of Nolan just doesn't fit these characters and universe at all (with the exception of the Joker - since he was given a very believable psycho vibe that the character naturally allows for).
I am having a bit of a hard time putting my finger on it - I guess I just feel like DelToro or Terry Gilliam would be able to give a gritty, tormented Batman a much better treatment than Nolan did in these recent films.
i saw only the dark knight so far so i can't judge other two.
but i definitely find that slightly surreal atmosphere of Batman and Batman Returns to be much more fitting and certainly not less dark. The whole stylization was great in these.
Original gotham really felt like a place that had psychos hiding behind every corner, it looked like a place that could give birth to those twisted personalities easily.
and in new movies gotham seems to have transformed into a normal boring city, which makes everything 10 times less creepy.
also,
in theory i don't even mind the idea of trying to answer questions like "how would society react if there really was a superhero" and other attempts to confront the whole childish "superhero" concept with reality.
but thing is, result usually turns out silly as hell.
so yeah, i'd rather see a more twisted and abstract batman with as little daylight scenes as possible and no social problems.
I totally bought into the story, too. Much better ending than the previous films...
Of course, the highest point of the movie was Bane. I thought he was a fantastic character and very well presented. I just wished there was more 'acting' involved as the mask obscured any acting persona the actor may have had. Not as good as the last joker, obviously, but still awesome.
I approve!
Now I go ..um, buy.. the soundtrack
I kept being taken out of the world by these dumb outfits and cartoony characters in this realistic setting.
Why the hell would an entire citys poliece force go crawling through the sewers looking for an army and leaving their posts to enforce traffic laws, and prevent crime.
Yes... that is what I said...
Yeah... therein lies your problem.
'People say strawberry ice cream is awesome, but I disagree.'
'I have only ever eaten lemon ice cream.'
:poly142:
There was so much hype for this movie going in that I'm sure it didn't live up to it in the end for some people, but for me it was everything I had hoped for, the perfect ending to the trilogy.
felt like it was very meh. I never got why people get so armored up only to have the weakest part of their gear be the weakest. Also how doesn't anyone notice who batman is, the only billionaire guy in the tech industry in that city and no one can make that connection? oh well, it wasn't the worst movie nor the best. Very forgettable trilogy for me.
I'm still not to keen on the voice, you would thinking having a flying car, Bruce could afford a voice muffler implants or something...
I feel like once the hype wears off this wont register so much as a blip on the radar of important moments in Hollywood.
additionally, I resent those who say that its, "just another summer action movie" as though that excuses it from being held to the same levels of intellectual and directorial prestige as the classics. If this movie hadn't stepped into the world political realm and attempted to use cultural phonemes as a way of generating mass appeal, It wouldn't, but the truth is it did, and that means it doesn't get a free pass from all ideological and metaphorical analysis
yea oops ment to post on the massacre thread
I really enjoyed the Ra's Al Ghul / Bane connection. I feel like not enough trilogies or series bring things back from the past. I feel it was a good way to connect the movies.
I liked how Gotham felt more like a made up city, like the first Batman. Not just typical bad-guy in New York sort of deal.
I do wish he would have used his belt more, or at least his glider cape even once.
But yeah it was hard to take seriously at times, because some of the lines were just SO CHEESY. I realize it's a dramatic and dark trilogy, but some scenes are just so dramatic it's almost laughable.
Definitely worth the time and money. There were quite a few satisfying scenes (which is hard to do in a serious movie; Avengers aced that satisfying feeling).
The ending was kind of similar to Dark Knight. I love those kind of endings, where everything sort of gets wrapped up in a mini-montage.
Gordon and friends are sentenced to death by exile and are forced to walk out onto a frozen river in an attempt to escape from the city. No one else has survived walking across the frozen abyss and they are all scared shitless. Suddenly, Gordon comes across a goddamn flare, on the ice no less, with a trail of gasoline that leads up to the base of the blown out bridge above them. Batman takes out some bad guys and tells Gordon to "light it up". He does and the gas ignites and burns all the way up the bridge and reveals a giant flaming bat signal.
Then Batman appears and talks to Gordon and company, ON THE FROZEN ICE RIVER where people just died by falling through the thin ice, and they begin to have a 45 minute conversation about how to save the city in the most nonchalant manner possible.
>_>
^ This. I saw that scene, knew what was going to happen (Batman saves Gordon). But then the amount of things that happened while they were on the ice without it breaking made me go "what?". The guy before, 1 person, fell through. But a group of five? six? cops don't break it and give Batman and co. time to discuss strategy? No.
[ame="
This is a really great deep discussion that goes into the social/political themes and analyses the agenda. something I think no one is really tackling at the moment
Yes.
As for The Prestige, which I also like- David Bowie.
Anyways, I just came back from watching TDKR, and I would have to say it (along with the rest of the trilogy) is from being the "10/10 masterpiece" I see people calling it (imo!), but still a p good film. The ending (
I think I'd give it a 8/10, though even that may be a tad too generous.
In relation to the rest of the trilogy, I'd say this one was the best. I really didn't enjoy The Dark Knight too much, for me it's just a 7 out of 10. And Batman Begins was just a few levels above forgettable superhero schlock.
2. Not all police went into the tunnels. Just a majority of them.
3. I think you way overead the OWS comparison. I saw it more of an anarchist style society.
I hope you had even worse things to say about Transformers.
I liked it more than the first but not as much as the second. It got a little corny in parts and forced. like Batman and Bane finding one another in the battle.
Though Catwoman was the best version on the screen yet. She was a bit cliche as mentioned, and there wasn't enough time spent with building up her character's change of heart.
Personally I think they should have made it two partner, like the last Harry Potter. End the first one with Bane Breaking Batman and leaving him in the Prison.
or the whole "its not who I am on the inside, but what I do that defines me" and then leap off the building and spread the cape.....gave me chills. there was none of that really in this one for me (well a little bit when he made the ledge jump and the bats flew out the hole in the wall and shit but it was minor)
Agree 1000000000000000%, but I personally prefer TDKR to TDK.
I found the movie very enjoyable, i cant say if i liked it better than the second one but it did get me dragged into the story quite well.
The casting/acting was great, seriously no bad word about from my end.
some inconsistencies did bother me during the film but not enough to ruin it.
2 examples
He takes 8 years to barely recover from his TDK wounds but recovers from a dislocated spine in a few months and doesn't seem to need the leg devices any more either.
small nitpicks but really liked it overall
Not really reading into the robin thing much, but it would be interesting to see him become "Batman Beyond" and have Bruce come back as a mentor. I mean, there's really not a whole lot of room for anything further to happen, although I'm sure it could be forced in some way since Batman is such a cash cow. The problem is, Bruce has no money at the moment due to fraud, there's a god damn orphanage being run out of Wayne Manor now. Just to name a few. Can't say I would enjoy a Batman Beyond spin to things, but it does fit a little. "Robin" needs Wayne's money, at the very least, to continue being batman. Especially since Bane took most of his stuff.
On a side note, Hathaway was extremely sexy, her voice! I want to marry her. Now.
Edit:
In my opinion Nolan tried to pack in too many characters and their story archs, and bounced between them all so much that all of them come across as under developed and the movie is left feeling schizophrenic. The previous ones felt more solid because there was a clear main character, Batman Begins was about Batman, Dark Knight was about Joker, this one was about....Batman, Selena Kyle, 'Robin', Bane and a lot more times where the supporting cast brings the storyline to a halt.
Again, I enjoyed it but it was so packed with jumping between characters that it took away from the movie being FUN. It would have been nice if it had been chopped into two movies, allowing for less frantic pacing and more focused storytelling.
Bane VS the Cable Guys! Pretty funny.
It's pretty far from the Oscar-material people say it is though, the movie tries to be serious and smart but silly lines and weird-ass scenarios removes all of that. I found the soundtrack to be great, the setting as well. The story was good too, it was nice to see Batman get beaten up and then rise to become the hero he is. Not sure if he became stronger though, seemed like everyone else got weaker because they realized it was the end of the movie. There were some other things such as the whole brawl on the street between the police-men and the league of shadows, catwoman's cheesy lines and Batman's quiet growl-voice in the middle of the battle which made me laugh.
I take the movie for what it is though, there is only so much a comic-book movie can do.