The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

[beanham22]

Originally Posted by Beast

As I said earlier in the thread... I really enjoyed The Dark Knight Rises. I'm as shocked as the rest of you.

I think it's actually my favorite of the three films. With Batman Begins a very close second.

I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this one. Especially since I've been critical of the other Nolan Batman films. I think it comes down to a couple things that actually worked for me. This was really the most "Comic Bookish" movie in the trilogy. And the adaption of Bane was certainly better handled than Batman & Robin's lumbering brainless goon. So I give the movie huge props for handling the character so well. Plus we got away from the whole Batman versus Gangsters thing that made it feel less like a Batman Comic Book movie and more like a Crime Drama w/ just some guy dressed like Batman.

Are there parts of the film that bug me a bit? Sure.

[Show spoiler]Such as the Talia reveal coming right the hell out of nowhere. And how many times they restate that The Bat's Autopilot doesn't work. Even though we find out at the end it's been fixed for 6 months. Plus how dickish Bruce is to make Alfred tearfully mourn for him, only to find out he faked his death.

But every movie has those kind of moments. And in the end they didn't take me out of the film enough to dislike it.

There are definitely things that bug me in the film to but these are not them.

[Show spoiler] The Talia reveal was necessary as then the film would be filled with a ridiculous amount of plot holes i.e how did Bane know where the reactor was?, or how did he know where applied science was? Also the twist of her actually being Talia was subtly hinted at throughout the film examples include her repeating things that Ras al Ghul had said in Batman Begins like, "Do what is necessary", and " You have to invest if you want to bring balance to the world". Also the fact the Bane reveals that he did not leave the prison (which is of course Nolan's version of the lazerus pit, "sometimes a man rises...") until he was a man during him and Batman's first encounter so therefore the child that escaped could not have been him (this slipped right passed me on my first viewing).

As for your second complaint, yeah I guess that was a bit of a dick move when you look at it that way . But the fact that Alfred went back to the cafe in Italy (or wherever) shows that he held on to the hope that he was somehow alive. I thought it made the ending all that much better when Alfred sees Bruce alive with Selina and he knew then that Bruce would have the life that Alfred had always hoped Bruce would have.

My complaints these:

1.The cane was unnecessary and in turn introduces that silly knee brace.

2.I thought the pacing was too fast, they are literally cutting away months at a time. I thought the transitioning of time could have been done better.

3. I have to use my imagination a bit too much to explain how Batman knew where John Blake was when he was about to get shot.

Also who else that watched all the special features was absolutely floored that most of the shots of the Bat were done all practical and that a lot of those shot were full-scale (with wires and what not)? Also that plane sequence, they were actually walking on the wings of the flying plane! Two things that would have been done with CGI by most filmmakers was done mostly for real with CGI to help out when needed.

Now that is impressive Special Effects!

[RSuarez]

Originally Posted by ilovedealsonmovies

and now 300$ each on amazon and over 100$ on ebay for a mask must be one great mask

Wow! I guess people should import from Mexico, it would definitely be cheaper than that, and the store I visited yesterday had a tower of Batcowl editions... if I am unable to find one at a local Walmart and Best buy does not ship the one I ordered I plan on getting that one...

[Uxi]

Originally Posted by saprano

But yeah i loved bane too. I think i like him even more than the joker.

Agreed. I think the rationalization for the mask (anasthetic) is weak and they'd have been better off using the Venom serum as an explanation for why he's so strong that he can break stone with his fists without hurting himself. But that would have taken more time. I also have a hard time suspending disbelief over what the prisoners and doctor in a primitive hellish prison could do to make him need such a mask. Maybe that's in the deleted material.

Haven't picked up the BD yet since but will probably get the single movie basic version by tomorrow. Anything special in the fancier editions other than packaging? Seemed like the Target one was just a comic book.

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by Blu-Malibu2009

[Show spoiler]Miranda is Talia. From the script: [as Miranda continues to hold her knife in his side, Batman gasps in pain]
Bruce Wayne: Miranda....why?
Miranda: Talia. My mother named me Talia before she was killed. The way I would have been killed if not for my protector...Bane.
[we see flashback to when Talia was a child and got attacked by the prisoners as she's climbing the prison wall, but Bane rescues her and fights the other prisoners, as Talia is about to make the leap she looks down at Bane and he says 'goodbye', then Bane is attacked by the other prisoners]
Miranda: I climbed out of the pit. I found my father and brought him back to exact terrible vengeance. But by that time, the prisoners and doctor had done their work to my friend, my protector. The League took us in, trained us. But my father could not accept Bane. [we see flashback to when Ra's Al Ghul and his men turn up at the prison and find Bane, with a bloody bandage on his face]

Thank you very much for reminding me. There was so much to absorb on a first viewing that I forgot Miranda's "real" name. I forget names all the time.

Originally Posted by MercsOwnz

What an incredibly hostile response. I myself was wondering how you missed that revelation, even if you only just watched the film. To answer your question, Miranda was revealed to be Talia.

There was nothing particularly hostile about it, my friend. Mr. Sarcasm could've done what you did and simply explained what I overlooked. Obviously I had the character right, and I did my homework - which, unfortunately, bore no fruit. Gee, there's a lot to catch and absorb in watching a loud and boisterous 165 minute film for the first time - especially when you're watching it for enjoyment and not a class assignment. So I overlooked/forgot a name mentioned once while focusing on Batman's response to being blindsided and betrayed. Sue me.

I help people all the time on this site - that's what we're here for - be it weighing the Cowl edition or answering questions for the 100th time. Usually, I do it without rudeness or rancor - and that's all I expect of others. If someone wants to take an overly smug, sarcastic shot at me, they can expect to see return fire - failing to respond in kind only encourages wise-ass bullies. Sorry if you didn't see it that way.

[REPLAY]

Originally Posted by Blu-Malibu2009

The issue was not cost. The issue was that Nolan refuses to do ADR on a quiet dialogue scene because he doesn't feel the performance can be recaptured after the fact in a studio. And he's absolutely right IMHO. In the special features, they straight up said this is the reason they didn't use it for the entire film. They didn't want the noise from the camera to drown out the actors' voices in dialogue scenes (causing them to do ADR later) and they also didn't want the noisy camera to distract the actors while they did their jobs in those particular scenes.

TDKR should be remasterd for Blu-Ray with the same aspect ratio 2:35 for the complete film. OR it should have been made in the first place in the Imax ratio of 1:44. Right now the only thing that's good about the blu ray is the sound.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by REPLAY

TDKR should be remasterd for Blu-Ray with the same aspect ratio 2:35 for the complete film. OR it should have been made in the first place in the Imax ratio of 1:44. Right now the only thing that's good about the blu ray is the sound.

That's not how the Director intends for the film to be viewed. So you'll just have to get used to it. Or watch the DVD.

[AreaUnderTheCurve]

Originally Posted by REPLAY

TDKR should be remasterd for Blu-Ray with the same aspect ratio 2:35 for the complete film. OR it should have been made in the first place in the Imax ratio of 1:44. Right now the only thing that's good about the blu ray is the sound.

Or offer both.

[Blu-Malibu2009]

Originally Posted by REPLAY

TDKR should be remasterd for Blu-Ray with the same aspect ratio 2:35 for the complete film. OR it should have been made in the first place in the Imax ratio of 1:44. Right now the only thing that's good about the blu ray is the sound.

Maybe if you have a constant height setup, but I enjoy the Blu-ray the way it is on my HDTV. I do agree that they should have the option of a 2.35:1 presentation for the entire film. I do not support using seamless branching though. This isn't TF2 where there were only 8 minutes of IMAX footage. Or even TDK with 28 minutes of IMAX footage in a 2.5 hour movie. This flick has 70 minutes of IMAX footage and a 164 minute runtime. You're looking at 3 hours and 55 minutes of HD video. Seems like that could cause some compression issues. I think they should have released the two versions of the film on separate BD-50 discs.

[Uxi]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

So the Joker decides on the spur of the moment that he's gonna blow up a hospital (after all, he doesn't have a plan...he's a dog chasing cars), but somehow, he already has the entire hospital rigged to blow...and not one person noticed anyone rolling in barrels of explosives or rigging charges...but that's not a plot hole?

I'm all for pointing out the plot holes, but don't think this is one. Occam's razor would suggest that Joker is just a liar and/or really just insane. He keeps changing the story about how he got his scars, too.

[Blu Titan]

I enjoyed my home viewing more than the theater . btw, I went to BB last night as I had to pick up something for my son and all of the TDKR Steels were gone . There were easily over 100 of them on Tuesday when I got mine.

[REPLAY]

Originally Posted by Blu-Malibu2009

Maybe if you have a constant height setup, but I enjoy the Blu-ray the way it is on my HDTV. I do agree that they should have the option of a 2.35:1 presentation for the entire film. I do not support using seamless branching though. This isn't TF2 where there were only 8 minutes of IMAX footage. Or even TDK with 28 minutes of IMAX footage in a 2.5 hour movie. This flick has 70 minutes of IMAX footage and a 164 minute runtime. You're looking at 3 hours and 55 minutes of HD video. Seems like that could cause some compression issues. I think they should have released the two versions of the film on separate BD-50 discs.

I agree with you 100%. You should hve a choice of how you want to view this.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by beanham22

Also who else that watched all the special features was absolutely floored that most of the shots of the Bat were done all practical and that a lot of those shot were full-scale (with wires and what not)? Also that plane sequence, they were actually walking on the wings of the flying plane! Two things that would have been done with CGI by most filmmakers was done mostly for real with CGI to help out when needed.

Now that is impressive Special Effects!

I knew they had the Bat suspended by wires in a lot of shots, but I didn't realize they also had it riding on a truck in some others until I watched The Dark Knight Reborn documentary. That's a lot of digital erasing they had to do, but it made that final chase sequence all the more impressive. Honestly the only time the Bat looked like a CGI rendering to me was when Batman is flying it away from Daggett's place early on. I appreciate Nolan's disdain for CGI. I accept that it's necessary for some things(i.e. Two-Face), but most of the time it's unnecessary and lazy IMO.

BTW regarding that "reveal" you referenced in your spoiler section, were that many people really surprised by it? I predicted it a year before the movie came out, even without seeing any footage from the trailers. The character seemed so superfluous that there had to be something more to them. The announcement of a cameo of someone(I won't say who for those who still haven't seen the movie) from Batman Begins all but confirmed my suspicions.

[42041]

Originally Posted by Adam_ME

BTW regarding that "reveal" you referenced in your spoiler section, were that many people really surprised by it? I predicted it a year before the movie came out, even without seeing any footage from the trailers. The character seemed so superfluous that there had to be something more to them. The announcement of a cameo of someone(I won't say who for those who still haven't seen the movie) from Batman Begins all but confirmed my suspicions.

I'm not a comic book guy and I'm not too familiar with all the Batman characters and lore, and that probably goes for many folks.

[Early Memphis]

I tracked the eBay auction sales for The Cowl Edition for a couple of hours last night and the results were weird. The first one was the highest ($158.89) and then they fell off to a low of $122.50. The average for the 11 auctions was $136.28. The seller would pay eBay a fee of approximately $22.40 on that and postage would run from between $10-$25 approximately - depending on shipment method, packaging and insurance. [Later, a cowl set from Canada (where 3,500 were released) sold for $197.49!]

The strange thing is that while these auctions were happening there were several copies available to "Buy Now" for $120-$130! The Amazon prices are for folks who are in it for the long-term big score when there are practically none left. I doubt/hope that no-one is paying $300-$350! As I post this : 3 eBay auctions are ending at $113.00, $135.50 & $141.50. Buy It Now's are up to $150! Go figure.
***all prices include shipping***

[Brahby]

Ive never thought of the shifting aspect ratios as a burden or "shrinking" to letterbox. I always thought of it as me watching a normal widescreen film that occasionally gave me much larger beautiful shots. I remember the first time I saw TF 2 and it went full screen I thought it looked amazing. Same thing when I saw the Dark Knight. I never feel like its cheating me by switching back to regular widescreen, I feel like its rewarding me when it goes full screen.

[kono]

Originally Posted by ilovedealsonmovies

and now 300$ each on amazon and over 100$ on ebay for a mask must be one great mask

Wow! Quite a bit of idiot out there willing to pay that much for something that not even worth $30. 35000 is ain't a limited edition especially if so many of them are being unopened.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by 42041

I'm not a comic book guy and I'm not too familiar with all the Batman characters and lore, and that probably goes for many folks.

Well, I'm not really a comic book guy either, although I'm familiar with most of Batman's villain gallery. And I'm horrible at guessing plot twists, but that one seemed obvious all along. It even ties into a similar twist in Batman Begins, which BTW I never had an opportunity to guess thanks to some a-hole over at the It-Ain't-Cool-News talkbacks back in late 2004/early 2005 who decided to plaster that spoiler in their heading. One of many reasons I avoid that site like the plague.

[Brahby]

Originally Posted by kono

Wow! Quite a bit of idiot out there willing to pay that much for something that not even worth $30. 35000 is ain't a limited edition especially if so many of them are being unopened.

I wonder how much my wbshop exclusive will be worth

[kono]

Originally Posted by Brahby

I wonder how much my wbshop exclusive will be worth

The ONLY 1 that WILL worth a lot is 1/35000. We all know who own that precious one.

[Brahby]

Originally Posted by kono

The ONLY 1 that WILL worth a lot is 1/35000. We all know who own that precious one.

No i meant the figure set that is limited to 1000