HEY DARK KNIGHT RISES, WHAT'S UP - probs spoilers-

[DialMforMary]

I know a good portion of you guys went, so what did you think?

For me, it was everything I wanted and more. And it was paced SO FAST??? I was never bored. Like, I like Batman Begins and Dark Knight fine, but I uh... my mind wanders during those. NOT IN THIS ONE. And I can't remember the last time I was so stressed and anxious watching a movie. (I also didn't start reading comics until after I saw Dark Knight, so that might have changed things for me as well! I saw things coming/understood references I wouldn't have otherwise.)
But yeah, I liked it a helluva lot.

Also, I'm going to be completely shallow for a moment (because that's just what I do) Joseph Gordon-Levitt was already a turbo-cutie, but after this I think I'm completely in love with him. I really, REALLY liked his character.

Lastly, on a sad note, a gunman opened fire in a Colorado movie theater last night, killing 12 and wounding 38 more. My condolences to all the victims and their families. I hope everyone else had safe screenings.

[Demian]

I saw the movie last night and have mixed feelings. It was enjoyable to watch, but some parts really killed it for me. Mainly, why in the hell was the character of Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) in this film? I don't know what's considered canon or know much about the Batman universe, but her character's big reveal at the end really made Bane look so small and shoved aside everything they built him up to be up until that point. It reminded me of how the Scarecrow sort of became a secondary/irrelevant villain in Batman Begins. Not to mention, her acting just seemed so bad and out of place, which is weird because I liked her in Inception.

Blake and Catwoman were definitely my favorites in this one and the Blake teaser/reveal at the end was one of the coolest scenes. It's a fun movie if you don't go into it thinking it'll flow or play out like the Dark Knight.

[DialMforMary]

@Gaby I was SOBBING I'm a total crybaby in movies but I was so broken up about it omg

@Demian I can accept that! I was fine with Miranda Tate and I liked what they did with that character and well, I like Marion Cotilard, too. I'm pretty easy to please though, I think. Like I said though, I respect your opinion :D

[Demian]

I think I sounded too harsh in my first post. I definitely enjoyed watching it and thought it was a great movie. I just didn't like how a few things turned out. I mentioned the Miranda thing before, but also, Bane's character as a whole just ended anticlimactically. They built him up for two hours to be this all-powerful badass, but the revelation scene just took all that away. Not to mention, I lol'd when Catwoman just busted in and blasted Bane away; like okay, I guess he's gone now.

Hah anyway, hopefully these criticisms can stir some discussion. It's boring when everyone circlejerks and praises the movie; we all know it was great anyway.

Catwoman kind of stole the show for me. Probably mainly cause she's a hottie and this was one of the few films where watching a woman kick ass of guys twice her size and the snarky/sassy comments weren't cringeworthyingly bad (lol Avengers). The "so that's what that feels like" line got instant laughs at the theater we went to as well as the scene where the little kid was singing the anthem.

[DialMforMary]

Okay, the Bane/Miranda thing honestly creeped me out. That's just not right??? I don't know. It just rubbed me the wrong way. If it was just a bodyguard thing I'd be fine but adding in the love stuff ... ehhhhhhhh. But I don't know, is that in line with the comics? Or did I COMPLETELY misinterpret it??? I don't know. It just was icky to me

I don't have much to add to Catwoman (you nailed it) but the way her goggles or whatver doubled as cat ears really tickled my fancy. I don't know what other folks think, maybe it was tacky, but I liked it. Oh and I loved her intro scene.

Someone I follow online made a good point about the restaurant scene that I think would have been better maybe? If Alfred was shown looking over but we didn't see who he saw at the table.

[justle]

This is a great movie. I genuinely feel bad for anyone who thinks otherwise.

My only regret is that I couldn't have experienced these movies as a kid. Reflecting back on my reaction to the Star Wars trilogy (total obsession), I can't imagine how Nolan's Batman trilogy would have taken hold of my life. As is, I can't stop thinking about The Dark Knight Rises.

I watched Batman Begins and The Dark Knight this week leading up to TDKR. I have to say, Bruce Wayne's transformation in each individual movie, and his transformation in the trilogy as a whole, was pretty incredible to watch. Nolan brought the Batman characters to life with a certain depth we've never seen in comic book movies before (and probably won't see again for a while).

Instead of searching for minute details to poke and prod at, I really wish everyone would relax and appreciate all of the amazing experiences this trilogy has given us.

[Demian]

@justle
You're satisfied with the Bane and Miranda ending? Also, what minute details are people prodding at?

[justle]

@Demian

I'm definitely satisfied. Bane was trained under Ra's al Ghul and he dominated Batman in their first fight. Even the second fight was a challenge for Batman.. so physically the Talia al Ghul reveal didn't diminish Bane as a threat at all.

As a team, they were able to take Gotham hostage and they were seconds away from killing all 12 million residents. Neither could have realized that plan without the other. Both Bane and Talia played crucial roles. We didn't see the planning stages, and we know Bane is as intelligent as he is strong and skilled in fighting, so we have to assume they both contributed equally.

I've also heard people criticizing their love for each other, but I think that's a little closed-minded. She loved him inside the prison because he was her protector, her father figure in a lot of ways. When she broke free and eventually rescued him, their love for each other evolved as she grew into adulthood and they trained alongside one another. They might have been romantic at the time the movie takes place (though, she still refers to him as a friend, and you can definitely love your friends in a non-romantic way).. that doesn't mean they were romantic when she was a child, though.

Finally, Bane and Talia both served specific purposes as antagonists. Each reflected externally a battle that Bruce Wayne was fighting internally. Each fight was separate, but at the end they come crashing down on him together. Bane broke him physically, Talia and Bane together broke him mentally, to the extant that the idea of Bruce Wayne no longer exists. Catwoman rescued Batman several times throughout the movie in a lot of different ways, but the most obvious rescue was blasting Bane away right before he landed his killing blow. To me, this scene was consistent with the themes that had been established early on in the film, and was fitting for the trilogy as a whole.

This movie might bother a lot of people because Batman is not saving Gotham single-handedly. In fact, he isn't present for most of the battle for Gotham. He's locked away, fighting a tough internal battle (like he does in all three movies, especially Batman Begins). When he wins that battle, he returns to Gotham and rightfully claims leadership among the men/women he's always fought alongside (even when they didn't think he was).

[justle]

I'd also like to point out that Talia al Ghul finishes a job her father couldn't. Not destroying Gotham, because obviously she isn't successful there (though, much closer than her father was).

Ra's al Ghul tried to help Bruce Wayne transcend humanity, become an idea and a symbol, and in some respects he appeared successful at the end of Batman Begins. But, the very idea of a man dressing up like a bat and trying to fight the rampant crime and corruption that has become so characteristic of Gotham City was hysterical to another man, The Joker. So hysterical, in fact, that he laughed himself to utter madness, and obsessively tormented Batman. The simple act of a man outsmarting Batman and laughing at him each step of the way drove Bruce Wayne to hang up his hood and cape indefinitely, even after catching Joker..

Until Talia al Ghul, under the guise of Bane, returns to threaten Gotham. Talia forces Bruce Wayne out of his depressive state (much like her father did), and by the end of the movie Bruce Wayne has accepted his position as Batman to the extent that he's killed off the idea of Bruce Wayne entirely. As Batman's master, Ra's only dreamed of helping Bruce achieve that feat. The battle for Gotham is important in the sense that it represents a battle going on inside of Bruce Wayne/Batman, just as Gotham City has throughout the trilogy.

[Demian]

Those are fair points and I don't disagree with your interpretation of the Wayne-Batman motif that persisted throughout the series. To be honest, I don't know what criticisms that professional critics or the general audience are making about the film, but just that my issues with the film are more surface-level than interpretive.

It's mainly a fault on my part for going into the movie expecting it to flow too similarly to The Dark Knight, where in the former film, the crux of the story revolved and was orchestrated around the Joker. My issue was that I was expecting too much of Bane. The Talia reveal doesn't make Bane physically weaker, but it makes his motivations and role in the whole thing feel small and secondary. Is that Bane's purpose? Is he supposed to be just some other villain? Because it wasn't presented that way in the first three-quarters of the film. However, clearly the role and style of villains in this film is different than that of The Dark Knight and I realize after some contemplation that that is okay. It's just a choice Nolan made that makes more sense in the grand scheme of things, although individually is kind of jarring.