The Dark Knight Rises

[Adm56]

I emphatically disagree with this sentiment.

You should read the Hulk article. He describes why he feels like that might be the case pretty well. And I don't just agree with him because I was saying the same thing a few days ago. While TDKR doesn't look like it was directed by Pee Wee Herman it looks a lot like what you would get if Nolan just went through the motions.

[yads]

If this thread is anything go by I might be the only person who actually prefers the first half to the second, though.

I preferred the first half of the movie. It had a nice slow set up. Besides, I don't usually care for action - and Nolan IMO isn't among the best at that stuff anyway.

[bballman24]

SM3 and TDKR in the same sentence...

[RichWS]

Such a mixed bag. It's slow yet rushed, smart yet goofy. It has so many problems but I can't say I disliked it. Hathaway stole the show. Hardy gave it his all but the script failed him, as it does the whole film. My brain is still clogged 24 hours after. As of right now, I'd probably give it a C+.

[Dementeleus]

You should read the Hulk article. He describes why he feels like that might be the case pretty well. And I don't just agree with him because I was saying the same thing a few days ago. While TDKR doesn't look like it was directed by Pee Wee Herman it looks a lot like what you would get if Nolan just went through the motions.

There's simply no reason, though. He didn't need to do the movie. He was perfectly happy to walk away. He wanted to do it. To say that you'd put in 3-4 years of work just to go through the motions makes zero sense. It takes way too much effort to make a movie -- especially something where you're not just a for-hire guy -- to bother with not really caring.

[Adm56]

There's simply no reason, though. He didn't need to do the movie. He was perfectly happy to walk away. He wanted to do it. To say that you'd put in 3-4 years of work just to go through the motions makes zero sense. It takes way too much effort to make a movie -- especially something where you're not just a for-hire guy -- to bother with not really caring.

I just don't think he 'wanted to do it' to the extent you described. I think his 'unique' properties like Inception are of more interest to him nowadays. I think there are enough clues out there that he seemed a bit trapped by the Bat and was more affected by the death of Ledger than people assume. The dude is a pretty awesome filmmaker and pretty much ALL his films share the same touch...all but TKDR....so what's more likely...his heart wasn't fully in it? Or he just decided to change things up at the last minute? If you blindfolded me during the credits I could still tell that The Prestige, TDK and Inception were all made by the same director. TDKR would be the 'one of these things is not like the other' film. Edited July 26, 2012 by Adm56

[yads]

FILM CRITIC HULK has chimed in on the film. Another excellent article:http://badassdigest....k-knight-rises/

I totally agree with HULK. In fact it's like he read my mind, and then plastered my thoughts on the page in all caps.To me, it does feel the least Nolan-like movie. I always (until now) have got the sense that he's telling his stories because there's a theme/philosophy that stimulates him and he wants to talk about it... so he makes a movie about it. With this one there are some half-baked ideas but perhaps his heart wasn't in it (or maybe he thought he was giving the fans what they wanted - always a dangerous thought!), and so in the end he just ditches the ideas and goes for the bombastic third act. Edited July 26, 2012 by yads

[Hatebox]

With this one there are some half-baked ideas but perhaps his heart isn't in it, and so in the end he just ditches the ideas and goes for the bombastic third act.

That's been an issue for all of his Batman films, IMO.I think with TDKR you could argue it had a 'throw everything at the wall and see what sticks' mentality that made certain parts clunkier than they needed to be, but it is not the work of an indifferent writer and director.It is, stylistically, a Nolan blockbuster movie through and through. Lots of his usual editing intercuts, and the score is so ever-present the tone of the film becomes almost operatic. For me where the film suffers is when it lets genre conventions take over, like the bomb plot and the OTT Batwing. Edited July 26, 2012 by Hatebox

[Adm56]

Also...please don't think I'm here to dump on Nolan. I REALLY like pretty much all his films (although it's been forever since I've seen Memento). At least up until now. But hell nobody is perfect throughout their career. It's not something to be ashamed of.

[yads]

Also...please don't think I'm here to dump on Nolan.

I doubt anyone is here to dump on Nolan. He's right up there as one of the best directors working today. And he made probably (IMO) the best comic book movie in TDK.

[Dementeleus]

I just don't think he 'wanted to do it' to the extent you described. I think his 'unique' properties like Inception are of more interest to him nowadays. I think there are enough clues out there that he seemed a bit trapped by the Bat and was more affected by the death of Ledger than people assume. The dude is a pretty awesome filmmaker and pretty much ALL his films share the same touch...all but TKDR....so what's more likely...his heart wasn't fully in it? Or he just decided to change things up at the last minute? If you blindfolded me during the credits I could still tell that The Prestige, TDK and Inception were all made by the same director. TDKR would be the 'one of these things is not like the other' film.

Not for me at all. The flaws of TDKR seem to me to be very much along the same lines as the flaws of TDK and BB; if anything, TDKR is the most emotional of all his films (for me). Stylistically, it's very much the same as his recent work.

[Adm56]

Wait a tick...lets not get too hasty....best comic book movie (at least the ones I read as a child) would have to be The Avengers. TDK could certainly be considered the best of some other equally important category, but I don't think of it as a pure comic book film.

[yads]

Wait a tick...lets not get too hasty....best comic book movie (at least the ones I read as a child) would have to be The Avengers. TDK could certainly be considered the best of some other equally important category, but I don't think of it as a pure comic book film.

I did add a "IMO" to the sentence.Probably best not to get into this subject though. I vaguely recall it being discussed before... once or twice.

[Adm56]

Fair enough.

[Deep Wang]

I love HULK! He manages to articulate everything I am thinking way better than I ever could.

[Phil in the Blank]

I feel pity for those who did not enjoy this film.

[Gopher]

HULK is arguably the smartest guy writing a movie blog today. And he raises interesting points about the film that I've mostly heard before. But he reminds us at the end that there's really little value in placing "worth" in a movie like TDKR when it can start a discussion about film like this. TDKR is, at the end of the day, a movie worth talking about. I just don't buy that Nolan didn't have something he wanted to do in this movie. He had done four movies in a row for over six years. He wouldn't just go "what the hell!" and spend the next two years making a big pointless movie. He wanted to finish this series and definitively end his take on Batman.

[Deep Wang]

I feel pity for those who did not enjoy this film.

I don't need anyone pity. I am happy that I am not a blind servant ready to eat up whatever it is that Nolan has given to me.

[Phil in the Blank]

HULK, may be the smartest guy writing a movie blog today but I believe he made a fundamental mistep in his piece. There is a central through-line in this picture that ties the story together and that through-line is hope. The whole movie is based around this core them, Right up to the last frame when Alfred's hopes for his master are fulfilled. To be honest most criticism of this work are just....odd. We have the same people who cry about the films length, complain about potholes like how Bruce got back to Gotham after escaping the prison. He is mother-fucking batman, seeing how he did this is irrelevant yet apparently you want a 3 hour 10 minute movie even though 160 mins was already too long....what?If the movie did not connect to you then it's easy to nitpick this film to death. Hell it is easy to nitpick any film to death if it did not connect to you. There are potholes in TDK that you could literally drive a school bus into yet somehow that movie escapes criticism on here. Why do people hold films up to different standards I will never know.

[pinocchio]

After Nolan failed I hope Mendes delivers and give us a f""ing amazing next Bond movie.