The Dark Knight Rises Anyone else not like the 8 year exile plot?

[Anno_Domini]

Hated the 8 year exile. Absolutely hated it. Batman in this movie was not Bruce Wayne. Nothing about him in this movie was Bruce Wayne outside of carrying the bomb. Other than that the Batman in this movie was pretty pathetic. I mean outside of the last scene all hi did in this movie was make wrong decision after wrong decision. I know in the comics Wayne is a super genius and knows too much but I'll take that over this Wayne that seems to know nothing. A recluse for 8 years is just unintersting and not Batman. Some say 3/4 years would be enough. Not. 1 if you feel you have to. As, others have stated would have made a better story if he quit Wayne and became Batman. Enough said! Please, let there be a REBOOT!

He would never stop being Batman?

Don't act like that's something Batman wouldn't do when yes, it is something certain versions of Batman WOULD do.

Plus, there was always going to be a reboot after TDKR, lol. Nolan didn't want to do more than three. Well, it was two, but Nolan came back to conclude the trilogy for the fans and most of them are pleased with the outcome of TDKR. I'm sorry you don't, but, you should get some of your "facts" straighten out.

Well saw a few rumors that JGL might play Batman in JL movie. I will not be going to see that movie if that is the case.

I never heard of this. Robin Blake as Batman in the JL movie? That mostly sounds like some kind of rumor you find on Twitter.

 

[JackWhite]

I hate how people are too stupid to realize Bruce was forced into premature retirement and had not moved on from being Batman. It's not like Bruce was all "Well we have the Dent Act and I'm not needed, I'll go on with life and spend my billions and billions of dollars and by lots of nice things."

 

[Baneis8feettall]

I hate how people are too stupid to realize Bruce was forced into premature retirement and had not moved on from being Batman. It's not like Bruce was all "Well we have the Dent Act and I'm not needed, I'll go on with life and spend my billions and billions of dollars and by lots of nice things."

I hope TDKR will have special featture... "TDKR for Dummies" with commentary by Nolan.

"Batman was forced to retired because ...."
"In this scene Bane didn't kill Batman because..."
"Talia was needed for..."
"The reason Bane didn't blow up Gotham immediatly..."

 

[spanky_jones]

Especially since after TDK, it didn't seem like he'd be hanging up the cowl.

I thought the whole point of taking the blame was so that he can, to criminals, seem scarier. I thought Bruce would be further lost in the persona of Batman and have to have Alfred pull him back out.

Because, if Bruce is going to quit, why is he just sitting inside his house with a busted knee for 8 years? It seems totally out of character. He was going to stop because Dent was becoming the White Knight. But when that all went to hell, he should have realized that Batman is needed more than ever, but maybe not in a "hero" capacity. As more of a legend and threat to the criminal underworld than ever before...as a man without allies, without Gordon, etc.

it reminds me of Post- War games batman or bruce wayne fugitive. when no one trusted him and thought he was nuts

 

[BatmanBeyond]

I hope TDKR will have special featture... "TDKR for Dummies" with commentary by Nolan.

"Batman was forced to retired because ...."
"In this scene Bane didn't kill Batman because..."
"Talia was needed for..."
"The reason Bane didn't blow up Gotham immediatly..."

 

[TheBat812]

I hope TDKR will have special featture... "TDKR for Dummies" with commentary by Nolan.

"Batman was forced to retired because ...."
"In this scene Bane didn't kill Batman because..."
"Talia was needed for..."
"The reason Bane didn't blow up Gotham immediatly..."

This would be hilarious.

 

[Frodo]

Ultimately I didn't mind the 8 year gap, and I think it works for the story Nolan wants to tell even though I still have some issues with how things were handled. I'm generally not crazy about the whole "hero disappears and returns after awhile " stories. Superman Returns did it and it ultimately didn't amount to much. Alias the TV series did it an it kinda derailed the series from there. I think the story which pulled it off the best was probably Mask of Zorro.

In that case the hero imprisoned and forced into retirement even though he was going to anyway. He's kept off of the scene because he's in jail. Once he emerges he has a goal and a purpose. Watchman also does the theme pretty well, even if the film has its issues. I actully like The Dark Knight Returns because Bruce is such a bada** who's restless as opposed to someone who's emotionally broken and defeated. Then again, that's not Bale's Bruce who is sensitive and does take things to heart .

 

[Lionhart99]

Dunno, just couldn't help but think that the whole eight year thing woulda been scrapped had heath still been around

 

[edmetalhands]

mind if i cut in?

i wasnt a huge fan of the 8 year gap,but it does kinda fit with my view(right or wrong)of nolans batman.

this bruce wayne is nothing like the comicbook character,nolan stripped the whole mythology down to the bare bones and asked us to believe that this could be our city and that one of our own citizens is driving around in a tank kicking ass and taking names.
granted movie bruce is a well trained and intelligent guy but he is pushing himself pyshically to the limit,thinking that healing the city will heal his grief,but it doesnt,he remains the same frightened child he always was ,even at his peak(i think that was the point in the scarecrow in tdk,in bb it took bats a whole movie to take him down,in tdk he is wrapped up and taken care of in 10 minutes)

straying from my point a bit,anyway...after losing harvey and rachel he is crushed,instead of healing his grief becoming batman has compounded it..the dent act isnt why the streets are safe,its because of the legend of the batman,he took down a crimewave that escalated into insanity and could have destroyed the ciy,most criminals would think twice before testing the validity of such stories...

and that is were the end of tdk and the 8 year gap meet and make sense,bruce has,by being the one-man-crime-fighting-behemoth who took down everybody,scared off the criminals and empowered the law enforcement to the point were batman is no longer needed..and it has only left him alone,scarred and still grieving.

also in tdkr he learns that one man doesnt create a symbol,people percectpions do.

 

[mynameschris]

The way I saw it on screen was after taking the fall for Dent at the end of TDK Bruce stopped being Batman because of the good the Dent Act was doing. This doesnt mean he didnt finish off the Batcave to the state we saw in Rises and monitor the situation, possibly passing anonymous tips to Gordon. Its possible he and Fox for a time also upgraded parts of the Batman armoury for some time after the events of the night which became 'Dent Day' for if The Batman was needed...but he wasnt.

From what was said between Wayne and Fox and Wayne and Alfred after retiring Batman he spent time working on the clean energy project, this became his new focus, until he shelved that. Just because he wasnt active as Batman doesnt mean that "Waynes not been seen in years" means the same amount of time as Batman hadnt been seen.

 

[Golgo-13]

The 8 year gap leaves too many un answered questions:

Why wouldn't Mr.Reese then come forward about Batman's identity once the news hit that he killed Harvey Dent?

What was the emotional impact on Gordons wife and son; the only two other ppl that knew about the Dent cover up?

Not a mere mention of The Joker, the cities greatest terrorist who's reign of terror crippled the city, as he blew up police stations and hospitals, and conflicted with Gothams greatest hero..harvey dent..?

 

[Brother Jack]

The 8 year gap leaves too many un answered questions:

Why wouldn't Mr.Reese then come forward about Batman's identity once the news hit that he killed Harvey Dent?

Because he was nearly killed for exposing attempting to expose Bruce. That, and Bruce kind of saved his life.

What was the emotional impact on Gordons wife and son; the only two other ppl that knew about the Dent cover up?

The movie tells us that Gordon's wife left him and took their kids with her. This was likely due to a lot of reasons, not least of which the coverup.

Not a mere mention of The Joker, the cities greatest terrorist who's reign of terror crippled the city, as he blew up police stations and hospitals, and conflicted with Gothams greatest hero..harvey dent..?

The eight-year gap makes the lack of a Joker mention reasonable because such a long period of time had passed since Joker was around. It's easy to assume that the public by and large wanted to forget about him, instead focusing on the supposed heroism of Dent. Batman was the villain they turned their hatred toward.

 

[Anno_Domini]

The 8 year gap leaves too many un answered questions:

Why wouldn't Mr.Reese then come forward about Batman's identity once the news hit that he killed Harvey Dent?

Mr. Reese could come forward, but Bruce Wayne saved the guy's life. I have no doubt that Reese would understand that Batman would have taken the fall for Dent(not literally ).

What was the emotional impact on Gordons wife and son; the only two other ppl that knew about the Dent cover up?

The emotional impact speaks for itself when they left to Cleveland, imo.

Not a mere mention of The Joker, the cities greatest terrorist who's reign of terror crippled the city, as he blew up police stations and hospitals, and conflicted with Gothams greatest hero..harvey dent..?

That was Christopher Nolan's call. Even if TDKR was taken six months after the events of TDK, there would've still been no mention if Ledger still passed away.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I wasn't crazy about the set up. But presumably with Heath Ledger's death, the sequel had to be retooled, if not redone entirely.

The entire trilogy feels kind of off. In Batman Begins you get the sense that Bruce / Batman destroys the League of Shadows. Then they aren't even mentioned in the sequel. Suddenly, they're back in the third movie... eight years later. It took them a decade to pay Bruce a visit?

Nothing really felt set up. Things like the nuclear bomb just came out of nowhere.

This film's premises would have worked much better if Bruce had actually hung up the cape at the end of the second movie. Not off screen.

 

[Powerman34]

I liked the 8 year gap! However, I thought that Nolan could have used that to really make Batman more of an uban legend. At the end of TDK he rides off to the newly built cave and tells Alfred he now needs to use his lessons on invisibility. No more car chases on TV, no photos of him fighting criminals, just like the mid to late ninties Bats when he was an urban legend that only the crooks knew about. During this time he would have met and trained two teenage orphans, Richard Grayson and Jason Todd, say at 13 and 14. Having seen their potential, trains them in His version of the lessons he learned in the League of Shadows for a few years. While they are growing in their training, they could be his eyes and hears on the ground (sort of Robin-lite) and after say 5 years He deems them worthy and then we have Nightwing and Red Hood on the streets! It would also show how different they are, but each having a little bit of Bruce's personality and methodolgy in crimefighting. Nightwing is the lighter of the two but is determined, Red Hood is dark and brooding and a little more ruthless, but not a killer. Having created a legacy and Legend, he then calls it quits in the last 2 years, leaving the boys to their own devices, even though they both want he to get back in the game. Then maybe a young 13 year old Tim Drake, another orphan that Richard nows helps to get Bruce back out on the streets againg. Then we come to where the movie begins, just without the John Blake character! But alas, we got a great superhero movie Trilogy mind you and it did not dissapoint for a minute. We all know that they are going to reboot their biggest money maker in the next five or seven years!

 

[JackWhite]

I liked the 8 year gap! However, I thought that Nolan could have used that to really make Batman more of an uban legend. At the end of TDK he rides off to the newly built cave and tells Alfred he now needs to use his lessons on invisibility. No more car chases on TV, no photos of him fighting criminals, just like the mid to late ninties Bats when he was an urban legend that only the crooks knew about. During this time he would have met and trained two teenage orphans, Richard Grayson and Jason Todd, say at 13 and 14. Having seen their potential, trains them in His version of the lessons he learned in the League of Shadows for a few years. While they are growing in their training, they could be his eyes and hears on the ground (sort of Robin-lite) and after say 5 years He deems them worthy and then we have Nightwing and Red Hood on the streets! It would also show how different they are, but each having a little bit of Bruce's personality and methodolgy in crimefighting. Nightwing is the lighter of the two but is determined, Red Hood is dark and brooding and a little more ruthless, but not a killer. Having created a legacy and Legend, he then calls it quits in the last 2 years, leaving the boys to their own devices, even though they both want he to get back in the game. Then maybe a young 13 year old Tim Drake, another orphan that Richard nows helps to get Bruce back out on the streets againg. Then we come to where the movie begins, just without the John Blake character! But alas, we got a great superhero movie Trilogy mind you and it did not dissapoint for a minute. We all know that they are going to reboot their biggest money maker in the next five or seven years!

 

[The Joker]

^^^ Christ, that is a scary disturbing gif!!!!

 

[Golgo-13]

Mr. Reese could come forward, but Bruce Wayne saved the guy's life. I have no doubt that Reese would understand that Batman would have taken the fall for Dent(not literally ).



The emotional impact speaks for itself when they left to Cleveland, imo.



That was Christopher Nolan's call. Even if TDKR was taken six months after the events of TDK, there would've still been no mention if Ledger still passed away.

Yes, but once Batman was accused of killing a public official and cops, the FBI would have stepped in. There would have been very little Gordon could cover up once that took place, and seeing as how Reese publicly announced that he knew who Batman was, the cops, Feds and every media outlet in the world would have been pressuring this guy to come clean; that is, unless he claimed it was a hoax, or disappeared.

I felt the stuff with Gordon's wife and son was a missed opportunity, as were so many other things with this film. They just didn't flow with the momentum created by the last film.

 

[MAKAVELI25]

As much as I hate the 8 year gap (I don't think I'll ever understand why it was needed in the first place), it might've been justified if we saw Bruce struggling more during his initial return. Maybe out of breath or not as good as he once was, but all he has to do is put on the leg brace and he's back to whipping ass. True, Bane does beat him up, but the rooftop scene with the mercenaries and Catwoman shows that he's still easily dominating "TRAINED" mercenaries

 

[Golgo-13]

I kinda wish Bruce had become a drunk during the 8 year gap, as opposed to a cripple. The knee magically becoming 100% again with the knee brace was really weird, in terms of story telling, especially for such an intelligent director as Nolan. I seriously doubt Bane allowed him to wear it in the prison, so where's the limp gone? The whole cartilage gone from his knees was not needed.

Make Bruce a drunk, that stayed in the tabloid headlines ala the Kardashians, etc for doing reckless stuff. This would have been a solid way to show how Bruce was dealing with not being Batman anymore.

 

[JackWhite]

As much as I hate the 8 year gap (I don't think I'll ever understand why it was needed in the first place), it might've been justified if we saw Bruce struggling more during his initial return. Maybe out of breath or not as good as he once was, but all he has to do is put on the leg brace and he's back to whipping ass. True, Bane does beat him up, but the rooftop scene with the mercenaries and Catwoman shows that he's still easily dominating "TRAINED" mercenaries

Bruce was still in good physical form, at least on the surface, considering he had all his gear and the cave ready just in case he was needed again. Bruce looked disheveled at the start of TDKR, but that was because we see him hobbling around, unshaven and clearly not in a good mental state.

 

[JackWhite]

I kinda wish Bruce had become a drunk during the 8 year gap, as opposed to a cripple. The knee magically becoming 100% again with the knee brace was really weird, in terms of story telling, especially for such an intelligent director as Nolan. I seriously doubt Bane allowed him to wear it in the prison, so where's the limp gone? The whole cartilage gone from his knees was not needed.

Make Bruce a drunk, that stayed in the tabloid headlines ala the Kardashians, etc for doing reckless stuff. This would have been a solid way to show how Bruce was dealing with not being Batman anymore.

A simple fix to the knee plot hole would be to show Tom Conti's character healing him up. It's not a stretch to believe that he helped him with his knee, because he also fixed his dislocated vertebra. It's never shown, but shouldn't that give Nolan some props with the whole "show vs tell" crowd?

 

[kewlmatto]

The more I think about it, the more I like to believe he did go out as Batman a few more times since the ending of The Dark Knight. At least in the first two years.

Remember it would have taken some time for the effects of the Dent Act to take hold.

I find it hard to believe he would have disappeared cold turkey that very night.

I feel like there's another story to be told somewhere there. It would definitely be a Batman lurking more in the shadows, but he would have kept going for a bit.

 

[Thundercrack85]

The more I think about it, the more I like to believe he did go out as Batman a few more times since the ending of The Dark Knight. At least in the first two years.

Remember it would have taken some time for the effects of the Dent Act to take hold.

I find it hard to believe he would have disappeared cold turkey that very night.

I feel like there's another story to be told somewhere there. It would definitely be a Batman lurking more in the shadows, but he would have kept going for a bit.

That seemed implied. Which made it odd that they started after the fact. If The Dark Knight had ended with Batman retiring, then it probably wouldn't have bothered me so much.

But at the end of the Dark Knight they made it clear that Batman was still out there.

 

[kewlmatto]

That seemed implied. Which made it odd that they started after the fact. If The Dark Knight had ended with Batman retiring, then it probably wouldn't have bothered me so much.

But at the end of the Dark Knight they made it clear that Batman was still out there.

Most of the references in TDKR seem to imply that it was that very night that he retired though. But then again, that could just be the public's perspective, which may be very wrong.

Could there be a better reason for Batman's gammy knee?