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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Good Movies  |  THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012) « previous next »
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Author Topic: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)  (Read 15860 times)
Archivist
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« on: July 19, 2012, 12:33:43 AM »

Last night I did something that I've never done before.  I watched the midnight premiere screening of a movie, said movie being The Dark Knight Rises.  And to make the experience complete, I watched the screenings of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight as well, so I was in the cinema from 6pm to 3am!  

At first I had only booked to see the first two movies, as a friend had not seen the first two at all, but wanted to see the third, so seeing them in the cinema was the best way to do it.  But I originally thought that I would not be able to handle nearly 7 hours straight of movie, as much as I love Christopher Nolan.  But we were still feeling good at 11.40pm, so we ran back downstairs and bought some of the last tickets available for the midnight screening.

What an incredible experience!

NO SPOILERS whatsoever here.

This movie is fantastic in itself, but as a part of the Batman trilogy it is stunning.  It ties together so many elements from the first two movies, making references to events and characters either in passing or by appearance.  Watching all three together feels like going on a deep and enriching journey that has a beginning, a middle and an end.  

The pacing is tight, and although the movie is long, all the scenes seamlessly flow from one to the next, and time passes very quickly.  It did not feel like a 2.45hr movie at all.  The only indication that it was long was the feeling of my backside on the chair!  The action is as realistic as it can get for a superhero movie, and the gadgets are a hoot!  There is still humour in the movie, in the comments passed between Bruce and Alfred, Bruce and Lucius, and with Selina Kyle.

Bale's Bruce Wayne is vulnerable and yet strong.  He's matured even more as an actor and is very convincing in the different levels of character development he undergoes throughout the movie.

Anne Hathaway's character and portrayal surprised the heck out of me.  She's capable of very strong and convincing shifts in body language and personality, and as far as I have read, she did most of her own stunts and fight scenes.

Tom Hardy as Bane: I've only seen Bane in the Knightfall comic series, and was rather apprehensive about how he would be played.  It was different from what I thought but still very effective.  If you have seen the trailers you will know that his voice sounds a bit muffled by the mask - this was a criticism of early trailers and previews, and it has been refined for the final movie.  Nevertheless, I advise that you listen carefully when he speaks.  His physique is very impressive but not 'bodybuilder', more like a solid wrestler or fighter.  He's not chaotically crazy like Heath Ledger's Joker, he's very calculating and often slyly taunting in his demeanour.  He is fully confident in his ability to handle anything that comes his way, and his attitude towards his opponents is one of toying with them.

I love Gary Oldman as Gordon.  In Begins, it didn't even occur to me who was playing that role until I saw his name in the credits.  He immersed himself so deeply in that character that he was almost unrecognizable as Gary Oldman, it was simply Jim Gordon on the screen.

When Batman Begins first screened it was my favourite movie of the year, and I was in awe of Nolan's directorial style.  He was able to take a superhero comic character and not only deeply humanize him, but also tap into the 'journey of the hero' a la Joseph Campbell.

This was my eighth or ninth watching of Batman Begins all the way through, and last night I was still picking up on things I hadn't noticed before.  As I watched Liam Neeson, I noticed how fatherly he was, and it suddenly dawned on me that an underlying theme of Batman Begins was of fatherhood: the need for a father, the influence of a father, and the paths that one takes when guided by father figures.  

Bruce lost his own father but gained at two or three.  Alfred became his first surrogate father.  Ra's Al Ghul was the second, and Lucius Fox was fatherly or perhaps more avuncular.  The father figure theme was illustrated when young Bruce knelt over his dying father in the alley, and he looks up and whispers, 'Don't be afraid, Bruce'.  Towards the end of the movie, as Ra's and Batman fight in the train as it hurtles towards Wayne Tower, Ra's crouches over Batman and hisses, 'Don't be afraid, Bruce'.  Weirdly, I never even noticed that connection until last night.

In The Dark Knight, this fatherly influence is less apparent but still there in the form of Alfred.  And finally, in The Dark Knight Rises, there is a very poignant scene showing that Bruce has grown up and that Alfred has done his job.  The circle is complete, and the trilogy is complete.  Nolan's trilogy is dark and it is in many places very bleak.  "The Legend Ends" is the tagline of the trailer, and it truly does, although it leaves us with a few open questions and a delightful sense of hope.

Go see this in the cinema.  Reward the actors, director, producer and crew of this superbly rich story by buying tickets at the theatre.  I will most likely see this three times, at least once in IMAX.  Ha, you don't need me to encourage you, if you've read this far you want to see it anyway.  Go do it, and be rewarded yourself.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2012, 03:20:33 AM by Archivist » Logged

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« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2012, 12:42:25 AM »

I'm going to see the midnight showing Tomorrow night. Me in my stupidity actually thought it was tonight and I went there and the whole theater was empty. I went in and asked and they awkwardly told me it wasn't playing.

Pretty much the dumbest think I've ever done.
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« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2012, 02:49:19 AM »

"Hi!  One adult to see The Dark Knight Rises midnight session, please!"

"Ummm... For tomorrow night?"  TeddyR

One time I nearly made a similar but much more costly mistake.  I was set to go on a two week trip to China with a group, but I mixed up the date of departure.  I only found out that we were supposed to leave the day AFTER I thought we were, when I happened to talk to someone else in the group.  Otherwise I would have arrived at the airport only to find no one there...
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« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2012, 01:54:34 PM »

I'm going on Saturday to see it. I loved Begins and Dark Knight despite the apparently hatred thrown at them, especially from some here.

Nolan casts his movies well. I loved the idea of Ledger for Joker before the film was out. I loved the casting of Hardy and Hathaway for this. I hope they pay off.
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« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2012, 07:05:04 PM »

I have absolutely no desire to see this movie.  I hated Dark Knight and thought Batman Begins was just ok. 
I can't stand Nolan as a director.  Only his early films were decent.  Now he makes movies that rely heavily on plot and have almost no character development.  I can't think of a single memorable character other than the Joker in any of his recent films.

I was so disappointed in the Dark Knight that I doubt I will even watch The Dark Knight Rises when it's released on dvd.
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« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2012, 11:07:29 PM »

I got my ticket to see it tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning,  I'm very excited. TeddyR TeddyR TeddyR

Not quite sure how early I should be there cuz of the line-- maybe an hour or 2?

I've never been to a movie the day it opens in a related note.
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« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2012, 01:06:22 AM »

I have absolutely no desire to see this movie.  I hated Dark Knight and thought Batman Begins was just ok. 
I can't stand Nolan as a director.  Only his early films were decent.  Now he makes movies that rely heavily on plot and have almost no character development.  I can't think of a single memorable character other than the Joker in any of his recent films.

I was so disappointed in the Dark Knight that I doubt I will even watch The Dark Knight Rises when it's released on dvd.

I'm in the same boat.  I won't be seeing TDKR unless my friends absolutely beg me to go with them.
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« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2012, 01:13:45 AM »

THE DARK KNIGHT was one of the vilest, most inane films I've ever seen in my life. I can't imagine a bigger waste of time and money than a *series* of "serious", depraved Batman movies.
As for Christopher Nolan, it's like he's screaming to be the next Stanley Kurbrick but failing at every turn.
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« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2012, 02:46:07 AM »

Blows TDK away. I don't think I'm saying that because I'm hyped all to hell right now. Great stuff.
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« Reply #9 on: July 20, 2012, 05:44:28 AM »

I have absolutely no desire to see this movie.  I hated Dark Knight and thought Batman Begins was just ok. 
I can't stand Nolan as a director.  Only his early films were decent.  Now he makes movies that rely heavily on plot and have almost no character development.  I can't think of a single memorable character other than the Joker in any of his recent films.

I was so disappointed in the Dark Knight that I doubt I will even watch The Dark Knight Rises when it's released on dvd.

I'm in the same boat.  I won't be seeing TDKR unless my friends absolutely beg me to go with them.

Yep, pretty much the same here. Not that I hated the first two movies, but I didn't enjoy them that much. And none of the advance publicity for this one has suggested I'll like it any better. Don't really care for Nolan's take on the story.
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« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2012, 07:40:47 AM »

for me - the first movie was ok, nothing really special. a little pretentious. hows my spelling? the second was good, only because of the joker.   i really think that this movie wouldnt be anything without  heaths character. unfortunatley he died and we didnt get to see what the joker could really do. and the joker is the only thing thats even interesting in this whole movie. i like nicholsons joker as well, apples and oranges. christain plays his part ok, there probably are other actors that could do better.  i think he could play a great terminator, he can do that no-personality thing pretty well, he was absolutley perfect in american psycho! i wont get get a chance to see the 3rd in the theatre. its being so hyped as the greatest movie ever right now it should return to the theatres over the next 2 years. see it again! avatar! rush limbaugh claims its a political attack movie and some a-hole just shot 14 people at a screening in colorado. with all this publicity its likely to be the biggest movie ever. 
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« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2012, 04:09:58 PM »

It's very interesting how different people's taste on here is than mainstream critics.  The Dark Knight, for example, was almost universally praised by the critics, and audiences love the film, but a ton of people on here really dislike it. 

Personally, I think the Dark Knight is to date the best superhero film made, and a great film period.  Really like it a lot.  Batman Begins was decent. 

As far as the Dark Knight Rises?  I think I'd put it on par about with Batman Begins. 

Think I'm just going to throw out some preliminary thoughts.  I will add I had a headache and didn't feel great during the first bit of the movie.  May have made my feelings more negative.

But, I was a bit letdown by the movie, I'd say.  Bane was alright, well-played by Hardy and a pretty different take on the character.  I didn't like how his background/motivation got kind of undermined by the end of the film. 

Bruce Wayne/Batman was good, but Batman is BARELY IN IT.  Seriously.  He probably has 10-15 minutes of screen time, and his moments are not particularly great either.  The action scenes are still a bit uninspired - Nolan isn't a great action director, and nothing here is as solid as the big chase or opening robbery from The Dark Knight.  No one has the charisma like Ledger to carry the rest of the film with an absent Batman - it feels a little hollow because of this. 

But, I will say the development and characterization of Bruce Wayne is actually the best of the trilogy in this one.  The only way I think this film is better than the first two films, actually.

Also, I was very apprehensive of Anne Hathaway, but she's fine as Catwoman.  Not exceptional and actually easily could have been written out (and the film would have been better for it) but as written she did a good job.

I dunno..  I think it might go up a bit on a second viewing (Batman Begins did, marginally), but as of now it's around a 6/10.  There's a lot of issues I hae that I won't get into as they'd be major spoilers.
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« Reply #12 on: July 20, 2012, 05:49:02 PM »

I generally respect the opinions of everyone here. However, I disagree with everyone on The Dark Knight. I felt it was great. Ledger was great as Joker. Eckhart great as Dent.
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« Reply #13 on: July 20, 2012, 08:04:39 PM »

Honestly, I wish I hadn't found out what happened in Colorado about 90 minutes before I left because it made me incredibly nervous before going to see it this morning. I was doing ok during the first bit of the movie, with the knowledge of what happened in the back of my mind....until I saw people who work at the theater come in every 5 minutes checking to see if the audience was ok and it really took a lot away from my experience and enjoyment of it.

But that said I really liked it, and I'm going to buy it when it comes out on bluray.
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« Reply #14 on: July 20, 2012, 09:54:29 PM »

Quote
Bruce Wayne/Batman was good, but Batman is BARELY IN IT.  Seriously.  He probably has 10-15 minutes of screen time, and his moments are not particularly great either. 
Hold up. Wait.  So, they made a nearly three hour Batman movie and barely even had any Batman in it? 

One of my biggest criticism of Dark Knight was that Batman seemed like he didn't fit into his own movie and that Nolan seemed to be trying his hardest to pretend it wasn't a comicbook based movie. 

If what you're saying is true, then it seems I was right.  Nolan didn't want to make a movie with Batman in it.
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