[movie] The Dark Knight Rises - Impressions start page 12

[metallicorphan]

it's back up to 87% right now


saw this also,not sure if its fan art or official trilogy poster for showing in IMAX cinemas


EDIT:
I'm watching the red carpet premier on Youtube right now
http://www.youtube.com/warnerbrosuktrailers?feature=inp-lt-bat

[CeeKay]

Lookee here, a troll critic: http://m.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jul/17/dark-knight-rises-critic-rotten-tomatoes?cat=film&type=article

Snider's felony was compounded by the fact that he used his Rotten Tomatoes critic's login to suggest his review was being hosted on the website film.com, whereas it was actually linked to his own site.
"In our opinion, by knowingly posting a link that isn't a review (and he hadn't seen the movie), Snider has abused our trust, and therefore, his reviews will no longer apply to the Tomatometer," wrote Rotten Tomatoes editor-in-chief Matt Atchity in a blogpost explaining the decision to ban the critic. "If a critic abuses our trust by linking to something that's not a review, we will take action up to and including removing them from the Tomatometer. If a critic doesn't take their reputation seriously, then neither will we."
Snider had initially posted: "The Dark Knight Rises is easily the most disappointing Batman film so far – and I'm including [Joel] Schumacher's Batman and Robin in that statement. Nolan has finally lost his touch."
When readers clicked the link to view the full review, they were informed: "Just kidding! I haven't seen The Dark Knight Rises yet. It's probably very good! I just wanted to post a negative quote on Rotten Tomatoes and see how many idiots would type angry words at me without actually clicking the link to read the review. 'You ruined this movie's RT score!' is a dumb complaint that is only made by dumb people."

[Crawley]

Sounds like RT did the right thing in this case.

[Blackjack]

Here's a peek at the lanyard passes for the trilogy showing, a pic I found online. Mine of course will not have IMAX on it.   Nobody's fault but mine... and maybe Fandango's for continuing to list IMAX trilogy as available long after it was sold out everywhere.  


I was going to create a separate thread on attending the trilogy event. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow. I just figure the moderators would merge my thread into this one, where my deep thoughts would promptly get lost in 5,000 posts tomorrow. Oh well, I'll live.  

I'm fretting about all sorts of stuff -- where am I gonna sit for 7 hours 37 minutes? Front? Back? Back of the front section? Front of the back section? In between? Middle? Closer to the aisle for quick restroom getaways?

How am I gonna save my seat (I might bring a light jacket to "reserve" it)? If I'm sitting next to someone obnoxious in a sold-out theater, what do I do? But overall, still eager.  

[CeeKay]

some more reviews (as usual potential spoilers):

Stunning

Rises and dazzles despite flaws

more than shines, and on many levels

2.5 stars

Almost falls flat

flawed but fitting ending

Perfect end to the Batman legend

[Blackjack]

Yeah the only consistent thing I've seen in reviews so far is inconsistency.   Maybe I'm just a softie, but I think anyone would have trouble matching TDK, esp. given Ledger's heartbreaking fate. I still trust most of us will find it riveting, and we should just be grateful Nolan and co. returned to give us one last blast of dark candy.   And now that he's done with Batman, I can't wait to see what he does next. He's still so young (41) as far as directors go.

Although I'm bummed the non-IMAX trilogy I'm attending isn't in the ETX theater (dang AMC decided to save that for the Ice Age sequel, I think), it looks like they added a second non-IMAX screen to accommodate demand. So that might ease finding a good seat at least but man, I expect the AMC restrooms to be completely overwhelmed. 

[Jiffy]

Saw it down here in Australia. It's excellent and a great end to the trilogy. TDK still remains the best of the series though. It is definitely worthwhile to see both earlier movies again to freshen up - both get quite a bit of reference. I want to see it again already.

Very slight spoilers:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I thought the film went a bit TOO big. It just didn't seem...plausable at some times. Where as TDK kept things small and personal, going for the really large scale sets and destruction in TDKR...took a little away I felt. TDK felt like a excellent action-drama that just happened to have a guy in a cape, TDKR strayed a bit more towards typical superhero movie cliches...which I thought weakened it.

[CeeKay]

Yeah the only consistent thing I've seen in reviews so far is inconsistency.

I'm expecting it to be like the Star Wars Episodes IV through VI:  first was great, second blew everyone away and the third, while not as great as the second, was a great conclusion.

[Jiffy]

I'm expecting it to be like the Star Wars Episodes IV through VI:  first was great, second blew everyone away and the third, while not as great as the second, was a great conclusion.

I was really surprised with the inclusion of Ewoks in TDKR. Nolan does a good job with them, but they really come out of nowhere.

[CeeKay]

I'm expecting it to be like the Star Wars Episodes IV through VI:  first was great, second blew everyone away and the third, while not as great as the second, was a great conclusion.

I was really surprised with the inclusion of Ewoks in TDKR. Nolan does a good job with them, but they really come out of nowhere.

I heard about that.  I can't believe how he did it:

Spoiler for Hiden:

[metallicorphan]

Saw it down here in Australia. It's excellent and a great end to the trilogy. TDK still remains the best of the series though. It is definitely worthwhile to see both earlier movies again to freshen up - both get quite a bit of reference. I want to see it again already.

Very slight spoilers:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I thought the film went a bit TOO big. It just didn't seem...plausable at some times. Where as TDK kept things small and personal, going for the really large scale sets and destruction in TDKR...took a little away I felt. TDK felt like a excellent action-drama that just happened to have a guy in a cape, TDKR strayed a bit more towards typical superhero movie cliches...which I thought weakened it.

I have heard that BANE is still hard to understand,how did you get on with him Jiffy?

[Jiffy]

I have heard that BANE is still hard to understand,how did you get on with him Jiffy?

I probably understood about 90% of what he said. It generally wasn't an issue, but I did find voices a bit difficult to decipher in general in some scenes. I'm not sure though, it might have just been the theatre since it wasn't just Bane I missed a few bits of dialogue for, but other characters/scenes as well.

[metallicorphan]

I have heard that BANE is still hard to understand,how did you get on with him Jiffy?

I probably understood about 90% of what he said. It generally wasn't an issue, but I did find voices a bit difficult to decipher in general in some scenes. I'm not sure though, it might have just been the theatre since it wasn't just Bane I missed a few bits of dialogue for, but other characters/scenes as well.

thanks Jiffy

I have had problems recently at Cinemas(Avengers and Spidey)and some speech i have found hard to hear while explosions and music are fine,with me also being HoH i also have to read lips,which i figure is going to be even more of a problem with Bane (i wish there were subtitles in the Cinema,maybe for those wearing special glasses)

[Roman]

geez - I remember a post earlier mentioning that they even went back to 'enhance' Bane's dialogue due to poor reception. I hope I don't have challenges.

Heck - I could not even understand from the 1st trailer when he says that he's Gotham's reckoning.

[Blackjack]

geez - I remember a post earlier mentioning that they even went back to 'enhance' Bane's dialogue due to poor reception. I hope I don't have challenges.

Heck - I could not even understand from the 1st trailer when he says that he's Gotham's reckoning.

From the Wash. Post critics' mostly very enthusiastic review:

It’s a shame that Hardy’s face is hidden behind a Hannibal Lecter-esque mask of matte-black grill work, thereby depriving viewers of two of the best lips in the business.

The mask also renders Bane’s pronouncements borderline unintelligible: When Batman and Bane argue, it’s like listening to a Battle of the Synthesized Voice Boxes (“I see your Christopher Plummer, sir, and raise you one Darth Vader and a Clint Eastwood!”).

So yes, when TDKR comes out on TV later, you'll want to enable closed-captioning. 

I'm sure Bane is faithful to the comic. But imho, like hiding Wilem Dafoe's memorable visage behind a fixed, static metal mask in Spider-Man, I just think it's sort of wasting a good actor's best assets (in Hardy's case, that includes his face and his voice).

But hey, many people have been criticizing/making fun of Bale's "Batman voice" since Batman begins, so Bane's voice is in keeping with that vein, right? 

So I was just dropping something off at my mom's house. I turned, tripped on the front sidewalk step, tripped again on these stupid stone tiles she has on them, tripped a third time, saw my life flash before my eyes (expecting a broken leg or fractured face), and then finally caught my balance.

And all I could think was ... dammit! I'm gonna miss the Dark Knight Trilogy because I'll be at the ER!  Another graceful moment for me...

[th'FOOL]

I'm sure Bane is faithful to the comic.

Well, considering Bane wears a mexican wrestler mask and is from South America in the comic, I'm gonna say 'faithful' doesn't really apply here.

[metallicorphan]

it was MrPointyHeads tweet i saw after going to the premier last night,i too was hoping it would of been cleaned up/re-dubbed like the trailer was

Dan Maher ‏@MrPointyHead
Bane has so many quotable lines! My favourite was: "Mbpththpthblpthmbth, Bphtmhhn." #DKR

but he does go on to say

Dan Maher ‏@MrPointyHead
It's not THAT bad. You have to tune into it, though. He's basically cinema's answer to Zombie Dave. #Brrn

Apparently there are cinemas in Manchester that do Subtitled showings,maybe not this time but something for me to look into for maybe James Bond and The Hobbit....I keep thinking of Grandpa Simpson at the Cinema what the THX logo is doing its thing..."TURN IT UP!!!"

I'm getting old

[Blackjack]

Heading to the mall shortly, just to get a good parking spot (I don't wanna walk to the far end of a parking garage at 3 a.m.  ) and get situated for the trilogy.

Sorry I'm so much like Nolan (who professes to having no cellphone or e-mail address) that I have no way to get you guys regular updates from the theater. I wish they at least had WiFi there.

I'll share some deep thoughts when I return though. Have fun all going to the midnight TDKR shows! 

[CeeKay]

Have fun all going to the midnight TDKR shows! 

weather looks like it's going to be nice and stormy around here, so I'm going to skip the midnight showing and just go tomorrow.

[msteelers]

I just got back from the midnight premiere. It was a great movie, but it really had no chance of being better than TDK.

Now I just have to keep myself occupied until I go to work in two hours. Yay borderline irresponsible all-nighters! I thought I left you behind with my early 20s.

[msteelers]

I didn't have any problems understanding Bane, but I also don't think it was mixed well with the rest of the dialogue. It was a little too loud, and sounded like it was completely done in post.

[Blackjack]

Just returned from my Trilogy experience. Although waiting in line for nearly 2 hours was not fun esp. because the mall's A/C was partially on the fritz in upper 90s heat (they had separate lines for the IMAX trilogy, and the two digital screens, and the latter's line threatened to swallow the whole mall, it got so long), watching BB and TDK on a big screen with an enthusiastic audience was wonderful. So much fun.   We all applauded so much, esp. during Batman Begins, and during some of Heath Ledger's memorable moments in TDK.

Although I'll always consider TDK the most riveting (the Empire Strikes Back, if you will) of Nolan's trilogy, the most applause and laughs was during Batman Begins. To me it has more fun factor than the other films, and less emotional anguish. That might make it a lesser film in most eyes, but we as trilogy audience seemed to have the most fun with it and the ending brought rapturous applause, as it was July 2005 all over again. 

As for The Dark Knight Rises, I think it does have some fabulous set pieces. And I love some of the new characters even if it feels overstuffed with them. All sorts of memorable moments. And I agree with some critics Nolan seems to be doing a better job of filming his fight scenes; they seemed noticeably pulled back a bit, compared esp. with BB's fight scenes. I could better see what was happening.

imho it maybe tries so hard to NOT be a clone of TDK, by introducing all these new characters, and sometimes stretching the story in 6 directions at once, and going for Big Gotham Picture story, that sometimes the movie just doesn't match TDK's speeding bullet pacing and the tight focus of the Joker-Batman clash. imho. And Bats does disappear for long stretches of the movie (though there's plenty enough Bat-scenes to enjoy; I guess I just noticed his absence because of the 2 hr 44 min length).

As for Bane? I mostly could hear what he said, aside from a couple instances where I did want to reach for a closed caption button.   He's certainly physically intimidating, and I appreciate what they tried to do with him. But half the fun of Ledger's Joker was his facial expressions. I still think reducing Tom Hardy to a mask, eyeballs and a mumbling voice wasn't the best use of his talents but hey, Darth Vader didn't even have eyeballs. And it's a comic book character they tried to be faithful to, so I get that. I heard many people raving about Bane positively as they left the theater so what do I know?  

The ending? All I'll say is just how I and our audience both seemed to feel about it, one word, and even that should be in spoiler codes:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Perfect!  

I'll post some pix of my trilogy pass and poster later. Didn't mean to ramble so long. It's the gallon of diet coke and movie theater food talking...

[metallicorphan]

just got back,really enjoyed the movie and as msteelers said Banes dialogue was fine...me being HoH,i had problems with everyone else because they all whispered,Bane however,just like the trailer sounded dubbed over and i understood him a lot more than everyone else  



was it better than TDK?hmm,i dunno but if TDK was better than TDKR i don't think it's by massive great margin

Spoiler for Hiden:

It had a real 'Arkham City' feel to it as well

One thing i wasn't really keen on was

Spoiler for Hiden:

setting the film 8 years later,i felt that was a bit too much and really didn't have much purpose being such a long time,have it 1 year or 3 even...but not 8!!

Spoiler for Hiden:

Spoiler for Hiden:

overjoyed to see Crane again  

[Blackjack]

As promised, here's my Dark Knight Trilogy swag.   I don't think the pass is quite as snazzy as the ones for their Oscar Best Picture Showcase events, but I still like it. The poster is extremely wiiiiiiiiiide. Mine got a bit torn in transit.

I had a ball. If they do something like this for Iron Man next summer -- even given that the 3 movies look to be pretty much "stand on their own" rather than a continuing story -- I'll be up for it.   And what's cool about that and the midnight show is you know only diehard fans are gonna see that. I love catching films with a participatory (applauding, cheering) audience that is mostly quite and attentive. OK, aside from that teenager next to me who spent about 20 minutes chewing various foods as loudly as possible and felt it necessary to text on her smartphone every 10 minutes.  

[USMC Kato]

Taking my family to the IMAX theatre on base (Fort Benning, National Infantry Museum)
I love this theatre because almost everyone is on their best behavior, and the few people that aren't are asked to leave or to shut the hell up.

[PR_GMR]

Watched it late last night here in NYC. And I was dissapointed with it. I always suspected Nolan wasn't gonna be able to top 'The Dark Knight'. The movie is, simply, a mess. Overlong, convoluted, overwrought and just overpacked with story and characters for close to three hours. Tom Hardy's Bane, Anne Hathaway's Catwoman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake weren't the problem--It was the script and Nolan's execution of it. It felt like he had a paint-by-numbers picture of what he wanted the movie to look and just painted it quickly with crayons. The story moves fast and no one's motivations are explained. The action sequences are also poorly staged, specially the Bane/Batman fight. There's all this epic stuff happening at the end, but you just can't care about it because of the sloppy editing. Overall, it's worth the watch, but it's nowhere near the league of 'The Dark Knight'.

[Blackjack]

On Metal's last Spoiler point-out:

Spoiler for Hiden:

While it was fun seeing Crane again, the actor (Cillian Murphy) really didn't sound like I remember him from the earlier movies. Seemed a bit odd.

I have a little carp concerning Bats' Bane battling...

Spoiler for Hiden:

In their 2nd battle, I really wanted to see Batman/Bruce Wayne use his smarts and some strategy. I thought the first battle clearly showed Bats wasn't gonna win a brute force battle. But then the 2nd battle is basically just more of the same with some facial smashing of the Bane-mask. Too me that's too easy -- I wanted to see Bats use the environment or find some less obvious weakpoint.

I guess we were just supposed to believe Bats was more determined on the 2nd go-around, and I'm fine with that. I just think it was a missed opp for the character to show some strategy in melee.  

While I think TDKR will go down as my least favorite of the three films, I still enjoy them all and sitting through the three at one sitting was a blast. But I'm certainly ready in a few years to see someone's take on the franchise.

I really do feel like maybe 10-15 minutes of judicious editing/pruning would've greatly improved the film's pacing and removed at least a bit of the Bloat and Overplotting some (critics and filmgoers alike) have complained about. But afik, Nolan edits his own movies, and who's going to tell him he needs to "cut back"? I would, but he doesn't have e-mail.  

[PR_GMR]

On Metal's last Spoiler point-out:

Spoiler for Hiden:

While it was fun seeing Crane again, the actor (Cillian Murphy) really didn't sound like I remember him from the earlier movies. Seemed a bit odd.

I have a little carp concerning Bats' Bane battling...

Spoiler for Hiden:

In their 2nd battle, I really wanted to see Batman/Bruce Wayne use his smarts and some strategy. I thought the first battle clearly showed Bats wasn't gonna win a brute force battle. But then the 2nd battle is basically just more of the same with some facial smashing of the Bane-mask. Too me that's too easy -- I wanted to see Bats use the environment or find some less obvious weakpoint.

I guess we were just supposed to believe Bats was more determined on the 2nd go-around, and I'm fine with that. I just think it was a missed opp for the character to show some strategy in melee.  

Yep, and that's the reason why the movie has very poor action staging:

Spoiler for Hiden:

You hardly see Batman using gadgets in this film. No cable-line-flying thingie. No extended-cape to glide across buildings. No other type of smart gadgets. I think Nolan failed here. Batman is always known for his fun gadgets. In here, it was just Batman going bare-fisted vs Bane.. and he failed. Other than the addition of the Bat-helicopter thing to the movie, the movie doesn't capitalize from Batman's technological advance lore.

The fight between Batman and Bane--actually both fights--were very lackluster. On the first fight, there's not even music added as Bane breaks Batman. On the second one, it's Catwoman who kills Bane with one single shot from the Bat-tumbler shooter. Just very dissapointing.

Also, all the cross-cutting from the epic final action scenes is just poorly done overall. Like I said, the movie tried to do too much. It's scope should have been scaled back.

[Soulchilde]

Quick reaction.... Not impressed.  More when I get home from dinner

[disarm]

I just got back from an IMAX showing a little bit ago and really enjoyed it.  While I don't think it was as good as TDK, I still really enjoyed it overall and the trilogy is easiliy my favorite set of comic-based films.

[th'FOOL]

Just watched Dark Knight again with Griffin (I think my 5th viewing?). Still considerably blown away by the pacing and tension, the cinematography, the direction, and the absolute genius of Heath Ledger's performance. Definitely deserving of a place in my top ten. I have zero expectation of Rises surpassing it, but very much looking forward to our viewing tomorrow afternoon.

[naednek]

I liked it quite a bit.  Don't think it was good as Dark Knight, but it was good.  I think being spoiled by Heath Ledger as the Joker knocks it down for me.  He played the character so perfectly, nothing will ever beat that in my book.

I think they focused too much on Bane than Batman in this movie.  It's too bad they couldn't do that with the Joker. 

I still don't like Batman's voice, I can never take him seriously.

But overall a fun movie.

[rickfc]

Just had a Batman marathon last night. Later this afternoon, it's time for TDKR.

[leo8877]

Just had a Batman marathon last night. Later this afternoon, it's time for TDKR.

Just finished the first 2 movies last night as well.  Hoping to go tomorrow afternoon to see TDKR!

[PeteRock]

Just had a Batman marathon last night. Later this afternoon, it's time for TDKR.

Just finished the first 2 movies last night as well.  Hoping to go tomorrow afternoon to see TDKR!

Watched Batman Begins a few nights ago, The Dark Knight last night, and we're headed to see The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX at 12:30pm today.   

[Roman]

Saw it last night and really enjoyed it. Bane's lines weren't as bad to hear as I thought but I will admit that I had problems at other times because of the music in the background during some action sequences.

Solid movie and well worth the price of admission in my books.

Spoiler for Hiden:

liked the ending and the torch passing to robin.

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Aweshum film. Not as good as Dark Knight, but that isn't really any insult.

[rickfc]

Amazing movie from beginning to end. I really don't understand some of the complaints about pacing and such with the movie. While Bane couldn't hold a candle to the Joker, I thought it was a perfect and fitting end to the trilogy. We're already making plans on seeing it at least once more, but likely more than that.

[metallicorphan]

Although Warner have said they were not releasing any numbers until Monday due to the recent shootings,the midnight showings have been racked up still



Second highest grossing midnight opening


$30.6 million from midnight openings

take into account that this film is in 2D,not 3D so Cinema's don't get those extra $$$ that they charge

Here are the current Highest Midnight Openings:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: $43.5 million
2. The Dark Knight Rises: $30.6 million
3. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1: $30.3 million
4. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: $30.1 million
5. The Twilight Saga: New Moon: $26.3 million
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: $24 million
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: $22.2 million
8. The Hunger Games: $19.7 million
9. The Avengers: $18.7 million
10. The Dark Knight: $18.5 million

Twilight breaking Dawn Part 2 is out later this year

[Lordnine]

Overall I think it’s a very good movie and a satisfying ending but it’s actually my least favorite of the trilogy.  My problem is Bane really doesn’t work as a villain, at least not the way he was portrayed in the movie.  There wasn’t enough build up to him as a character and aside from his one big scene he never didn’t anything that any old thug couldn’t do.  As such I never felt like he was particularly threatening.

The rest of the cast did a great job and I think Hathaway gave the surprising standout performance in the movie.