The Dark Knight Rises - letdown or not?

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by RustyCage

I would hesitate to give him credit as a 'lesser threat' in TDK. He's just a loose end that gets practically bulldozed by Batman. Not only that, he's just trafficking his drugs to crooks. Not exactly threatening. He's painfully small time, and brief.

Not that I didn't like seeing him again, but let's be honest, he's just there to introduce Batman's return to the audience.

Doesn't really matter if Batman bulldozed Scarecrow; Crane was selling drugs to low level mobsters. That's a big deal to be a threat, and while not major, that's why I said just 'lesser threat'.

[metaphysician]

Originally Posted by Hamill-Joker

Why do people continue to nitpick this film?

Let's just go crazy....

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

The Avengers sucks because the Hulk plotline doesn't make any sense what so ever because they never explain how Banner has some control over the Hulk at the end of the film when he was going crazy and trying to kill Black Widow and Thor earlier?

The Dark Knight sucks because how the hell does The Joker magically get all of those ****ing oil drums all over the place, in the basement of a hospital, in the ferries, etc... without anyone knowing? What really happens when Batman saves Rachel after Joker throws her out a window, how the hell do they survive the fall? Who are the supposed "five dead" at the end? etc...

And if you want to complain about Bruce's financial problems in TDKR keeping him from getting back to Gotham, how about Bruce making it all the way out to Asia in Batman Begins without his financial resources because he threw away his wallet and obviously they couldn't have declared him dead if he did access his money during the time he was away.

No one is in the room at the beginning of the movie Citizen Kane when Kane says Rosebud, so how the hell does anyone know that Rosebud was his last words, which is the catalyst for the entire movie?

How come in Casablanca, the Letters of Transit are never used in any meaningful fashion what-so-ever, despite being the major maguffin for the film???

I'm going to assume you are being facetious about Avengers, seeing as that subplot had a very obvious explanation, it just required the viewer to pay attention and interpret what was happening, rather than be given a convenient bit of shining neon exposition.

[BlueLightning]

I think it was a joke.

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by metaphysician

I'm going to assume you are being facetious about Avengers, seeing as that subplot had a very obvious explanation, it just required the viewer to pay attention and interpret what was happening, rather than be given a convenient bit of shining neon exposition.

Whedonite is pissed.

And before you get on my case...what I said was a joke too

[JAK®]

The film didn't disappoint but it doesn't hold up to scrutiny, which TDK did.

[Anno_Domini]

I wouldn't necessarily say that as scrutiny is never brought on the table. People look at Ledger's Joker and they seem to just forget about the huge plot holes with Joker's plan even.

[PC Valkyrie]

Late to this party....

The Dark Knight Rises was absolutely NOT a letdown for me.

I found the first hour or so to be a bit slow when I saw the film for the first time in the theatre. The last hour, however, was absolutely fanstastic. The stakes were much higher than in The Dark Knight, and ending was so gripping and emotional for me.

The film has become even more enjoyable with repeated viewings on blu-ray. Now the ENTIRE film feels coherent to me, as I now obviously understand everything the filmmakers were tyring to convey. This was the story of a broken man, learning through pain and failure, to rise in the end because he has rediscovered his will to live. A classic and very powerful theme that resonates on so many levels. I think that is the reason why I can watch this blu-ray over and over again......because it is so uplifting and emotional to experience.

And yes, it helps that the DTS HD Master Audio track on the blu-ray is reference quality, making Hans Zimmer's powerful score so involving and drawing you into the film. Anybody who has not watched this film on blu-ray with a decent home theatre system is missing out BIG TIME.......Standard DVD is just not good enough......

The Dark Knight was also a great film, with a more clever story and twists along the way, but it doesn't create the same emotional impact for me as the The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan and company set up to make TDKR "bigger" and "grander" than TDK, and I think they succeeded.

[Brain Damage]

Originally Posted by Anno_Domini

I wouldn't necessarily say that as scrutiny is never brought on the table. People look at Ledger's Joker and they seem to
just forget about the huge plot holes with Joker's plan even.

For me it comes down to consistency.
In The Dark Knight, The Joker was able to set up elaborate plans filled with hundreds of explosives and careful coordination off screen and the movie stuck with that. We don't see him rig up the explosives in the hospital but we also don't see him set up ANY of his plans. We don't see him talk to the bus driver about just what time he should burst through the bank wall, we don't see him sneaking on to the ferries, etc. The movie sets up its own rules and sticks with them throughout, which is why it's so effective and why by the time the ferries scene rolls around most people aren't focusing on "wait, how did he rig those barrels?", they're focusing on the dramatic moment in the scene.

The Dark Knight Rises, by comparison, does things like taking the time to set up how impossible it is to get in or out of Gotham only to then magically transports Bruce into it. That moment was not consistent, especially in a franchise where we're used to seeing how Bruce operates in detail, and thus draws people out of the movie. Even if they managed to rationalize it, I guarantee that at least 75% of all adult people who saw the film had a "huh, what?" moment when Bruce first appeared back in Gotham.

[Anno_Domini]

I will never understand the complaint of Bruce getting back to Gotham...ISN'T he somewhat of a ninja since having been trained by the League of Shadows? I would think it's quite possible for someone like Bruce Wayne to sneak into Gotham while others can't.

[shauner111]

Originally Posted by Anno_Domini

I will never understand the complaint of Bruce getting back to Gotham...ISN'T he somewhat of a ninja since having been trained by the League of Shadows? I would think it's quite possible for someone like Bruce Wayne to sneak into Gotham while others can't.

It's an excuse to nitpick. He's a ninja, and he's the goddamn batman..that should be enough. He even tells Selina that he has a way in and out. He hints that there's some way to do it but only he knows. Put two and two together. It's because he's a goddamn ninja. Don't forget he's been a billionaire for a long time and Wayne Manor is on the outskirts. Surely there's a special way around that area.

[The Joker]

Saying he's a goddamn ninja is as redundant as saying he's the goddamn Batman. How does being a ninja make him able to get back to Gotham?

[ThePhantasm]

So... being a ninja he is able to sneak on board an airplane without a passport?

[BatLobsterRises]

Besides being a ninja, and just as someone with experience interacting with the criminal underworld and surviving with nothing...I think he could get his hands on a fake passport.

[lixdexia]

Originally Posted by ThePhantasm

So... being a ninja he is able to sneak on board an airplane without a passport?

being an austrian, arnold has done it many times in film.

[The Guard]

The whole "How did Bruce get back to Gotham thing" isn't as relevant as "How did Bruce get into Gotham without getting everyone blown up"?. The fact that, as has been pointed out, the movie goes to great lengths to show how hard it is to get in and out of Gotham, and the immense stakes of that. It would have made Batman look like an unbelieveable badass and a smart fellow to show how, that's all. I don't think of it as a plot hole, just wasted potential.

[BlueLightning]

Originally Posted by The Guard

t would have made Batman look like an unbelieveable badass and a smart fellow to show how, that's all. I don't think of it as a plot hole, just wasted potential.

Yes. It would have been so cool to throw a scene like that on the film. I don't know, perhaps there was too much going on. But I just pictured in my head, and it could have been great. Though Bruce only needed to get to the mansion, which was outside of Gotham. There he could have gotten access to some of his technology, and it would be alot more easier for him to get inside.

[shauner111]

That is one thing i would like to see, how he got back. Showing him sneaking in on the outskirts and possibly beating the living crap out of Bane's mercenaries without a suit. Kind of like in TDK, in the penthouse when Jokers goon calls him a pretty boy and Bruce f's him up with his own gun.

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Saying he's a goddamn ninja is as redundant as saying he's the goddamn Batman. How does being a ninja make him able to get back to Gotham?

I should have worded it better for it to make more sense for others, but The Guard pretty much worded it out better:

Originally Posted by The Guard

The whole "How did Bruce get back to Gotham thing" isn't as relevant as "How did Bruce get into Gotham without getting everyone blown up"?. The fact that, as has been pointed out, the movie goes to great lengths to show how hard it is to get in and out of Gotham, and the immense stakes of that. It would have made Batman look like an unbelieveable badass and a smart fellow to show how, that's all. I don't think of it as a plot hole, just wasted potential.

Never felt like a plot hole and only adds to the quality of who Bruce Wayne is and what he's become ever since he was trained by the League of Shadows and the things he went through such as becoming "invisible". More or less, though, they should have at least shown it as there was some potential to it. But, no, saying he's a "goddamn ninja" is definitely not redundant seeing as how Bruce IS, period.

[the last son]

I just seriously don't get how he got back in. Maybe others have explained it and I have not seen it but really how? How many bridges were there? Wasn't there just one? I don't know it's not a plot hole as much as it just doesn't make much sense

[TheGuy]

Special forces went undetected crossing the bridge. They also carried guns. lol. Bruce finding cracks at security is an easy task.

[Gotham's Knight]

Originally Posted by Brain Damage

The Dark Knight Rises, by comparison, does things like taking the time to set up how impossible it is to get in or out of Gotham only to then magically transports Bruce into it. That moment was not consistent, especially in a franchise where we're used to seeing how Bruce operates in detail, and thus draws people out of the movie. Even if they managed to rationalize it, I guarantee that at least 75% of all adult people who saw the film had a "huh, what?" moment when Bruce first appeared back in Gotham.

I told myself I wouldn't get into this but, I can't resist.

We have the Special Forces agents sneak into Gotham using the supply trucks. What other purpose did these people serve besides showing us that there is a way into the city?

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by TheGuy

Special forces went undetected crossing the bridge. They also carried guns. lol. Bruce finding cracks at security is an easy task.

Originally Posted by Gotham's Knight

We have the Special Forces agents sneak into Gotham using the supply trucks.

Very true as well. Bruce could have easily stowed away in a food truck as well, lol, but I would like to think Bruce took a more 'ninja' route.

[Bigjxxx]

Originally Posted by RustyCage

The point is that we wanted him to be a threat, not just a tiny cameo or a goofy lackey.

Waste of potential.

It's too bad Burton never did Scarecrow.

Amen Rusty Cage, Amen.

[Squaremaster316]

Originally Posted by Optimus_Prime_

That, I think, is probably what hurts it the most. It also comes off like a re-origin story, which to me made it all very odd. Again, like ROTJ, you're just like "wait, didn't we already go over this in the first movie?".

[The Guard]

The other thing is, we got to see Bruce in combat as Bruce in the previous two films. Not so in TDKR. It just seems like a missed opportunity.