The Dark Knight Rises |OT| The Legend Ends (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers Within)

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Just got back from seeing it and while I loved it, it's probably the weakest in the series imo.

TDK > BB > TDKR

That being said it's still great
 
Difference of opinion naturally but I can't grasp why people put Batman Begins on such a pedestal. Apart from the earlier Ra's monologues and Bruce slowly becoming Batman, the rest of the film is distinctly average. Ra's is a weak villain, narrows is a terrible setting and plot is more outlandish than anything in TDK or TDKR.
 
Difference of opinion naturally but I can't grasp why people put Batman Begins on such a pedestal. Apart from the earlier Ra's monologues and Bruce slowly becoming Batman, the rest of the film is distinctly average.

From the very start until Falcone is tied to the skylight it's just fucking perfect
 
Begins will always have a soft spot for people because it's the origin, that and it was perfectly executed on how he became batman.

I agree in that I think the first half of that movie is totally sublime. Love it.

I was definitely blown away by The Dark Knight. It's impressive. But personally I rarely want to watch it again. There's little that I love there.

There's something very lovable about Rises that reminds me of that great stretch in Begins.
 
Difference of opinion naturally but I can't grasp why people put Batman Begins on such a pedestal. Apart from the earlier Ra's monologues and Bruce slowly becoming Batman, the rest of the film is distinctly average. Ra's is a weak villain, narrows is a terrible setting and plot is more outlandish than anything in TDK or TDKR.

I agree. BB was the least good of the 3 movies but still very good. I think I am going to watch TDKR probably again next week after just watching it yesterday.
 
Difference of opinion naturally but I can't grasp why people put Batman Begins on such a pedestal. Apart from the earlier Ra's monologues and Bruce slowly becoming Batman, the rest of the film is distinctly average. Ra's is a weak villain, narrows is a terrible setting and plot is more outlandish than anything in TDK or TDKR.

I think it's the atmosphere in that Gotham felt like a real city compared to TDK and TDKR. There also was the development of Bruce as a character and as Batman.
 
I think it's the atmosphere in that Gotham felt like a real city compared to TDK and TDKR. There also was the development of Bruce as a character and as Batman.

The atmosphere felt tighter. More alleyways and run down shots. The Narrows in BB looked goofy. Any wide shot of them looked like some sickly light cast on them just to make them look extra comic booky/shitty compared to the rest of the city.
 
I think it's the atmosphere in that Gotham felt like a real city compared to TDK and TDKR. There also was the development of Bruce as a character and as Batman.

Its kind of the opposite, Begins Gotham is more liked for being comic bookish.
TDK was 100% Chicago and TDKR is 100% New York.
 
Despite all its faults, I still think TDKR is the best of the trilogy. The first half of BB is perfect, absolutely perfect, the best stretch of the entire trilogy, but what follows is probably the silliest stretch. TDK is an impressively intense film but ultimately rings hollow and mechanical. TDKR has the heart of the former with the intensity of the latter, and the most ambitious plot of the bunch. Winner!

That gives me great hope. I think TDK is a very good film, but I was never in love with it like I was Begins. I have to wait until my brother-in-law is back in town to see it, so another week or so.
 
From the box office article going around, it scored a solid A in the exit polls.
 
The movie was pretty good, not great, but boy will i be remembering this day for a long time - for reasons completely unrelated to the Dark Knight Rises.

So we went to King of Prussia, which is 2 hours away from my home, so we can see IMAX (which we learned they cut out the fucking previews so as they could fit the movie on the old giant projector stock, wtf?). Ok, we saw the movie, exited at 6:00. Got lost on the way back for a two hour detour, and when we finally found our way back and was only 25 minutes from home some asshole on 81N nudged us and we flew over the divider, into the other side of the highway, spinning, spinning, spinning, narrowly being missed by like six cars on our transit, slammed into the barrier wall on the entire opposite side of the highway. I broke two fingers i am pretty sure because I can't move them at all, it fucking hurts a goddamn lot, and I got a huge gash on my knee. Maybe I'll go to the hospital tomorrow.

The entire back on my car is totaled, the wheel wells all dented in, but I was like "fuck this shit, I'm going home, I'm only 25minutes away." Our car could still drive, barely, it was making all sorts of funky clicking noises. Both lights in the back were broke. And of course, only 1 minute from my front door, a fucking police officer pulls me over and gives me a $150 ticket for broken tail lights.



But yeah, Dark Knight Rises had a lot of problems but it was a fun film. But fuck today.

Oh wow, that really sucks man.

Like I said I was looking forward to hearing from you. How would you compare TDKR to Inception. My biggest issue with Inception was its pacing (absolutely terrible!), which really killed the movie for me in my second viewing.
 
I agree in that I think the first half of that movie is totally sublime. Love it.

I was definitely blown away by The Dark Knight. It's impressive. But personally I rarely want to watch it again. There's little that I love there.

There's something very lovable about Rises that reminds me of that great stretch in Begins.

My thoughts exactly. I even Tweetered about it!

I could watch the Ledger scenes in TDK a million times over but I have no use for the rest of it, really. And I did really enjoy it when I saw it in the theaters! It's great. But I don't think I have watched it in its entirety ever again.

TDKR almost lost me in the first act but I could see myself rewatching it all again, or at the very least from the second half on.
 
I don't know how good TDKR's ending is, but I doubt it can top TDK's ending. Rather than most generic "happy" upbeat endings, dat tragic ending with batman running away still gives me chills.

Forget the fucking ferries for once, the ending is one of the few things that had my jaw on the floor.
 
How understanable Bane is ? From the preview, I couldn't understand a fucking word he was saying
I'd say 80% of the time he's ok? He's not sprouting Shakespeare but sometimes when he speaks in long sentences it can get muddled. One of the more annoying aspects of the movie for me.
 
I don't know how good TDKR's ending is, but I doubt it can top TDK's ending. Rather than most generic "happy" upbeat endings, dat tragic ending with batman running away still gives me chills.

Forget the fucking ferries for once, the ending is one of the few things that had my jaw on the floor.
Honestly it is one of the best endings I have ever seen.
 
I don't know how good TDKR's ending is, but I doubt it can top TDK's ending. Rather than most generic "happy" upbeat endings, dat tragic ending with batman running away still gives me chills.

Forget the fucking ferries for once, the ending is one of the few things that had my jaw on the floor.
it's an absolutely PITCH PERFECT ending. It hits all the right notes and is ultimately satisfying as satisfying can be.
 
Thats good to know.

I'm talking in terms of shock value, though. BB wrapped things up nicely, but it has a very traditonal ending. TDK had a very unconventional and unique ending and perhaps one of the best things about the film. TDKR (From what I've heard) is satisfying but predictable.

Well, only way I can find out is wait for a month. :/
 
I don't know how good TDKR's ending is, but I doubt it can top TDK's ending. Rather than most generic "happy" upbeat endings, dat tragic ending with batman running away still gives me chills.

Forget the fucking ferries for once, the ending is one of the few things that had my jaw on the floor.

Just to continue the ending love-in, I had a massive boner throughout it the entire time. I had these images of all these great things I wanted to happen and about 5 seconds later they came up on screen, and it just made me all fuzzy
 
Trilogy Rewatch - The Dark Knight

I just realized that this title is inaccurate because it won't be a trilogy REwatch since I'm only seeing TDKR for the first time tomorrow. Oh well, semantics, lol.

So, TDK is actually still a pretty solid movie. Even ignoring that the editing is spotty, the "plans" in the entire movie are totally over-convenient and contrived, and how nothing really feels as "smart" as it did the first time, especially when you know everything before hand, the actual moment to moment scenes are pretty well shot and there's some powerful stuff.

But watching BB and TDK again so close together really shows how superior one movie is to the other in terms of overall composition, thought, and timelessness. BB feels like a product of a true desire to tell a good story, one which did not focus on tricks and twists, but rather a story of humanity and characters developing into something more. TDK is a high concept glitzy film meant to titillate and thrill, appealing to those with certain special interests with bold themes and concepts, but never really being a cohesive and honest stroke of storytelling.

Another comparison would be that BB is like a classic myth or fairy tale, where while the text itself may not be complex or flowery, the tale itself strikes a chord with readers. TDK is more like a philosophical poem, where the appeal is in the parts rather than the whole. Selected quotes and passages can hold a strong impact for some who are drawn to the style or the ideas, but when taken as a whole and judged as a narrative, it might be lacking.

Either way, it's interesting to me how Nolan made two Batman movies so stylistically, thematically, and narratively different. It is probably a feat in itself that he chose not to repeat himself in the process of making a sequel. I'm pretty excited now to see what he has to offer with his conclusion. Hopefully it is also something different from both movies before it, so even if it does not surpass the work before, it can stand alone as something unique in the saga.
 
Trilogy Rewatch - The Dark Knight

I just realized that this title is inaccurate because it won't be a trilogy REwatch since I'm only seeing TDKR for the first time tomorrow. Oh well, semantics, lol.

So, TDK is actually still a pretty solid movie. Even ignoring that the editing is spotty, the "plans" in the entire movie are totally over-convenient and contrived, and how nothing really feels as "smart" as it did the first time, especially when you know everything before hand, the actual moment to moment scenes are pretty well shot and there's some powerful stuff.

But watching BB and TDK again so close together really shows how superior one movie is to the other in terms of overall composition, thought, and timelessness. BB feels like a product of a true desire to tell a good story, one which did not focus on tricks and twists, but rather a story of humanity and characters developing into something more. TDK is a high concept glitzy film meant to titillate and thrill, appealing to those with certain special interests with bold themes and concepts, but never really being a cohesive and honest stroke of storytelling.

Another comparison would be that BB is like a classic myth or fairy tale, where while the text itself may not be complex or flowery, the tale itself strikes a chord with readers. TDK is more like a philosophical poem, where the appeal is in the parts rather than the whole. Selected quotes and passages can hold a strong impact for some who are drawn to the style or the ideas, but when taken as a whole and judged as a narrative, it might be lacking.

Either way, it's interesting to me how Nolan made two Batman movies so stylistically, thematically, and narratively different. It is probably a feat in itself that he chose not to repeat himself in the process of making a sequel. I'm pretty excited now to see what he has to offer with his conclusion. Hopefully it is also something different from both movies before it, so even if it does not surpass the work before, it can stand alone as something unique in the saga.

My man.
 
TDK is a high concept glitzy film meant to titillate and thrill, appealing to those with certain special interests with bold themes and concepts, but never really being a cohesive and honest stroke of storytelling.

The bolded reason is why TDK > BB for me, and perhaps everyone. Also seems to be the reason why most people dislike TDKR because it fails at that part but succeeds in the BB element.
 
Great movie. But i feel like it needs to be seen again to really appreciate it. Theres a lot going on throughout and sometimes you tend to miss a few beats. Also Bane is still very hard to understand i thought. Ill go see it again real soon.

I wish I was watching it again right now.

What are the best four or five songs on the soundtrack? I've already got Gotham's Reckoning and Imagine The Fire, but I don't need the whole album.
 
I watched this at the midnight launch. I wanted to let this sink in before I gave a verdict, but I absolutely loved it. The moment I walked out of the theater I had no idea what to think, because like a few have said, in some ways this is the worst of the 3 films but also in others, its the best. But the more and more I think about the film, the more and more I am loving it. Yeah its far from perfect, its messy in its pacing and plot structure, but none of that ever bothered me.

I think the biggest reason why I love this film so much is because its more a Bruce Wayne film then a Batman film, and his arc is absolutely fantastic in this. TDK failed on that part. And the ending to this is perfect.

I was a TDK > BB guy when TDK first came out, but more and more I watched TDK the less I like it. BB gets better and better every time I watch it. So after watching TDKR (I still need to see it again, my ranking might be different after a second viewing.) my ranking of the trilogy would be:

BB > TDKR > TDK.
 
The only negative thing about the IMAX this time is that I didn't have an OMFG moment like I did with the TDK when the Joker's truck flipped over vertically and filled the entire dome. But that was the first time I saw a real movie in IMAX.
 
Goin tonight at LIEMAX in New Roc, then again Thursday at IMAX Lincoln Square. I stayed away from rewatching Begins & TDK--want to be as fresh as possible for the inevitable geek-out rush. My body is ready.
 
Would the Liberty Center (in Jersey) IMAX be real imax? I'm so confused.
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15/70mm = Real IMAX.

So yes, it's a real IMAX---but it's also a dome theater IMAX and some people have mixed feelings about those kind.
 
Fu... I am going to watch it at the IMAX in about 2 hours and 50 minutes, just rewatched both BB and TDK last night, hype is slowly rising (though still nowhere at the level I was for TDK which I watched at its midnight showing)... this is going to be awesome; I can feel it! :D
 
Haven't watched all of it yet, seems like you say this about every one of their reviews, though.

Nah, this and the Spider-Man review just make me think they've kind of been out of it lately. They used to have more constructive criticism to offer. Still, with TDKR they bring up a few decent points regarding the expections and reality of watching a Nolan movie.
 
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