The Dark Knight Rises - letdown or not?

[Fudgie]

Is it just me, or are all these threads created by the same two posters.

If ya mean me then ya are wrong. This is the first Batman thread I've ever made. My only other one was a Supes one.

Good is a letdown if you expected more. Letdown by defintion is when your expectations are not met. Something doesn't have to suck in order to be a letdown.

As far as TDKR typing up the trilogy with a bow and succeeding, that is in the eye of the beholder. IMO, it didn't.

Quoted for truth.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Definitely not a letdown for me. Gets better and better with repeat viewings. Hadn't seen it in nearly 4 months, but watched it a couple times this weekend and loved it even more than my theatrical viewings. Is it perfect? Nope. Were BB/TDK perfect? Nope. This one at least focused more on the main character again, unlike TDK. That was a welcome sight for me as someone who loved BB. Bale gave a much more inspired performance compared to his wooden performance in TDK. Loved seeing the passion in his eyes again like in BB.

 

[Brain Damage]

Definitely not a letdown for me. Gets better and better with repeat viewings. Hadn't seen it in nearly 4 months, but watched it a couple times this weekend and loved it even more than my theatrical viewings. Is it perfect? Nope. Were BB/TDK perfect? Nope. This one at least focused more on the main character again, unlike TDK. That was a welcome sight for me as someone who loved BB. Bale gave a much more inspired performance compared to his wooden performance in TDK. Loved seeing the passion in his eyes again like in BB.

What exactly did you find "wooden" about his performance in TDK?

 

[redfirebird2008]

What exactly did you find "wooden" about his performance in TDK?

The vast majority of his line deliveries.

 

[Brain Damage]

The vast majority of his line deliveries.

Even as Wayne?

Interesting. You're far from the only one who I've seen have that criticism. Personally I think Bale does some of his best work in TDK. His character's arc is all about refusing to be changed, so his often stoic performance worked really well for me. I think he had some subtle moments of brilliance, like when he opens to the door to find Harvey instead of Rachel.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Even as Wayne?

Interesting. You're far from the only one who I've seen have that criticism. Personally I think Bale does some of his best work in TDK. His character's arc is all about refusing to be changed, so his often stoic performance worked really well for me. I think he had some subtle moments of brilliance, like when he opens to the door to find Harvey instead of Rachel.

ESPECIALLY as Wayne. There was a deadness in his eyes that I didn't enjoy. There is a passion in his eyes during BB/TDKR that was missing in TDK. His best moment in that film to me is when Harvey complains about being the only one who lost everything. The look in Bale's eyes when he responds is very well done. He gave a lot of similar passion in BB/TDKR and I loved it.

 

[Brain Damage]

ESPECIALLY as Wayne. There was a deadness in his eyes that I didn't enjoy. There is a passion in his eyes during BB/TDKR that was missing in TDK. His best moment in that film to me is when Harvey complains about being the only one who lost everything. The look in Bale's eyes when he responds is very well done. He gave a lot of similar passion in BB/TDKR and I loved it.

That's my favorite moment of his as well
I think the rest of his performance lives up to that, but I'm glad we can at least agree on his finest moment.

 

[batfreakforever]

No ******* way is it a letdown. Seen the marathon in Imax first screening. Then on its own with family. Again in normal viewing. Then one last time in normal viewing but the sound cut out when the cage drops when Batman vs Bane starts so they gave me a free ticket after the movie. I later used that to see Dredd. A mate wanted to give me a crap copy of Tdkr while I wait for the bluray and I told him to buzz off. I never watch crap copys of my favorite movies. Only try to watch bluray with surround sound. I will milk the Tdkr bluray just as I have with Bb and Tdk.

 

[batfreakforever]

An artist owes **** all to a fanbase. I'm sorry but i dont come from that line of thinking at all. You either enjoy the output, or you don't. It doesn't matter if it's a hundreds of millions of dollars in budget, a massively known band, a small indie film, or an unknown broke band. The artist owes nothing.

If you make movies for the fanbase you're a bloody ******. Your art isn't art anymore it's just a product. But those kind of movies would indeed need to do things according to what their fans want. Like an entertainment/pop group. This isn't the same thing because Nolan wouldn't have done this movie if he didn't have a story to tell. Let the production companies, etc worry about their fanbase and how they're going to sell it to them. Nolans job is to not worry about fans or anybody else and just write and direct the movie he wants to make. A big Batman movie or something like Memento...it's all the same thing.

The fans don't own Batman, nobody does. They're entitled to nothing. If somebody wants to come in and butcher the idea of Batman (ill say that its been done before but i mean in the future) and do it assbackwards, and show the Batman just once the entire movie. Or use the Joker in some weird way, they can..and they dont owe the fans **** all. You either buy it or you dont. The artist can interpret it however they please.

Great post.

 

[batfreakforever]

I agree with everything you say, but this especially. Fans have a really strange sense of entitlement on properties like this. I am fine with "I don't particularly like this version of the character" and if people just left it at that for this movie then it's perfectly fine and understandable. But people say stuff like " This isn't what my Batman would do" as if it's an affront to a real person. It's boring if there's only one way to do a character like this.

Another great post.

 

[Micromind]

Definitely not a letdown for me. Gets better and better with repeat viewings. Hadn't seen it in nearly 4 months, but watched it a couple times this weekend and loved it even more than my theatrical viewings. Is it perfect? Nope. Were BB/TDK perfect? Nope. This one at least focused more on the main character again, unlike TDK. That was a welcome sight for me as someone who loved BB. Bale gave a much more inspired performance compared to his wooden performance in TDK. Loved seeing the passion in his eyes again like in BB.

Agree with the bolded part. Bale gives his best performance in TDKR.

I never cared for Bruce Wayne in TDK.

 

[shallbecomeabat]

For me it was everything I had hoped for and the best way Nolan could end his story. It was the best movie experience (even if not the best movie) I ever had, on an emotional level, since it affected me more than any other movie before. For me, it really was almost perfect. So much, that I really don't get any of the problems other had with the movie. Not at all. In my eyes, TDK was much more flawed in the logic department than TDKR.
So... Yeah, I loved it and I can't wait for the bluray. For me as a lifelong Batman fan and comic reader, I really have to admit that this trilogy is my favorite iteration of the character.

 

[The Joker]

Even as Wayne?

Interesting. You're far from the only one who I've seen have that criticism. Personally I think Bale does some of his best work in TDK. His character's arc is all about refusing to be changed, so his often stoic performance worked really well for me. I think he had some subtle moments of brilliance, like when he opens to the door to find Harvey instead of Rachel.

Agreed.

I enjoyed his nuanced performance more in TDK.

 

[Anno_Domini]

While Bale was all around amazing in all three films, I feel that Wayne didn't really have a powerful arc in TDK(which is why I always find the character of Wayne to be overshadowed by Joker and Dent, which is not the case in BB and TDKR where I find Bruce to have the more interesting storyline) and that's probably the reason why I'm not a huge fan of Bale's performance in TDK.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

I liked his arc the most in The Dark Knight. When he was making copycat Batmen by accident, how he placed his faith in Harvey Dent, how he was hoping that he would get to be with Rachel, the way the Joker made Gotham turn against Batman, how he blamed himself for what happened to Rachel and Harvey, then taking the blame for what Harvey Dent did after Joker turned him into Two Face. I liked all of that better than him being a depressed recluse, who loses his fortune, is nearly always injured in the movie, and is not Batman for most of the movie. It wasn't as interesting to me.

 

[Brain Damage]

I liked his arc the most in The Dark Knight. When he was making copycat Batmen by accident, how he placed his faith in Harvey Dent, how he was hoping that he would get to be with Rachel, the way the Joker made Gotham turn against Batman, how he blamed himself for what happened to Rachel and Harvey, then taking the blame for what Harvey Dent did after Joker turned him into Two Face. I liked all of that better than him being a depressed recluse, who loses his fortune, is nearly always injured in the movie, and is not Batman for most of the movie. It wasn't as interesting to me.

Very well put.

Although I love the idea of a broken Batman rising back up to the top, the fact that TDKR had him "coming back" twice was a very weird choice both structurally and thematically. It would have, in my opinion, been much better if Batman was active throughout the gap between TDK and TDKR (though it should probably be shorter) and a hardened veteran. That way, Bane would earn his victory - he wouldn't be fighting a rusty Batman who was only in the suit for the second time in eight years.

Now, you might say that Bane fought a weak Batman in Knightfall, but there Bane was the reason for Batman being so weak. He released the inmates of Arkham for the very purpose of studying and weakening Batman. In TDKR, Bane does none of that, instead he's just given what he needs to know off screen by Talia/LOS, and Batman is weak because of The Joker.

The Nolans and Goyer tried to do a mixture of The Dark Knight Returns and Knightfall, and it seems to me that was a poor choice.

 

[Zeerola]

Now, you might say that Bane fought a weak Batman in Knightfall, but there Bane was the reason for Batman being so weak. He released the inmates of Arkham for the very purpose of studying and weakening Batman. In TDKR, Bane does none of that, instead he's just given what he needs to know off screen by Talia/LOS, and Batman is weak because of The Joker.

I hated the change from Bane-criminal mastermind to Bane-pretending to be an antiestablishment hipster while really being just Talia's lackey in her stupid plan.
In the comics Bane found out Batman identity on his own, made up the plan of weakening Batman and defeated him in a more or less fair fight. Most importantly the reasons why he wanted defeat Batman were his own and not dictated by anone.
In the movie he knew Batman's identity from Talia, Batman was already weak and he defeated him at gunpoint (so if he lost Bat would be shot dead anyway). This whole "Occupy Gotham thingy" was just disguise for Talia's revenge.

 

[Anno_Domini]

"Anti-establishment hipster"?

 

[Zeerola]

"Anti-establishment hipster"?

How else would you call it?

 

[Anno_Domini]

Anti-establishment works with Bane, but NOT the word 'hipster'. Most definitely not that word. Why would he be called that? Because of his jacket choices?

 

[Zeerola]

Anti-establishment works with Bane, but NOT the word 'hipster'. Most definitely not that word. Why would he be called that? Because of his jacket choices?

No because his plan was stupid. And I like using the word hipster.

 

[shauner111]

Hipster? lol ooookayyyy.

 

[HighFivingMF]

"I mastered the darkness before it was cool, Botmon!"

 

[Anno_Domini]

No because his plan was stupid. And I like using the word hipster.

So you use the word because you think his plan was stupid. Fair if you didn't like the plan, but it's moronic to just toss out any word you please when it doesn't fit, such as 'hipster'.

 

[bkong0]

Not a letdown but upon rewatching it, I think it isn't paced as well as TDK. I feel it won't stand up as well after a few more repeated viewings compared to TDK due to that.