The Dark Knight Rises (spoilers)

[latro]

Anyone else seen this yet? What are peoples thoughts?

I have pretty mixed feelings at the moment for several reasons but mostly because this just doesn't feel like a Batman movie. If anything it feels more like they made the Justice League movie and removed all the other members of the justice league (admittedly not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned but still....).

Having watched both preceding films this week it's made it very obvious that in trying to up the ante from the Dark Knight they've just gone too far and it just no longer feels like the sort of fight that Batman would engage in - he sneaks about the shadows, he's not supposed to be leading the charge (to say nothing of the fact that for what feels like 50% of his in-cowl screen time he's just flying the Bat around.

There are lots of other little niggles like the Scarecrow not wearing his mask and Talia's character being not as I would have preffered (admittedly Bane is different too here but he's just so good that you can't complain) - but these are just the fan in me getting a little grumpy.

The biggest disapointment though is that Anne Hathaway's Catwoman is pretty much wasted. She really shines in every scene but the plot just gives very little room for the character and her dual relationship with Bruce Wayne/Batman to shine through.

Don't get me wrong though - I do really like the film its just that its nowhere near the quality of its two predecessors' and like Spiderman two weeks ago, it really suffers from such close proximity to the Avengers.

[Dark Hearted Disco Queen]

I preferred it to The Dark Knight which I really disliked, but I agree with you when you say it doesn't feel like a Batman film. I would have been happy with it being a Catwoman/ Gordon/ that other cop film. The middle really dragged for me, and every time it went back to Batman in the pit, complete with shirtless training montage, it made me feel a bit bored. Some of it was just ridiculous, am I the only one who wondered what happened after he got out of that pit? How did he get through customs with no ID?! It just seemed to pointless... also that bomb with 11 minutes left - those were the longest 11 minutes I ever sat through, more like half an hour...

I really enjoyed Catwoman, I have to admit I was concerned how they would handle her as Michelle Pfeiffer did such a good job as both Catwoman and Selina, and then there was that monster of a film I don't want to think about... I liked that they handled her in a different way, but agree she was wasted. Batman Returns is probably my favourite Batman film and part of the reason is the weird almost love triangle between the three key characters and they're all so broken. I didn't really get anything close to that with the interactions in this film, there were just too many characters and they weren't sharing much screen time. Lots of explosions and naval gazing but not much character development from anyone.

Quite liked the guy from Torchwood, I sat there trying to think where I recognised him from and looked it up on IMDB - bloody hell he has done well for himself with being in TDKR this year and Pacific Rim next year (can't wait for that!) Also Gordon was as good as always. I am not a big fan of the Nolan Batmans but I do think it is the best Gordon by far, he really steals his scenes, but then again what do you expect - it's Gary Oldman

Do you think they set the ending up with the possibility of a spin off? I have read a lot of people saying they could do a Robin film but if they do I hope they make him Nightwing instead of Robin, it fits much better with this less campy Batman universe.

I think Christopher Nolan is a pretty good director but someone needs to tell him to calm down and trim the fat from his films. Dark Knight just seemed to end... then keep going... then end... then keep going, this one had a really long middle section. I don't know how long it was but it must have been close to 3 hours - fine for an extended DVD release but not for a cinema.

[Necro]

I heard it's an absolute riot

Some guy even brought tear gas and everything.

...

[latro]

Originally Posted by Dark Hearted Disco Queen

Do you think they set the ending up with the possibility of a spin off? I have read a lot of people saying they could do a Robin film but if they do I hope they make him Nightwing instead of Robin, it fits much better with this less campy Batman universe.

My understanding was that although Tim Drake is Robin in the comics, the film was implying that he'd be taking over as Batman (all those references to 'it doesn't matter who Batman is' and 'anybody couuld be the batman').
Chris Nolan has said he thinks Catwoman should get her own spin-off film but as far as I'm aware that would be it as DC wants to re-boot Batman (again) to try and remake the Avengers.

Speaking of the Tim Drake character...WTF? He knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman because of the expression on Bruce Wayne's face? That makes zero sense!

[AntAskew]

I still can form a written opinion of this film It was everything I'd hoped for.

[transanime]

Originally Posted by Necro

I heard it's an absolute riot

Some guy even brought tear gas and everything.

...

OOOOOO bad humour.
Hoping to see it today,let you know later.

[megalomaniac]

I liked it, it was basic but fun...but then I've never read the comics. The start dragged a bit. Potential set-ups for Robin or Catwoman spin off's. Liked Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, liked Bane, didn't like not being able to understand half of what Bane said, didn't like Talia & saw that 'twist' coming a mile off.

[transanime]

Enjoyed it.Like A. Hathaway as Catwoman(man when she got on the bike)
Same with Talia was waiting for her to go "beloved".
OK One Question was anybody else waiting for the Ori to attack?

[Ath]

Saw it at the BFI IMAX last night, the experience was absolutely breathtaking as usual. I saw The Dark Knight at the IMAX 4 years ago so I knew I'd have to see Dark Knight Rises there as well, the ticket booking was an absolute nightmare but I'm glad we got the tickets we wanted eventually.

As for the film itself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it laboured a bit at times whilst it was trying to resolve the story of the previous two films, but the last hour was bloody sensational. I rolled my eyes a little at the whole "Gotta get the fusion-reactor-which-has-somehow-become-a-nuclear-bomb out of the city!" but I went with it by the end. I'd say it definitely felt more like a sequel to Batman Begins than The Dark Knight.

Tom Hardy was a force of nature and I wanted to see more of Bane in the film, I was really glad that they gave Batman a villain who was a real physical threat to him. Great to see the famous back-break from Knightfall recreated too! I really liked Anne Hathaway's Catwoman as well. I did see the Talia al Ghul twist coming as well, the denials about Marion Cotillard's character's identity from last year weren't fooling anyone Joseph Gordon-Levitt was brilliant, I admit I was cheering when they mentioned his real name!

Overall I think it's a triumphant ending to Nolan's trilogy, I'm finding it hard to rank however. It didn't quite have the smooth flow of Batman Begins or the relentless pace of The Dark Knight, but that was inevitable as it had to wrap everything up. Of the three big superhero movies this summer, I think I liked The Avengers the most, then Dark Knight Rises close behind and Amazing Spider-Man last(though I still liked it).

[happosai]

Originally Posted by Ath

I rolled my eyes a little at the whole "Gotta get the fusion-reactor-which-has-somehow-become-a-nuclear-bomb out of the city!" but I went with it by the end.

Was it like this?

[Happosai]

[Ross]

Originally Posted by happosai

Was it like this?

[Happosai]

lol, oh if only...

[transanime]

Originally Posted by happosai

Was it like this?

[Happosai]

The nuns,the children and the ducks.

[Ath]

Originally Posted by happosai

Was it like this?

[Happosai]

That's exactly what came to mind As well as the "you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it Ewan-in-a-chopper trick" (to quote Empire Magazine) from Angels and Demons!

[Tora-kun]

I thought it was pretty good. It's a long film, and the time went by very painlessly.

Thought the explosion at the end of the film would/should cause some kind of city destroying tsunami, but whatever yay batman saved the day! I agree about the long 11 minute on the bomb timer, and then it suddenly jumped to 5 mins. XD I think one more re-edit could make the film a lot more seamless. Seemed to jump about a bit at times, and I'm not talking scene changes either.

Couldn't done without the orphans as well imo. [/heartless beast]

I'm being nit-picky anyway. Totally good stuff and somehow didn't drown in its own hype.

[Psychojon]

I saw TDKR a while ago. One of the better endings to a franchise/ Super-hero film series.

Really glad I avoided all the interviews and potential spoilers.