As The Dust Begins To Settle…
The Dark Knight Rises is no longer top of the UK or US box office, so as Batman begins his decent its time to get reflective on what exactly Christopher Nolan has achieved. Was the bat’s third and final reign under Nolan underwhelming? Did fans subconsciously want to hate it? Or was it indeed the masterpiece finale everyone had surely hoped for?
The intention of the following 10 points is not to bitch and moan, but to highlight the things that are being talked about in its aftermath, or indeed, what should be being talked about. It takes a look at the film’s wider significance, it’s downright achievement, it’s criticisms and its legacy.
A lot has been said not only about The Dark Knight Rises, but Nolan’s Batman trilogy as a whole, yet still there’s a lot more to say, so without further ado, here are 10 things we feel are worth your consideration.
Yes, there are probably more than 10 talking points, so feel free to add your own at the bottom or if you’re feeling extra constructive just familiarise yourself with the spelling of “sigh” and tell us why we’re wrong.
It should also be noted that the article is written with reference to the films, not the preceding comic books, though more on that later.
Warning: May contain spoilers.
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18 Comments
“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.”
great article, FINALLY someone talking sense when addressing the “issues” with this film.
the film was bang on and I’m still buzzing over it.
The problem is, I do want to know. I want to know how any human being, especially Batman, does anything with such quickness and precision that was once shown to us in Batman Begins, a movie that attempted to, in a teacher’s words, “show the work.” Instead, this movie was phoned in.
To excuse gaping plot holes in a $250M film is to excuse the engineer who left massive pot holes in a road that was paved for $250 million.
Don’t call a movie grounded in reality, then show me a man’s back being punched back into place, falling from the same height with the same rope that killed other men multiple times, escaping the friendliest prison ever only to return magically, then tell me it’s possible because he’s f***ing Batman. It’s inexcusable. You’re a hack that wrote this crap with one hand firmly planted on his *****, j***ing it for Nolan while the Shawshank Redemption played behind you, unwatched.
p.s: Commas exist.
I understand your point, a harsh one at that. However, it remains a movie, and I believe, to enjoy a movie, you have to let go (to a certain extent) of your rational thinking.
It is “grounded in reality” by the fact that he didn’t get bitten by a bat to gain extraordinary superpowers. After watching batman begins, the audience is made to believe that he has benefitted extra special training, explaining his extra special speed and precision. Granted, maybe the league of shadows training grounds don’t exist, but if they did, I’m sure it would train people to become super fast and super precise.
And as for the back mending, I prefer to see it take a few seconds by snapping it instantaneously back into place, than to go through 30 mins of film of Wayne having special reeducative back therapeutical sessions. I think Nolan planned on making a fictional action movie, rather than a handicap’s revival movie.
And the same goes for his escape and his sudden reappearance in Gotham, would you really have preferred to see Wayne hitchhike to the closest town, call american express to have some cash wired over, then him getting on the back of a village mule to the closest train station that was 15 miles east… again, it’s a movie, and an action one at that.
In movies, there are short cuts, some rational, some a bit far fetched. And in Batman’s case, I, for one, fully agree on Nolan’s choices to privilege non-stop action whilst keeping to a tight plot, than boring explanative scenes that turn the movie into a long unwatchable film.
It’s Batman, it’s a fiction. Learn to let your hair down, and enjoy what isn’t necessarily real.
Erm… it was shot on film, not digitally. It says so in the end credits.
Damn it you found a plot hole! Its was shot on 35mm and 70mm cameras when not filmed in IMAX, the IMAX scenes however are digital.
I like this movie and Batman is my favorite hero of all time but c’mon. How many articles a day are we going to get about this movie??
I think the notion of Bane’s dread-inducing character being undermined by his relation to Talia, the thought that it somehow make him a puppet, is fallacious. While Talia is the facilitator of the events and ultimate mind behind the plan, her objective fails unless she has the appropriate ruthless, powerful, unforgiving, Hell-force to carry the events into motion- and that force, which is very real despite being only part of a bigger plot- is still indeed Bane! That he works with/for Talia takes nothing away from his savagery and overall impact.
The IMAX scenes are film, not digital
Sorry, the back punch plotwhole is beyond ridiculous. It’s like batman getting cut in half by a machete then someone binding him back together using spit. It ruins any “grounding in originality” and is a disservice to the franchise as a whole. Take off your fan boy blinders and admit this was as bad as Phantom Menace if not worse.
*reality not originality. OOPs. Also, Bane’s voice being Darryl Hammond’s Sean Connery impersonation in celebrity jeopardy made the whole thing silly.
Wow I never leave comments but you bro sound like a 6 year old asking why this, or why that ever 5 seconds. And the answer is just silmply because. You need to get over it, its just a movie (a great one at that). Just sit down and enjoy it as a whole and stop crying like a baby.
dude you just sound like a fanboy in your comment.
look how over excited you have got, surely this means so much to you that your going to give yourself a heart attack proclaiming your dislike for it.
your a fanboy like anyone else, your just on a different team.
chill.
Dude i tried to be polite by not cursing at you so don’t do it to me…. first of all I dont get paid to look at a film critically so I don’t I just know how to sit there and escape from my own reality (thats what a movie is for). Plus do you really need to see an extra 30 min added to a movie where Bruce Wayne finally escapes and walks through an endless desert with his thumb out looking for a ride (which if it happened then you would be crying like a baby over how unnecessary that was to have been included in the movie).
With his back being healed by a punch, all it was was a dilocated vertebrea and just like a dislocated shoulder all you do is pop it back into place and rehab it (which he did). Then with his knees not having the braces on when he needed them to walk in the first place, he more than likely was wearing them but we couldn’t tell because he was wearing long pants the rest of the movie so who knows.
And do you remember when they found out that the auto pilot was indeed fixed, maybe just maybe instead of just jumping out of the batwing into the water there was a pod that would eject Batman and fly him to safty much faster (it is Batman he has the technology to do it). it all comes down to using your imagination. Well it was fun arguing with you but I have a life to live.
What is your problem annoying fanboy? You some weak cheesy azz Avengers fans who is pissed The Dark Knight Rises was more of a film for adults instead of naive ADD kids like you? Every film has some kind of “plot holes” but TDKRises has more like plot omissions then holes. How long did you want the film to be? 4 hours and then you would cry and whine at how long the movie was! haha…moron…Nolan wants you to use your imagination a little huh? Just a little. If you want every single little detail spelled out for you….read the damn novelization.
Comparing TDKR to The Phanton Menace is PROOF you have ZERO credibility also!
See if it had been a dislocated disc they could have said that. The exact words were “Sticking out of your back.” Even then, a back punch ain’t gonna cut it. I like Avengers sure but my first thought upon walking out of the theatre was “that was fun but Rises will be true cinematic art. Just like Nolan promised.” Instead it was silly and serious, the worst kind of combination. Hell, it’s not even as bad as Phantom Menace because at least Phantom menace tried to be fun. Instead we got a super self-serious phantom menace, which is worse.
@ Manny,
That and it just plain sucked. Plotholes also arise in TDK. Hell, I noticed more of them when I rewatched the film before Rises. None were as willfully stupid as what happens in Rises. If it had even been mediocre I would be touting it like you lot that’s how big a fan I was. Only it’s risible. Give it time. Come back to me in four years and see if this film is regarded as highly as it is now.
The article was great, but t’s comments are absolutely brilliant. As we all know, every true movie connoisseur validates their arguments with a generous serving of swearing and general obnoxiousness. His elegant use of capital letters to emphasise his point is the sort of artistic sophistication that we deserve to see in TDKR.
Nolan knows nothing. t is a directing genius in the making. I say WB hire him to make their reboot of Batman.