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ORIGINAL: Phubbs

SPOILER WARNING!

The Dark Knight Rises

I will admit deep down I have always preferred the Burton Batman's I cannot lie. I think there are two camps for the Batman films and like marmite you either like or dislike them. Lets step into the Nolan universe one last time then shall we...supposedly.

So the film continues on from the previous two films and continuity wise its very well done. Everything and everyone is back in the places they should be ready to follow through on this epic portrayal of the Batman. Problems arise as we delve deeper into the story and the main villain 'Bane' begins to cause problems for our hero.

Of course being a comicbook adaptation you can't expect the film to be totally serious or sensible, there will always be elements of fantasy. The problem with this franchise is its made out to be a serious thriller type, the well used 'Heat with Batman' phrase springs to mind. Thusly the comicbook element has been somewhat drained away, yes it has, you can't really have it both ways folks and this third installment stalls trying to incorporate both sides. Make your mind up Nolan.

I'm gonna be harsh as such a ridiculously high level was expected with this film there seems no other way to bring it down to earth. Plot holes? yes, the plot isn't anything particularly original and its skips around like crazy. 'Bane' breaks Batman's back, OK, yet he then drags him to a prison somewhere in the middle of nowhere and leaves him to recover, what? why not just kill the guy and then you've won you silly villain. While I'm here, where was this prison exactly? a desert? the Middle East?? huh?.

Upon this we then have the rather daft notion that 'Wayne' then recovers from this horrendous injury merely by doing lots of push ups, sit ups and chin ups...oh after he was strung up with rope for god knows how long, eh?.

Once 'Wayne' is back to full fitness he manages to escape the inescapable prison naturally, but then hold on, one minute he's in the outback somewhere, next scene he's back in Gotham?. On top of that how did he get back into Gotham seeing as its locked down and cut off?.

Carrying on with 'Bane' his voice, I'm sorry but it just sounded hilariously stupid to me, like something from an old Peter Cushing Hammer Horror. I realise it wasn't suppose to be overly intimidating or forced like Bale's god awful Batman voice but come on! it was like some kind of chirpy English sort from 'My Fair Lady' haha. Add to that the curious design for his face mask which still kinda looks like a dog muzzle made in a school metalwork class.

As for the other anti hero character in 'Catwoman' I'm split. I still hold firm on the bad casting choice for this character as Hathaway looks far too weak and princess-like to be able to hold her own. The outfit was a hot potato and although in motion it didn't look too bad the entire idea that she is a top catburglar yet runs around basically showing off her whole head and face is so stupid. Surely this concept meant that 'Catwoman' required her much loved hood for cover? you'd think it would be a good move for identity secrecy. In dialog Hathaway performed well with her devious slinky ass but in action she simply didn't look right, as suspected.

To be quite frank the whole film was quite average really. The effects weren't anything to shout about like the ropey CGI football field explosion, the jerky rubbery Batbike thing and oddly shaped Batwing thing. Also the film did seem somewhat watered down this time also. I know death has not been shown in full glory in any of the films but even more so here, complete cut aways in some places, very childish for a hard edged approach.

We all knew from the outset that Batman was gonna get his arse kicked, what we didn't know was how it might all end. To be brutally honest the whole thing was very lackluster and seemed to even pinch a plot idea from the original 1966 caper with Adam West!. I am referring to the finale where Batman must make a decision to save Gotham City from the mighty bomb. Gee errr just fly away with it Batman?.

This film has shown how good the previous two films are for me, and I'm not the biggest fan of the second. It just seems as though this film ran out of steam, baddie character choices and eye popping set pieces. 'Banes' death was way way too weak for such a big presence, the 'Scarecrow' cameo felt unnecessary or crowbarred in for no reason, the 'Blake' character was always the obvious new 'Boy Wonder/Batman' type right from the get go and pretty much everything tied up very predictably right down to the fact that 'Wayne' appears to have survived after all, bless.

If you enjoyed the previous films then I'm sure you will carry on enjoying this final adventure, if not then you won't think much of this. It does come down to whether you prefer the fantasy aspect of Batman which is gloriously shown in the Burton films if somewhat over done at times, or you prefer the grounded, hard serious approach by the Nolan trilogy.

Visually dynamic (accept for the awful camo coloured tumblers), bold, flashy and with a great stellar cast but ultimately overrated and it still just doesn't feel like a Batman film. Cliched maybe but I just wish there was a little more dark goth involved in these films and less cop drama.

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ORIGINAL: Phubbs

Cliched maybe but I just wish there was a little more dark goth involved in these films and less cop drama.

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ORIGINAL: Don_a_van

I've yet to watch my perfect Batman movie I'm afraid.

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ORIGINAL: MonsterCat

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ORIGINAL: Don_a_van

I've yet to watch my perfect Batman movie I'm afraid.

For me Adam West's Batman is almost there. lol hipster choice

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ORIGINAL: Don_a_van

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ORIGINAL: Phubbs

Cliched maybe but I just wish there was a little more dark goth involved in these films and less cop drama.

Not going to get into the plot holes argument as every film has them but this IMO is the most important reason why Nolan's Batman doesn't work for me. If Christain Bale didn't have his mask, I could have been watching an episode of CSI New York (with a similiar effects\stunt budget too).

Not saying Burton's films are the best by a long chalk as they also have their fare share of issues but the one thing he did get spot on was capturing the atmosphere of "Batman"

I've yet to watch my perfect Batman movie I'm afraid.

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ORIGINAL: AxlReznor

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ORIGINAL: MonsterCat

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ORIGINAL: Don_a_van

I've yet to watch my perfect Batman movie I'm afraid.

For me Adam West's Batman is almost there. lol hipster choice

Or the choice of someone who likes appallingly cheesy movies.

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ORIGINAL: Dannybohy

I thought Nolan managed to create a great Gotham in Batman Begins, the slums, the monorail etc. Then I go to the cinema to watch TDK, first scene in bleached daylight on mundane cityscape, looking more like a scene from HEAT! and I'm like! what the hell!! I enjoyed TDK but it felt like a completely different version of Gotham from Begins. I watched Begins again at the weekend so I know what I say is the truth!.. love the calling in the Bats scene! ...

I've played the perfect Batman video game.. so that's something!! role on the next Batman reboot I guess :)

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ORIGINAL: Don_a_van

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ORIGINAL: Dannybohy

I thought Nolan managed to create a great Gotham in Batman Begins, the slums, the monorail etc. Then I go to the cinema to watch TDK, first scene in bleached daylight on mundane cityscape, looking more like a scene from HEAT! and I'm like! what the hell!! I enjoyed TDK but it felt like a completely different version of Gotham from Begins. I watched Begins again at the weekend so I know what I say is the truth!.. love the calling in the Bats scene! ...

I've played the perfect Batman video game.. so that's something!! role on the next Batman reboot I guess :)

Yep I can agree with that, BB got close (although still not perfect for me), the others were basically set in New York. The Batman video games have been the best representation of Batman so far for me, absolutely spot on in terms of atmosphere and the Batman character himself.

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ORIGINAL: Mr Gittes

Well said. Indeed, some of the plot holes people are so happy to dig into do actually have logical or emotional explanations.

But, regardless, I've never really had a problem with plot holes as long as I care about the story and characters and the movie is well directed and acted. I think this new internet sensation formed by the likes of the Plinkett reviews have led some to believe that plot holes and minor flaws make movies bad when really it's because the reviewed movies were just badly made with stories and characters that were simply not engaging. Poor plot logic was the least of The Phantom Menace's problems.

These people need to realise that plot holes do not always mean bad storytelling. I mean, for crying out loud, if they're going to pick TDKR apart, they may as well dig into the other two Nolan Bat-films while they're at it, not to mention LOTR (well, if they're going to give Nolan shit about sending all the cops into the sewers, they can't ignore Sauron sending all his orcs to the Black Gate). And you could spend all day on the original Star Wars movies when it comes to plot holes. Even Metropolis has Swiss cheese for a plot and don't get me started on North By Northwest; practically every scene of that movie has ridiculous plot logic. The entire story of Citizen Kane stems from a plot hole (Who heard him say "Rosebud" in the first place?). This doesn't really count as a plot hole but at the end of The Shawshank Redemption (SPOILER ALERT!) does Andy just go on living in his own paradise with no problem that the man who killed the woman he loved is still roaming free?

However, do these plot holes stop any of the above from being classic movies? Not for me, anyway. So they sure don't stop me from loving The Dark Knight Rises. If some people don't like the stuff that truly matters, like the story or the characters, in the movie then fair enough. However if they don't like the movie because it has plot holes then, frankly, I think they need to wake up. But, hey, certain things bug certain people. I've always hated unnecessary voice-overs and overuse of steadicam, myself. Although it still doesn't stop me from liking movies that feature them (Kick-Ass for the former, any good Clint Eastwood-directed movie post-Unforgiven for the latter). Rant finished.

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ORIGINAL: Mr Gittes

Well said. Indeed, some of the plot holes people are so happy to dig into do actually have logical or emotional explanations.

But, regardless, I've never really had a problem with plot holes as long as I care about the story and characters and the movie is well directed and acted. I think this new internet sensation formed by the likes of the Plinkett reviews have led some to believe that plot holes and minor flaws make movies bad when really it's because the reviewed movies were just badly made with stories and characters that were simply not engaging. Poor plot logic was the least of The Phantom Menace's problems.

These people need to realise that plot holes do not always mean bad storytelling. I mean, for crying out loud, if they're going to pick TDKR apart, they may as well dig into the other two Nolan Bat-films while they're at it, not to mention LOTR (well, if they're going to give Nolan shit about sending all the cops into the sewers, they can't ignore Sauron sending all his orcs to the Black Gate). And you could spend all day on the original Star Wars movies when it comes to plot holes. Even Metropolis has Swiss cheese for a plot and don't get me started on North By Northwest; practically every scene of that movie has ridiculous plot logic. The entire story of Citizen Kane stems from a plot hole (Who heard him say "Rosebud" in the first place?). This doesn't really count as a plot hole but at the end of The Shawshank Redemption (SPOILER ALERT!) does Andy just go on living in his own paradise with no problem that the man who killed the woman he loved is still roaming free?

However, do these plot holes stop any of the above from being classic movies? Not for me, anyway. So they sure don't stop me from loving The Dark Knight Rises. If some people don't like the stuff that truly matters, like the story or the characters, in the movie then fair enough. However if they don't like the movie because it has plot holes then, frankly, I think they need to wake up. But, hey, certain things bug certain people. I've always hated unnecessary voice-overs and overuse of steadicam, myself. Although it still doesn't stop me from liking movies that feature them (Kick-Ass for the former, any good Clint Eastwood-directed movie post-Unforgiven for the latter). Rant finished.