The Dark Knight Rises Are Nolan's Batman Films Really THAT Realistic?!

[ArzAvE]

In batman begins there´s a line of ra´s that makes explicit that his persona is a myth..

 

[lgi]

A bit off topic. You guys ever seen Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick? I loved Pitch Black. It was dark, gritty, and real. Riddick didn't have super powers, he was just very strong and crafty. The monsters aren't real of course, but withing the setting of the movie it all worked well together. But then came out TCOR, and I was dissapointed because they added all this magical elements to it, like the necromancers and whatnot. The film was not well received as Pitch Black.

My point is, there's a difference in realism between the films, one film is more believable than the other. I love The Dark Knight, it's dark, gritty, scary and so on. But I don't think there's a way to fit in the lazarus pits in there. Just my opinion.

 

[twostep]

I didn't bother to read any of the posts in here, but to answer the question in one word...NO.

People who keep calling his films realistic need to wake up. He didn't make them realistic, he made them so you could believe Gotham could be a real city in the world/America. He grounded it so it wasn't as fantasy based, but it's not realistic.

Exactly. Nolan does a superb job (perhaps the best in Hollywood) at grounding his films. He does it with a combination of story, setting, and mostly character. You're engulfed by his films because he fits everything together so well that you think... perhaps... the story he tells could be happening somewhere.

Ever notice how he only uses real actors with range in his films to play the main parts (Guy Pearce, Christian Bale, Leo DiCaprio, Heath Ledger, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman) and avoids Hollywood celebrities like the black plague?

He also reuses the same actors often and keeps the same production team from flick to flick. He knows what he's doing and the audience gets to benefit from that by losing themselves in his product for a few hours.

 

[twostep]

A bit off topic. You guys ever seen Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick? I loved Pitch Black. It was dark, gritty, and real. Riddick didn't have super powers, he was just very strong and crafty. The monsters aren't real of course, but withing the setting of the movie it all worked well together. But then came out TCOR, and I was dissapointed because they added all this magical elements to it, like the necromancers and whatnot. The film was not well received as Pitch Black.

My point is, there's a difference in realism between the films, one film is more believable than the other. I love The Dark Knight, it's dark, gritty, scary and so on. But I don't think there's a way to fit in the lazarus pits in there. Just my opinion.

Chronicles of Riddick was an awesome flick in of itself. The problem was they took an awesome character from a survival/horror flick and crossed him over into a fantasy/sci-fi flick. I loved em both but not in succession.

 

[SheldonLevene]

Chronicles of Riddick was an awesome flick in of itself. The problem was they took an awesome character from a survival/horror flick and crossed him over into a fantasy/sci-fi flick. I loved em both but not in succession.

You a dancing fan?

 

[Doc Samson]

I agree. Elements of the films may not be realistic, but they are, for the most part, believable or plausible, which I really love about them.

Exactly, I can't believe people are still hung up on this. Nolan's "universe" is grounded in reality. Is it real? Technically, yeah. The things that happen are farfetched, but the actual characters could, in some capacity, actually exist.

Look, I love the more fantastical elements of Batman too, but this particular tone was fresh and new, a take we hadn't seen before on screen, and for this character, it made the most sense and works in that context.

How quickly we forget B&R, that film was as far left as Batman could possibly go, in some instances even more so than the Adam West show. I doubt Nolan's approach would have been met with so little resistance from the brass had it not been for B&R bombing. It was the perfect way to go at the absolute perfect time. Instead of nitpicking the nuances of "realism" how about we just enjoy this last film?

 

[drsmoo]

What I said in my now closed topic (didn't realize this topic existed)

It's not campy like Burton's or Schumacher's but Nolan's Batman is fairly close to the comics. There's nothing "realistic" about the pencil trick, fear toxin, Two-Face etc.

I think people that expect "realistic" versions of Bane or Catwoman (just as people expected toned down versions of Joker and Two-Face) will be surprised.

 

[Aesculapius]

After a google search of "Bad Batman cosplay."

Realistic isn't as important as grounded and plausible.

 

[Lando81]

Is this thread really THAT necessary?

 

[RKO]

Is this thread really THAT necessary?

Realistically no. But in a world grounded in reality with fantastic elements....Still no.

 

[Texas Zombie]

These are science fiction, not fantasy.

They have grounded the film in objects that are plausible.

A pit in the ground with regenerative qualities isn't science, it's fantasy, just ask the new pirates movie.

It would really be out of character because theoretically to regenerate a substantial amount of tissue do to a certain chemical even is ridiculous.

The only way this is scientifically possible is to alter the DNA of the subject, which is theoretically possible. Say the lazuras(or pool) is nothing but mere water. It is contaminated with a disease. The disease enters through the pores. It then begins to alter the DNA and cause cell replication, it knows how much to grow, so you don't grow to much, possibly just what is coded in your DNA, say for a peaking 28 year old.


It all still sounds a bit nonsensical, but if done right it is not impossible to convince the fans, but it would definately be a hard task.

 

[twostep]

What I said in my now closed topic (didn't realize this topic existed)

It's not campy like Burton's or Schumacher's but Nolan's Batman is fairly close to the comics. There's nothing "realistic" about the pencil trick, fear toxin, Two-Face etc.

I think people that expect "realistic" versions of Bane or Catwoman (just as people expected toned down versions of Joker and Two-Face) will be surprised.

How is there nothing realistic about the pencil trick or the fear toxin? Both are entirely plausible. Two-Face not so much.

 

[The_Raganork]

This is silly.

The movies are Anchored in realism, that doesn't mean they're bound to it. It's a creative boat going on the high seas, it can't do everything because it has an anchor of realism.

That being said; it's not completely realistic either.

Super Powers will NOT happen in this film; there is 0 realism in super-powers. The idea must first be plausible in realism for Nolan to convert it.

 

[wampa1]

Anyone who says that something won't fit with Nolan's 'vision' is a moronic dullard.

 

[Lando81]

You all argue over the lazarus pit AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF ITS IN THE MOVIE.

 

[truth]

CONTRADICTION.

That's the problem with Nolan's bat films so far. Are his films realistic or are they fantasy? Sure, you can have them get balanced, but I don't think he got that balance right.

In tdk, with everything so realistic and trying to emulate the feeling of Heat, you then get Batman with his sonar-device which is a very comic-book element. It just contradicts the rules and feeling of the world that film has tried to create.

In begins, everything was going great with this being and feeling like a real proper film that can be compared to other real dramas...until that sonar device. It just threw everything off and it turned into something different.

These contradictions and inconsistencies put the films in limbo. Add to that, Dent's scarring which is HIGHLY unrealistic. In a fantasy setting like Burton or Shumacher's world, it works...in Nolan's setting, it's inconsistent.

Say what you will about Shumacher, his films were consistent. They are product that never deviated from its intention...same with Burton's and the West TV series.

My hope for this series was Nolan would do what he did with Memento and Prestige and make Batman a COMPLETELY realistic film, CONSISTENTLY...a take that hasn't been done before with the character on film.

 

[Gianakin_]

In tdk, with everything so realistic and trying to emulate the feeling of Heat, you then get Batman with his sonar-device which is a very comic-book element. It just contradicts the rules and feeling of the world that film has tried to create.

As you put it, he tried to get the FEELING of Heat, not its realism. Nolan hasn't contradicted himself at all. He just provided us with more character development and made us more a part of Bruce/Batman's rationale and how he does things. Even from BB there were many fantastical elements. TDK had a more grounded TONE, but it was even more fantastical than BB.

 

[The Morningstar]

I kinda agree with truth. The "world building" isn't very consistent.

The movie wants you to believe it's realistic, set in the real world. It goes into detail about China's extradition policy and RICO (even though it got that wrong...). It has mobsters talking about getting their money trapped by the cops, which would be tax evasion.

Then it has some bullet scanning thing that wouldn't even make it into CSI: Miami it's so ******ed. It has a bright yellow bus crashing into a bank in broad daylight and no one on the packed street even noticing it crashing out of the bank. Harvey Dent walking around with half his face burnt off. Amongst other things.

My question is, why bother explaining China's extradition policy or the whole RICO thing... if it's supposed to be fantasy? Surely if people can accept Two Face walking around, or the ******ed bullet scanning thing, we don't need them to explain RICO (and ****ing it up...) and China's extradition policy?

The movie builds this sense of logic and plausibility... then it just throws it all out the window. It contradicts it's own rules and logic in certain parts I feel.

 

[truth]

Morningstar, that's the point I am making.

Gianakin, as a viewer, let's say you are watching Godfather. Then all of a sudden, Michael has this special sonar-device built into his gun that takes out the police guy and the other guy with the big chin (forget his name). It's inconsistent and throws you out of the film.

It just doesn't work putting effort in trying to make Gotham a city that is real and works like a real city, which the other films did not do, but then just destroy all that hard work by having a Sonar device or a man with his skin showing, running around with a gun. CG-skin, mind you...

 

[Gianakin_]

Because the premise of the Godfather is realistic and the premise of Batman is not.

 

[The Joker]

Your point is invalid, truth. Just because Nolan's movies are anchored by more realistic concepts in several areas does not mean they are bound to it.

For every realistic element there's an unrealistic one to counter act it. If you interpreted these movies, especially TDK, as trying to present some kind of realistic world then your perception was way off. Joker may have worn make up, but he was a omnipotent villain. Two Face was pure comic book. Batman was pure comic book. Scarecrow was pure comic book.

There's nothing written in Nolan's world that states outrageous gadgetry and chemicals cannot exist.

 

[emma_c22000]

I never thought of the fims as being "realistic" or even hoped for them to be. To be honest all I wanted was for them to be a bit more grown up, have a plot and maybe a bit of characterisation and I personally feel Nolan delivered this in abundance.

Although none of the things that happend in Batman Begins or The Dark Knight are likely to happen in real life, I was just happy to see the silver screen interpretation of my favourite comic book character given the respect and attention to detail I felt it deserved.

Realism was never something I cared about. If I did I wouldn't read comic books.

 

[hatebox]

The bat signal sums up nolan's realism in a nutshell - it's preposperous that it's actually used, but it at least looks murky (rather than crisp and clear) in the sky, and it's also employed by Gordon as a way of scaring criminals even when Batman doesn't show up. It's not just a communation device.

The fundamentals of the mythology are largely the same but filtered more plausibly.

Realism means different things to different people so it's an engless, circular argument.

 

[The Morningstar]

Your point is invalid, truth. Just because Nolan's movies are anchored by more realistic concepts in several areas does not mean they are bound to it.

For every realistic element there's an unrealistic one to counter act it. If you interpreted these movies, especially TDK, as trying to present some kind of realistic world then your perception was way off. Joker may have worn make up, but he was a omnipotent villain. Two Face was pure comic book. Batman was pure comic book. Scarecrow was pure comic book.

There's nothing written in Nolan's world that states outrageous gadgetry and chemicals cannot exist.

TDK does try to portray a realistic world. Gotham looks like Chicago instead of Gotham. They explain China's extradition policy. They explain RICO, but do it wrong. Nolan has even said he "tries to find the realism in these fantastic stories".

Then they have fantastical elements thrown in. It's not that big a deal, but I find it a bit jarring when they have all these realistic elements, then throw them all out the window when it's convenient.

 

[Gianakin_]

TDK does try to portray a realistic world. Gotham looks like Chicago instead of Gotham. They explain China's extradition policy. They explain RICO, but do it wrong. Nolan has even said he "tries to find the realism in these fantastic stories".

Then they have fantastical elements thrown in. It's not that big a deal, but I find it a bit jarring when they have all these realistic elements, then throw them all out the window when it's convenient.

You just mentioned 3 plausible elements of TDK. The fantastical outweigh the realistic ones, though. It's just a realistic setting, nothing more. A connection to our world, used as a window for us to go more smoothly to the fantastical world of Batman.