Well yes, naturally they're different contexts. But in "Batman", Gordon was in fact the Police Commissioner, and he was able to lead the raid on Axis Chemicals earlier in the film, was he not?
Yes, though if you'll recall, he had to be tipped off about it, and almost missed the operation. His cops were pretty much presented as somewhat ineffectual, though in a deadlier manner.
I'll give you, TDKR Gordon obviously fell directly into Bane's trap by sending all those cops down there, but this was a Gordon who had been around for some of the most turbulent times in Gotham, during which he was extremely reliant on Batman. He knew things were heating up, knew he didn't have Batman as a crutch this time, and he ended up making an overzealous error. There's also the fact that he knew Bane basically had a ton of men down there, and wouldn't want to send his force down there outmanned. From the end battle scene, it's clear that the 3,000 police were matched by a roughly equal number of mercs.
He ended up making a moronic error, as did Foley. It was just stupid writing for plot's sake, because they couldn't be bothered to cross a few T's and dot a few I's in the script.
It may have been hasty and foolish of him, sure, but at least it's easy enough to rationalize (with film logic, not actual police logic). And I'm not even accusing B'89 of being less-than for the sloppy police work. I love the movie, it's amazing it turned out as good as it did considering all the Act 3 re-writes that were happening on set, during a writer's strike no less. I'm just pointing out why I don't think that TDKR has set the bar for police dumbness in the genre.
Except that it has. The police waiting to see what The Joker will do in BATMAN because they've been promised a lot of cash along with Gotham, and being unable to do much in the face of a poison gas attack just doesn't really even compare.
There is nothing to 'wow' in you. The Commissioner sending every available unit/cop to the sewers IS suspension of belief. It's no different than Selina Kyle falling to her death and being revived by felines or The Joker escaping the MCU so easily.
It’s a level of suspension of disbelief that is inappropriate in the context of the film.
I can buy, in a film where a man turns into a big green monster, that his pants stretch.
I can buy, in a movie about a man whose face happens to catch half on fire, and where the final visual of the character depends on this “half burnt visage” that he might survive these wounds in order for us to achieve this.
I can buy, in a world where a man is a genius inventor, that he could create a mini arc reactor from the components he had to create a missile.
And I can buy that a man could fall into chemicals and have his skin turned white, and his hair turned green, depending on the chemicals. Especialy in a heightened comic book/fantasy world.
I can buy that stuff. And so should anyone. These are not logic issues…they are issues of belief.
I can't, as easily, buy that an entire real world police force would be that stupid so shortly after a terrorist action, in a film that tries to present a semi grounded approach to terrorism and a city and government’s strategic response to such. It makes me think the writers just wrote something forced and stupid. Its simply not a reasonable police action.
Especially since they know that Bane has potentially booby trapped the sewers, based on previous events.
Especially since Gordon knows that Bane, a fairly known mercenary, has men down there.
And what do they do? They walk in to search the sewers.
Its mind boggling.
