The Dark Knight Rises Best Third Act in the Trilogy

[CapedCrusader14]

A common topic I've seen brought up in regards to the trilogy is the third act of each film. Now Nolan has often been criticized for having a weak third act in each film but I'd like to see what everybody thinks is the best one of the three.

Mine is personally TDK. All the escalation in the film feels as if it's about to reach fever pitch and the Prewitt Building seals it all up. Then we have the Two-Face and Gordon's family scene and the ending. I absolutely love it.

What is your favourite?

 

[Deserana]

I like all the third acts, however even though it is quite underwhelming (in terms of what it could of been) TDKR has to be my favourite. The sheer scale of it and enjoyment level is just awesome to watch. I kind of look past the problems I have as I feel only two parter could sort them out so there is no point in feeling disappointed.

Plus the fact that the final 5 minutes are my favourite of the trilogy and also it has the Gordon reveal. Bane's weak death is the only main downside.

 

[BlackFox]

I think TDK just wins this one ahead of TDKR. The boats on the bomb scenario was edge of your seat gripping, the SWAT fight was awesome, the conversation between Bats and Joker unforgettable, then the Dent/Gordon finished followed by THAT speech from Gordon. TDKR was very very good and arguably had more emotional resonance than TDK but had a couple of issues that TDK didnt have.

Begins was good but not in the same league as the other two for me.

 

[CapedCrusader14]

I believe one thing that holds Begins' final act back is that it felt sort of run of the mill coming after the first two acts.

The thing that holds Rises back is how short the battle was, Bane's death and Talia's death. Everything after her death is amazing though.

 

[Deserana]

Hmm actually thinking about it TDK's ending may be the best I forgot how short the battle was. However, the final 5 minutes are so good that I'm torn. But TDK is also very good I just feel the ferry scene was a bit overdone.

 

[Dr Zaius]

I think out of all third acts, TDKR was the best. Better than Return of the Jedi and Return of the King in my opinion. I think, for those critical of TDKR they will feel differently when TDKR comes out on blu-ray/dvd, unlike Batman Begins and The Dark Knight which were stand alone films, I think TDKR needed both BB and TDK fresh in mind to appreciate it. I think for anyone critical of TDKR, if they watched TDK and TDKR back to back they would appreciate it a lot more as a conclusion to the story that was really fleshed out in TDK.

 

[BlackFox]

I believe one thing that holds Begins' final act back is that it felt sort of run of the mill coming after the first two acts.

The thing that holds Rises back is how short the battle was, Bane's death and Talia's death. Everything after her death is amazing though.

Yeah Begins did seem a little by the numbers, not bad by any means, but just not as good as what came after it.

I love the look of TDKR and the fight, but just needed to be that little big longer and other than Talia's death scene which was the most lacking part, though only a minor part of it, those small things did just hold it back from TDK which did not have any weak parts in my eye's. Although it was a fitting end to the trilogy thankfully.

 

[Deserana]

I think out of all third acts, TDKR was the best. Better than Return of the Jedi and Return of the King in my opinion. I think, for those critical of TDKR they will feel differently when TDKR comes out on blu-ray/dvd, unlike Batman Begins and The Dark Knight which were stand alone films, I think TDKR needed both BB and TDK fresh in mind to appreciate it. I think for anyone critical of TDKR, if they watched TDK and TDKR back to back they would appreciate it a lot more as a conclusion to the story that was really fleshed out in TDK.

I just felt TDKR's was far too short. It's all building up to this big war all the build up and marketing is Batman's army vs Bane's army then we shown quite a bit of it in trailers. But then the final battle only actually lasts about 34 minutes in the world of the film (I count the battle over when Batman beats down Bane you don't see any of the police/mercs war after that and it's hardly a sweat for Batman to take down Talia). 5 months held under terrorist regin for a 30 minute battle??? I personally felt the battle should have gone on for hours. Maybe days and I don't think Nolan should have given the bomb a countdown timer that way the war would have worked as a rebellion rather than a last minute fight. Obviously time restrictions come into play here but I really think TDKR should have been given 2 parts.

 

[Dr Zaius]

I just felt TDKR's was far too short. It's all building up to this big war all the build up and marketing is Batman's army vs Bane's army then we shown quite a bit of it in trailers. But then the final battle only actually lasts about 34 minutes in the world of the film (I count the battle over when Batman beats down Bane you don't see any of the police/mercs war after that and it's hardly a sweat for Batman to take down Talia). 5 months held under terrorist regin for a 30 minute battle??? I personally felt the battle should have gone on for hours. Maybe days and I don't think Nolan should have given the bomb a countdown timer that way the war would have worked as a rebellion rather than a last minute fight. Obviously time restrictions come into play here but I really think TDKR should have been given 2 parts.

I agree that the story was far too expansive for one 2:45:00 film. But with that in mind, I think it was well executed with the constraints. And concerning the final battle, keep in mind most people in Gotham were hiding in fear not wanting to participate in Bane's revolution. Also, Gotham city is a big place, the coordinated police attack on city hall occurred in a matter of hours, and Bane had a big enough army protecting city hall (remember, he never thought the police would escape or that Batman would be the one to return and free them), I am sure there were other members of Bane's army dispersed throughout the city that were unaware of the police attack which was quite sudden. I personally thought the final battle was epic even though I wish there was more time in the film devoted to it. You had these police officers going into battle, knowing full well that should they fail or not prevail fast enough that they and everyone in their city would be killed, I thought it was an incredibly dark mood to cast over the battle. It wasn't just about police beating Bane's army for control of a building, it was about fighting for the survival of Gotham.

 

[TheNolan]

1. TDK
2. BB
3. TDKR

TDK was a very well organized film. In the third act you get:

1. Joker Hospital, Harvey Dent going berserk
2. Joker/henchmen fight
3. Harvey Dent holdup, situation comes full circle

What more could one want?


I agree w/ someone in the above that BB 3rd act was standard. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[TinkerTailor]

TDK has the best final act, although I'd say it was the 5th Act rather than 3rd.

 

[Oscorp]

1) tdk
2) tdkr
3) bb

 

[Lord]

1-TDK/ TDKR tie
2-BB

I think that Batman Begins has the less polished 3rd act, TDKR's 3rd arc had the highest stakes while in TDK's 3rd act the Joker made a lot of good points and his plans for Harvey worked, for me it's a tie, i can't really decide which one i liked more.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

For me it's a three-way tie.

Batman Begins's 3rd act is a much more classical. **** has hit the fan, all hell breaks lose and a final confrontation occurs between good and bad. Batman fighting Ras on the train was amazing.

The Dark Knight showed the fall of Harvey Dent and it was the first good action scene of any Nolan film (to that date) that I had ever seen (with the SWAT), and how the final "confrontation" was one of drama and intensity, really helped wrap Dent's arc into that of the tragic hero. The final monologue was simply legendary.

The Dark Knight Rises gives us the most triumphant third act. From Bruce climbing out the pit, to saving the cops, the Bat taking fire and destroying the first three tumblers, the charge of the armies, Batman beating the **** out of Bane, Catwoman returning the "surprise mother ****er!" style entrance Talia made on Batman only this time to Bane, the chase in the street, Gordon learning the truth, the explosion and then the final goodbye.

The three acts make complete sense to each of the films; Batman emerging as the saviour, Batman taking the fall, Batman triumphantly rising.

 

[Baneis8feettall]

TDK.. Batman,Gordon & Harvey comes together again but unlike roof scene.

"Die as a hero or become the villain"

It was emotional & thrilling scene.

 

[Deserana]

TDKR is just missing that "YESSSS" moment in the final action sequence, just a moment where Batman does/says something and you just go "**** yeah!". BB had "I don't have to kill you..." and him gliding away from the train. TDK had (IMO) the moment where he kicks the SWAT members off the roof then grappling up to Joker, hell the whole SWAT bit was full of good moments.

TDKR just didn't have that moment. "THENNNN you have my permission to die." could have been one especially with the music that plays after but it is immediately squashed by Batman having a knife in him moments later. It just needed that one moment. Heck even people looking up and cheering as he carries the bomb away may have done it.

 

[BatLobster]

Very tight race between TDK and TDKR for me on this one.

I think I'm going going TDK. I thought it had a lot going for it and I'm one of those people that actually does enjoy the two ferries subplot. And even enjoys the sonar-vision narrated by Morgan Freeman. So I really have nothing to fault it with t:. TDK's is like ALL tension, until the very end where you get that one big emotional payoff. Whereas I felt TDKR's Act 3 had big emotional payoffs all the way through. So they're two entirely different beasts, but I give TDK the edge just because it felt like "classic Batman" through and through.

Begins is a standard action movie climax. Nothing wrong with that, but it was just unfortunate timing that they had a train sequence when the previous year's Spider-Man 2 had a superior one. It's still solid though, just a bit of a step down from the rest of the movie IMO.

 

[kvz5]

I'm easily going with TDK.

TDKR just didn't have that moment. "THENNNN you have my permission to die." could have been one especially with the music that plays after but it is immediately squashed by Batman having a knife in him moments later. It just needed that one moment. Heck even people looking up and cheering as he carries the bomb away may have done it.

I understand that they were going for the shock/drama factor but it saddens me that Bats didn't really have that one big "**** yeah!" moment at the last fight in TDKR that wasn't followed by yet another crisis for him. I thought that line was so good and is such a high for the viewers after all the **** he went through. But wait... He gets stabbed and it's back to square one again.

 

[BlackFox]

TDKR is just missing that "YESSSS" moment in the final action sequence, just a moment where Batman does/says something and you just go "**** yeah!". BB had "I don't have to kill you..." and him gliding away from the train. TDK had (IMO) the moment where he kicks the SWAT members off the roof then grappling up to Joker, hell the whole SWAT bit was full of good moments.

TDKR just didn't have that moment. "THENNNN you have my permission to die." could have been one especially with the music that plays after but it is immediately squashed by Batman having a knife in him moments later. It just needed that one moment. Heck even people looking up and cheering as he carries the bomb away may have done it.

This one and the line he gives to Gordon to tell him who he is were the ones that were my YYEEESSSSS moments in TDKR, I kind of felt Begins was the one missing this moment, but yeah I know what you mean by that sort of momentt:

 

[Mob1423]

I think the reason why the Begins 3rd act is the weakest is because Batman and Gordon had already discussed blowing the monorail and nothing was going to stop the Tumbler.

It was just anti climatic because you knew what was going to happen

 

[Anno_Domini]

Even though I prefer TDKR as the best of the trilogy, TDK did have the better third act.

TDK
TDKR
BB

 

[JackWhite]

BB easily has the worst third act. I mean, it's not a train wreck, but when it compares to the first two acts, the third act is somewhat jarring.

TDK and TDKR third acts were amazing! I'd actually say that TDKR is maybe a tad better with Batman's final fight against Bane and the subsequent chase with the Bat, Bat-pod and camo tumblers. But Batman's final moments with an upside down Joker, which then leads to the unexpected situation with Two-Face holding Gordon's family hostage was totally a holy !@#$ moment.

I guess I give the edge to TDK because of the surprise factor with Two-Face at the end.


TDK
TDKR
BB

 

[OutOfBoose]

All of them are flawed, but I prefer TDKR.

 

[BlackFox]

BB easily has the worst third act. I mean, it's not a train wreck, but when it compares to the first two acts, the third act is somewhat jarring.

TDK and TDKR third acts were amazing! I'd actually say that TDKR is maybe a tad better with Batman's final fight against Bane and the subsequent chase with the Bat, Bat-pod and camo tumblers. But Batman's final moments with an upside down Joker, which then leads to the unexpected situation with Two-Face holding Gordon's family hostage was totally a holy !@#$ moment.

I guess I give the edge to TDK because of the surprise factor with Two-Face at the end.


TDK
TDKR
BB

Actually it sort of was a train wreckt: or a monorail wreck anyway

Ok I'll leave now.

 

[BatManFan_NYC]

Everything after her death is amazing though.

which is why I'd have to go with TDKR