The Dark Knight Rises..Spoilers inside

[msduncan]

My overall opinion, while nowhere near low, might be improved by a repeat viewing in which the plot threads become clearer and I can better comprehend Bane's dialogue (not sure if it was the audio track or our poor seating in the theatre that made it so hard to understand).

This might help with understanding the dialog:

Helpful link

[Kasey Chang]

Spoiler:

My big question after the end of the film was, "Why didn't they just blow Gotham up sooner?" I can guess at some reasons, but it seemed especially comical that the heroes waited until the last moment to take action. As if they were expressly aiming for the 24-esque countdown and sacrificial ending. I guess it just so happened to take Bruce Wayne four months and twenty-odd days to escape from prison?

Also, I didn't realize what happened to Bane until reading the plot summary on Wikipedia when I returned home. Apparently Catwoman offs him? I vaguely remember her coming to Batman's rescue when Bane is killing him following the Talia reveal.

RE: Bane's plans...

Spoiler:

Bane actually said he wants to see the broken Bruce Wayne suffer while his city burns itself out, and NOBODY will save them. In fact, everybody will help KEEP the Gothamites in. Which is what we ended up seeing the cop did... blowing the bridge.

I think they rewrote that scene, as they don't want the military shooting civilians.

RE: Bane's end...

Spoiler:

I think the scene was cut too fast, but the idea is Catwoman charge in with the Batpod and KABOOM! Bane's done for. Too much deus ex machina to me.

[JSHAW]

Went to the 1040am show today, $5 bucks...AMC theaters rock!

Never in my life have I been as down in the dumps about seeing a movie that I've been waiting several years to see. After the Colorado incident I was
100% depressed about The Dark Knight Rises. I even thought about not going and just waiting for the blu-ray.

Got up, got shower, got to theater on time. Not a huge amount of people there, but as we got out of our showing I could tell that things were picking up
and the theater was very busy.

So...on to the show. TDKR is one of the best movies I've seen all year. Liked it better than The Avengers. There's something about Christopher Nolan's Batman that for my movie going dollars nobody comes close to in quality and presentation. Less CGI is better in my opinion.

I LOVE the plot twists towards the last part of the movie. I really hope that Nolan does something with the door he opens at the end.
I did say twists, there's more than 1. Have fun and enjoy TDKR. I gotta see it one more time.

[J.D.]

I have a plot-related question.

Spoiler:

Did they ever explain how Bruce Wayne died? I mean, everyone assumes Batman died in the nuclear explosion, and a small handful of people know Batman = Bruce Wayne, but Gotham doesn't. And Robin even mentions that he's angry that no one will know who saved them. So how do they explain the coincidental disappearance of Bruce Wayne and give away his house to orphans without everyone linking him to Batman? Was that explained and I just missed it?

[Kasey Chang]

I have a plot-related question.

Spoiler:

Did they ever explain how Bruce Wayne died? I mean, everyone assumes Batman died in the nuclear explosion, and a small handful of people know Batman = Bruce Wayne, but Gotham doesn't. And Robin even mentions that he's angry that no one will know who saved them. So how do they explain the coincidental disappearance of Bruce Wayne and give away his house to orphans without everyone linking him to Batman? Was that explained and I just missed it?

Spoiler:

Bruce Wayne disappeared after losing his entire fortune in the "bad stock speculations", may be that he was just conveniently declared dead.

[DarkVulgar]

I LOVE the plot twists towards the last part of the movie. I really hope that Nolan does something with the door he opens at the end.
I did say twists, there's more than 1. Have fun and enjoy TDKR. I gotta see it one more time.

Spoiler:

In Batman Begins, Ras says that "If someone gets in our way, we simply walk up to them and stab them in the back" which is exactly what Talia does! Gotta love all the call backs in this film

[Odin]

Saw it yesterday and LOVED IT. I'd say The Dark Knight was slightly better, due mostly to Ledger's performance and the way the Joker was always one step ahead of everyone else with is convoluted scheming, but it was still terrific. I loved the way it repeatedly tied all three films together with returning characters, references to the earlier films, etc. And the very end quite nearly brought a tear to my eye.

At what point can we discuss it without spoiler tags?

[Jiffy]

Agreed Odin, I'm moving away from spoiler tags now...

You brought up what I thought was definitely one of the films very strong points - how everything was tied together with the trilogy. I really wasn't expecting the first two movies to factor so much into TDKR, and I felt it was handled extremely well. The small cameos (I loved seeing Cillian Murphy turn up) sprinkled in, and other touches made me smile.

And has others have mentioned, that was a very satisfying epilogue.

I really didn't expect it going in, but I thought Anne Hathaway was excellent and one of the strongest points of the movie.

[Odin]

I really didn't expect it going in, but I thought Anne Hathaway was excellent and one of the strongest points of the movie.

I quite like Hathaway. I don't know that she's a brilliant actress (nor do I know that she isn't), but I've never seen her do a bad job in those movies of hers that I've seen, and she's comely enough. My wife and I almost went to see her doing Shakespeare in Central Park one weekend when we were in NYC, but it conflicted with our dinner reservations. I later read that she'd come out and brought pizza to the folks who were waiting in line, which I thought was really cool. Still, I have to believe that the roast farmhouse duck I had at the Four Seasons was probably better than that pizza, even if it was served by a celebrity.

If I had a complaint, and it's pretty minor, it's that during his first big fight with Bane, I kept expecting Batman to use his gadgets more. In fact, Batman's utility belt has always been one of the cooler aspects of the character, from detective's tools to batarangs and so forth. He pretty much tossed out some smokebombs which didn't do squat and he managed to kill the lights (which also didn't do squat, though he couldn't really have anticipated that) and that was about it. I get that for story purposes he needed to lose that fight, but it seemed like he could/would/should have tried fighting smarter rather than harder.

[Kasey Chang]

I think the problem with Anne Hathaway was she got type-casted into the "cute naive girl" early on (Remember "Princess Diaries"?) and nobody would take her seriously afterwards... until this.

[Odin]

I think the problem with Anne Hathaway was she got type-casted into the "cute naive girl" early on (Remember "Princess Diaries"?) and nobody would take her seriously afterwards... until this.

She's still the only reason I've considered one day possibly watching Brokeback Mountain, as I hear she shows her boobs, but even that hasn't been enough to lure me in as yet.

[hentzau]

I think the problem with Anne Hathaway was she got type-casted into the "cute naive girl" early on (Remember "Princess Diaries"?) and nobody would take her seriously afterwards... until this.

She's still the only reason I've considered one day possibly watching Brokeback Mountain, as I hear she shows her boobs, but even that hasn't been enough to lure me in as yet.

If you want Anne boobies, you need to watch Love and Other Drugs. She gets naked in that one several times.

[Odin]

I think the problem with Anne Hathaway was she got type-casted into the "cute naive girl" early on (Remember "Princess Diaries"?) and nobody would take her seriously afterwards... until this.

She's still the only reason I've considered one day possibly watching Brokeback Mountain, as I hear she shows her boobs, but even that hasn't been enough to lure me in as yet.

If you want Anne boobies, you need to watch Love and Other Drugs. She gets naked in that one several times.

Good to know! Though I probably won't actually bother to watch that one, either, but it's good to know her boobs are readily available if I ever get a hankerin'.

[Brian]

Havoc is also a Hathaway boobie exposure movie.

[Carpet_pissr]

Same person. Amazing.

Also, love this shot:

[Odin]

I had no idea she'd put those puppies out there so liberally. Luckily, I realized a couple of hours ago that googling "Anne Hathaway boobs" would net me all I ever really needed to see, while saving me from having to watch movies I'm not really interested in. Mission accomplished.

[DarkVulgar]

Agreed Odin, I'm moving away from spoiler tags now...

I fixed the title so spoil away.

[DarkVulgar]

The small cameos (I loved seeing Cillian Murphy turn up) sprinkled in, and other touches made me smile.

I loved that too. It makes you wonder if the Joker was suppose to be the judge in that kangaroo court.

[Isgrimnur]

I had no idea she'd put those puppies out there so liberally. Luckily, I realized a couple of hours ago that googling "Anne Hathaway boobs" would net me all I ever really needed to see, while saving me from having to watch movies I'm not really interested in. Mission accomplished.

And there are advantages to working from home...

[Covenant72]

One thing of note regarding Batman's first fight with Bane... remember that he's been out of the game for 8 years. There's even a scene earlier where Alfred tells him flat out that he's not ready to go back out there. He went in thinking he still had it but got schooled instead.

The fight at the end comes after he "re-becomes" the Batman while in that prison, hence the win.

[Matrix]

As someone who actually part of some of the scenes and saw potential of them, i am very disappointed in the come back fight. Reality is, when it was being shoot, it had close to 1000 people fighting at same time, a truly large hand to hand brawl. None of it is shown in the movie. the size and scope of those scenes (at least while it being filmed) was pretty enormous. I am hoping it gets into deleted scenes, since the end boss fight with Bane was pretty disappointing for me in the movie, since i know just how much more fighting they actually done while it was shot. When Batman and Bane fought out of the building(court house?) it was shot for few hours with bunch of takes and bunch of angles, and that scene alone could have been at least few minutes.

[Odin]

As someone who actually part of some of the scenes and saw potential of them, i am very disappointed in the come back fight. Reality is, when it was being shoot, it had close to 1000 people fighting at same time, a truly large hand to hand brawl. None of it is shown in the movie. the size and scope of those scenes (at least while it being filmed) was pretty enormous. I am hoping it gets into deleted scenes, since the end boss fight with Bane was pretty disappointing for me in the movie, since i know just how much more fighting they actually done while it was shot. When Batman and Bane fought out of the building(court house?) it was shot for few hours with bunch of takes and bunch of angles, and that scene alone could have been at least few minutes.

I'd probably feel the same way if I'd been in a scene and then seen it mostly cut. As somebody in the audience, though, I think the scope of the battle was pretty evident from the point where you saw everybody charging at one-another "Braveheart-style." More hand-to-hand combat footage wouldn't have likely improved the film any, which is probably why Nolan cut it back. I am a little disappointed, though, as I was hoping to see you post "I saw myself - if you look by the x just after y happens, you'll see me."

[Remus West]

I have a plot-related question.

Spoiler:

Did they ever explain how Bruce Wayne died? I mean, everyone assumes Batman died in the nuclear explosion, and a small handful of people know Batman = Bruce Wayne, but Gotham doesn't. And Robin even mentions that he's angry that no one will know who saved them. So how do they explain the coincidental disappearance of Bruce Wayne and give away his house to orphans without everyone linking him to Batman? Was that explained and I just missed it?

Spoiler:

Bruce Wayne disappeared after losing his entire fortune in the "bad stock speculations", may be that he was just conveniently declared dead.

I'm sure with all the chaos surrounding Bane's "rule" over the city there were more than a few rich folks declared dead with no body being found.

[hentzau]

I have a plot-related question.

Spoiler:

Did they ever explain how Bruce Wayne died? I mean, everyone assumes Batman died in the nuclear explosion, and a small handful of people know Batman = Bruce Wayne, but Gotham doesn't. And Robin even mentions that he's angry that no one will know who saved them. So how do they explain the coincidental disappearance of Bruce Wayne and give away his house to orphans without everyone linking him to Batman? Was that explained and I just missed it?

Spoiler:

Bruce Wayne disappeared after losing his entire fortune in the "bad stock speculations", may be that he was just conveniently declared dead.

I'm sure with all the chaos surrounding Bane's "rule" over the city there were more than a few rich folks declared dead with no body being found.

Sure. All of the folks sent out into exile. Who the hell would know if Bruce Wayne wasn't one of them.

(Although, he wasn't rich at that point...well. I didn't spend too much time worrying about that point.)

[hitbyambulance]

i also missed a goodly part of the dialogue. hard to hear! what was up with the sound mixing?

overall, disappointment. it felt like Nolan got a bit indulgent with this one.

[McNutt]

I really liked the movie, but had a few questions [spoilers]:

1. In the first fight Batman is outclassed. He hits Bane with haymaker after haymaker and it does no damage. Does Bane have some sort of power or drug that allowed him to shake that off?

2. Why are Bane's henchmen so willing to die for him? What's in it for them? They aren't part of the League of Shadows, are they? I thought Bane said he was the last.

A few nitpicks:
The one liners were a bit out of place.

Wayne's Lamborghini got impounded. Does a billionaire buy his cars on credit?

After the bad guys broke into Wayne Industries and stole all of Batman's equipment, how hard is it going to be to tie Batman to Wayne? You really don't have to be Woodward and Bernstein to put those pieces together.

Where was the prison holding Wayne? That looked like a place in North Africa. How in the hell did a broke Wayne manage to get back to Gotham? That was probably the most 'huh?' moment for me.

Things I liked:
Tom Hardy - The man is the next big thing. He was great as Bane.

The redemption of Matthew Modine's character was a "hell yeah" moment. Brought a tear to my eye.

Robin, knowing things are lost, still wanted to give those kids hope.

My initial impression after leaving the theater was that this was the best of the three. I'll have to sit on that and make sure the story holds up to a little thought, but regardless, this was a great movie. Nolan is the next Michael Mann.

[msteelers]

My initial impression after leaving the theater was that this was the best of the three. I'll have to sit on that and make sure the story holds up to a little thought, but regardless, this was a great movie. Nolan is the next Michael Mann.

I love this movie, and think it was a great end to the trilogy. But I can't agree with this. TDK was an amazing film that is just as good on it's own as it is when viewed as part of the trilogy. TDKR is a good movie that becomes great when viewed as part of the trilogy.

[McNutt]

True. The Dark Knight is a better standalone movie, but I viewed this as a trilogy and to me this provided the most entertainment in the series. Personal opinion of course.

[J.D.]

I agree. TDKR is a good superhero movie made great because it ties in so well with the trilogy. The Dark Knight is a great movie that just happens to be part of a trilogy.

[Remus West]

My impression of why the car was impounded was because Wayne owed on the options and did not have the liquid assets to cover "his" gamble. It wasn't that it had been bought on credit but merely a piece of his wealth caught up in the losses.

As for Bane, he had drugs. The mask kept him constantly drugged to the effect that he can not feel pain. That's why in the final fight Batman went after the mask - he had learned what it did in the prison from the doctor.

No idea why the thugs were so happy to die for Bane though. Also had a WTF moment on how Bruce would get back to Gotham. I also wondered if he was living off Selena at the end as he wouldn't have gotten his own money back being "dead" and all.

[hentzau]

I'm going to assume that Bruce Wayne, as Batman, had money stashed in various identities aroudn the world. Not too much of a stretch.

[Vorret]

I'm going to assume that Bruce Wayne, as Batman, had money stashed in various identities aroudn the world. Not too much of a stretch.

Good point that actually makes sense.
Or even Bruce Wayne will probably have money in offshore account, I mean every Billionaire do to avoid taxes...

[DarkVulgar]

I really liked the movie, but had a few questions [spoilers]:

1. In the first fight Batman is outclassed. He hits Bane with haymaker after haymaker and it does no damage. Does Bane have some sort of power or drug that allowed him to shake that off?

2. Why are Bane's henchmen so willing to die for him? What's in it for them? They aren't part of the League of Shadows, are they? I thought Bane said he was the last.

Wayne's Lamborghini got impounded. Does a billionaire buy his cars on credit?

After the bad guys broke into Wayne Industries and stole all of Batman's equipment, how hard is it going to be to tie Batman to Wayne? You really don't have to be Woodward and Bernstein to put those pieces together.

Where was the prison holding Wayne? That looked like a place in North Africa. How in the hell did a broke Wayne manage to get back to Gotham? That was probably the most 'huh?' moment for me.

1. Banes mask gives him some sort of pain drug. If you remember the second fight batman knocks one loose.

2. The henchmen Talia and Bane brought to Gotham are fanatical. They are the last of the League of Shadows. There is nothing in it for them except following Talia and Bane to the bitter end. Remember..The fire rises.

3. I'm sure it wasn't on credit but when he lost everything in the stock market...all assets seized.

4. The equipment are all proto types and not on the books anywhere. Getting them out....i'm at a loss..lol

5. The PIT is never mentioned where it is exactly. I might have missed it if they said where it is. As for Bruce getting back...it isn't that far fetched if you think back to Batman Begins when he got all the way to Asia without a cent on him. As for beating the blockade of Gotham...i'm at a loss..lol

[Mr Bismarck]

One thing of note regarding Batman's first fight with Bane... remember that he's been out of the game for 8 years. There's even a scene earlier where Alfred tells him flat out that he's not ready to go back out there. He went in thinking he still had it but got schooled instead.

A point Bane himself makes during the fight when he says "victory has defeated you."

[Jiffy]

Watched it again. I would definitely say the second viewing was a far better experience. Combined with not going in expecting TDK#2, but a different experience, I came away thinking it is indeed nearly rivalling TDK overall. Where as I'd probably have said 3.5-4/5 on first viewing, I'd now say 4.5-5/5.

A few specific thoughts:
To me, this movie really was about hope and it's perseverance. Bane trying to break Gotham via giving them hope then shattering it. The hope of the people restored by Batman. Robin's transformation and wanting to give the kids hope until the end. It felt much more poignant on second viewing.

The epilogue after the bomb was still spot on PERFECT in my mind. Even knowing everything that happens, I still got choked up listening to certain pieces of dialogue.

Speaking of dialogue, Bane was MUCH, MUCH clearer at the theatre I went to this time. Night and day. I think I got every conversation without trying. It made him a much better villain, when you can actually understand him. Still not Heath Ledger level, but very imposing and impressive villain all the same.

The main weakness I still felt was any part having to do with the police. Where in TDK they played a large roll, this time they seem pretty silly. The giant chase at the first sighting of Batman. Then, sending nearly the ENTIRE police force underground? Dumb. That stretches believably past my breaking point, and given it's a superhero movie, that point is pretty far along the line. The brawl/war with the police was similarly goofy I thought. It makes for an impressive scene, but overly silly for my taste.

[TiLT]

Where was the prison holding Wayne? That looked like a place in North Africa. How in the hell did a broke Wayne manage to get back to Gotham? That was probably the most 'huh?' moment for me.

Before he became the Batman, Bruce Wayne traveled the world incognito and broke. This is shown in Batman Begins. He knows how to do this stuff from experience.

[Toe]

I saw it this weekend. I thought it was pretty good. I also had issues undestanding Bane and sometimes other characters.

One of the minor things that bugged me was, at the beginning he has no cartilage in his knees, so he gets fitted with mega-powerful brace that can knock bricks out of a wall. First, he doesn't use his super leg(s) in the first Bane battle, then when he gets to the pit, it looks like he doesn't have it on (which would make sense). But yet he manages the impossible climb with no-cartilage knees. Oookay.

Didnt care much for cat woman either. Hathaway's facial features are just too weird-looking to me and as a result I just can't take her seriously. Looked like she upped her dosage of collagen lip injections 3-fold for the role as well.

[Skinypupy]

Finally got around to seeing this Saturday night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Keep in mind, this is coming from someone who isn't really a Batman fan at all. While I thought the first film was decent and the second was so-so outside of Ledger's incredible performance, this is the first one that felt like it really came together as a whole. I thought Bane was an appropriately menacing (if a bit generic) villain, and the extended story outside of the batsuit really kept me interested. It developed Wayne as a more believable and fallible character. Caine put in a fantastic performance as well...Mrs Skinypupy was in full-on tears at one of the scenes towards the end. Thought the set pieces were fantastic, the twist was amazing (totally didn't see that coming), and the movie flowed remarkably well from start to finish. Been a long time since I enjoyed a movie as much as this one.

However, the biggest surprise for me was Hathaway. I came in fully expecting to dislike her (couldn't imagine how a queen of chick flicks would work here), but she damn near stole the show. She did a fantastic job playing what has traditionally been an overly silly character. Kudos to Nolan for making her not only work, but totally shine in that role.

Side note: Did anyone else think Bane sounded like Deckard Cain? Kept expecting a "Stay a while and listen".

The small cameos (I loved seeing Cillian Murphy turn up) sprinkled in, and other touches made me smile.

Speaking of cameos, anyone catch Hines Ward as one of the Gotham team's football players during the National Anthem scene?

[msduncan]

I think the problem with Anne Hathaway was she got type-casted into the "cute naive girl" early on (Remember "Princess Diaries"?) and nobody would take her seriously afterwards... until this.

I enjoyed how they used this against the audience too. When you first meet her she is playing the meek innocent maid, and then jacks it up quick. They did it without cheesy one-liners you would find the the olden superhero films. I loved how they used her night vision goggles as a way to give her 'cat ears' instead of having her use a ridiculous costume.

I can't *WAIT* to see what Nolan does with Superman. Superman being believable like he made Batman will be an amazing accomplishment. I'm now convinced that Nolan can pull it off.

[Odin]

Side note: Did anyone else think Bane sounded like Deckard Cain? Kept expecting a "Stay a while and listen".

NO, but now thanks to you I'll never hear it any OTHER way! Jerk! Sort of like how I can't watch Elrond in Lord of the Rings without my mind appending "Mr. Anderson" to the end of every line. Aaargh!