The Dark Knight Rises Tom Hardy as Bane XXIII

[Just_Human]

Still praying he says "broken and done" when he throws the cracked cowl down. Id have the ultimate batgasm

Exactly what I thought when I saw that sequence.

But knowing Nolan, Bane might say it after tearing Gotham down, instead.

 

[BattleCat]

I must say that I am underwhelmed by Bane in this new trailer. I really noticed how small he looks for the first time. Chris Evens bulked up more than that for Captain America.

Same here, although im hoping once I see the movie, Hardy will do such a good job acting wise i'll get over the size quickly.

 

[RazAlCool]

As stupid as it sounds I'm sticking with my guns with thinking Ra's is bane and the injuries dealt from the end of batman begins is why he wears the mask

 

[Matt Mortem]

As stupid as it sounds I'm sticking with my guns with thinking Ra's is bane and the injuries dealt from the end of batman begins is why he wears the mask

A bit far'fetched don't you think

 

[Just_Human]

As stupid as it sounds I'm sticking with my guns with thinking Ra's is bane and the injuries dealt from the end of batman begins is why he wears the mask

Pheeew, Im not the only one who thought about it for a second

 

[RazAlCool]

A bit far'fetched don't you think

I don't see why not

He has the confidence like Ra's and even similar accent in his voice "no one cared until I started wearing the mask"

 

[Matt Mortem]

I don't see why not

He has the confidence like Ra's and even similar accent in his voice "no one cared until I started wearing the mask"

I personally would prefer Bane to be a separate character. If they were gonna bring back Ra's, just bring him back. Just my opinion of course.

 

[NateHevens]

I don't see why not

He has the confidence like Ra's and even similar accent in his voice "no one cared until I started wearing the mask"

Right. Tom Hardy is playing Liam Neeson playing Ra's Al Ghul as Bane.

Makes perfect sense...

 

[Just_Human]

Well, Neeson is taller than Hardy

So no

Unless Venom makes him smaller

 

[NateHevens]

Well, Neeson is taller than Hardy

So no

Unless Venom makes him smaller

So then why would Hardy be playing Liam Neeson's character?

 

[Just_Human]

So then why would Hardy be playing Liam Neeson's character?

Because it's not part of the plan

 

[Slushy]

I must say that I am underwhelmed by Bane in this new trailer. I really noticed how small he looks for the first time.

Agreed. This is where I have to disagree with "realism" because it takes the fun out of his character. It sucked in Spider-Man 3 when they made Eddie Brock a scrawny twerpy instead of a brute (like him and Bane should be) and its pointless to use the Bane character if there's no Venom / PCP for him to fall back on.

I don't mind the coat. It actually looks cool, but I'm not happy with his voice. It's too subtle. Sounds like Mads Mikkelsen instead of being deep and menacing like Unicron.

My biggest issue is his mask. Why did they have to fu** with it? It would be like altering Spider-Man's.

You see that? Much better!

 

[Octoberist]

I dont know if that's any better. And don't compare his mask to Spidey's since Spidey's well known and iconic.

 

[jacobed]

No its not better. That luchador mask is stupid. Just because it was in the comics doesn't mean its automatically good.

 

[Roose Bolton]

The mask in the comics looks awesome, though it's not a luchador mask

That said the Movie version looks better, just waay more creepier.

 

[webhead731]

Agreed. This is where I have to disagree with "realism" because it takes the fun out of his character. It sucked in Spider-Man 3 when they made Eddie Brock a scrawny twerpy instead of a brute (like him and Bane should be) and its pointless to use the Bane character if there's no Venom / PCP for him to fall back on.

I don't mind the coat. It actually looks cool, but I'm not happy with his voice. It's too subtle. Sounds like Mads Mikkelsen instead of being deep and menacing like Unicron.

My biggest issue is his mask. Why did they have to fu** with it? It would be like altering Spider-Man's.

You see that? Much better!

The reason why Bane and Venom aren't hulking brutes in these movies is because it looks silly. There are plenty of Spidey comics where Venom was just as big as he was in 3. He was bigger than Spidey, that's all I needed. and there have been Bane designs where he is pretty standard in terms of muscle.
They need to keep it some what realistic. As for the mask, it just doesn't fit this series. I've seen fan costumes that make it look great, but this suits the new films fine.

 

[StylishHokie21]

Like a boss.

I like this shot. He looks very confident here. t:

 

[rashad]

Get that luchador **** outta here.

Hardy's got the eyes of a killer. I'm glad strayed far away from that look.

 

[Reek]

tom hardy doesn't play bane.

 

[BuddhaWasABat]

tom hardy doesn't play bane.

Yup. he is definitely going to pull a Ledger on us and become his character.

 

[Reek]

that didnt go as planned.

 

[BuddhaWasABat]

I guess not.

 

[redhawk23]

The reason why Bane and Venom aren't hulking brutes in these movies is because it looks silly. There are plenty of Spidey comics where Venom was just as big as he was in 3. He was bigger than Spidey, that's all I needed. and there have been Bane designs where he is pretty standard in terms of muscle.
They need to keep it some what realistic. As for the mask, it just doesn't fit this series. I've seen fan costumes that make it look great, but this suits the new films fine.

In my opinion Hardy has looked more built and larger in other movies without it looking "silly."

There are realities and limitations to how fast he could bulk up, as well as the specific kind of muscle they were looking for.

But to say making bane bigger would be "silly" is well a silly argument.

 

[JAK®]

I really like Bane's costume. The mask is genius. It's threatening, mysterious and is a clever homage to the original luchador design.

The coat is just classy and I like the worn-in, cobbled together look of his clothing.

Hardy himself is perfectly cast and really feels intimidating.

However.

Nolan has demonstrated once again that he is clueless when it comes to character design. He has no visual flair in that department whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, Nolan is great when it comes to creating beautiful scenes (thanks to the help of wally Pfister), with great camera angles and expert use of the IMAX camera. He is obviously well-trained and knowledgable about film.

But have you ever noticed that everybody in Nolan films wear suits? And how most characters have that slicked back hair? Yeah, most of his films have characters where it makes sense for them to wear suits, but it's becoming like dark eyeshadow is for Tim Burton. Most of his characters look the same, and it's only the Batman films where he has characters that look in any way distinct, and that's because he is adapting characters designed by other people.

Batman himself is stiff, oddly proportioned and moves with no grace at all. It takes effort to ruin a design as great as Batman's. He takes a design that thrives in it's simplicity and adds a load of lines to it. Awful. But at least the silhouette is intact, even if Nolan makes very little use of it.

But let's move on to the main discussion here. Bane. Let me tell you what's wrong with Bane.

He's too short. And this isn't just because he is shorter than he is in the comics (although it highlights how big of a mistake this is), it's the fact that he isn't big enough, muscularly, to pull off his stature.

If Bane is such a 'movie monster' then it makes sense for him to be taller than just about everybody else. And he doesn't need to be that tall. 6'2" to 6'4" is tall enough. He just needs to be taller than Batman. Being (nearly) as tall as Batman isn't good enough. If he's being presented as this dominating, monstrous presence, then it is essential that there is nothing that Batman has the advantage over him physically.

"But JAK!", I hear you cry, "Small people beat up bigger people all the time! Are you saying Bruce Lee isn't tough?" Yes, that is true, but that is not Bane, and it's not even what Nolan's Bane is about. When smaller characters beat up larger ones, it is almost always demonstrated on film as an ironic situation. The guy is little but he makes up for it with skill. But it's meant to be a surprise because they don't look intimidating. Nolan's Bane looks intimidating already, so obviously Nolan isn't going for that. It also doesn't work because the little guy is a hero, an underdog, and that's what Batman is supposed to be in this film.

"So what do you want?", you retort, "A 7-foot-tall steroid-abusing wrestler with no acting skill in the role? Hardy is a good actor and that's all that matters." First of all, hyperbole is the worst thing in the universe, and secondly I don't have a problem with Hardy, despite his average 5'9" stature. Height is the easiest thing to change on film. Tom Cruise does it in every film he's in. Hardy is perfectly cast when taking that into account. He's tough-looking and acts intimidating in the way Bane should act. Hardy is what is going to make the role work.

Which is why it's such a shame that Hardy is being held back by poor presentation. We have numerous shots in each trailer where he looks small. It puts more pressure on him to deliver. He isn't even as muscular as he should be. His arms are exposed and Nolan hasn't even made him pump up before filming. (If you don't know what that means, it's a common technique where actors do a few heavy curls just because they begin a scene so that the blood rushes to their arms and makes them look bigger. This is called the 'pump'.)

Hardy is an odd shape because his arms lag behind his wide back, shoulders and massive traps anyway. And Nolan's design has hidden all his good qualities that make him look intimidating despite them. See Bronson and Warrior, Hardy is often bare-chested and shows how wide he really is. But in TDKR that's hidden and his weakest attribute is put on display, with no effort made to make up for it. Clueless.

I know what you're all going to say. That it's Hardy's performance that will pull it off, and I absolutely agree. But he has to work harder than he should. He's going to have to fight against the fact that he is shorter and smaller than he is being presented. And it all could have easily been avoided if Nolan had any idea on how to present a character.

There. Now you can begin disagreeing with me.

 

[munchie64]

^ I don't think we've seen enough of Bane to come to 100% conclusion that no effort was made to make him look taller.