152 replies to this topic

[SteveT]

No matter, Rephe delivered on the text itself. That's even better. All I need to do is have myself a google search binge.

OK, I can't let this go on any longer. It's the friggin' last line.

You can see for yourself:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/98 . Project Guternberg is awesome.

[JRPomazon]

No matter, Rephe delivered on the text itself. That's even better. All I need to do is have myself a google search binge.

OK, I can't let this go on any longer. It's the friggin' last line.

You can see for yourself:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/98 . Project Guternberg is awesome.

The whole thing is online? AND FREE?

Edited by JRPomazon, 24 July 2012 - 11:40 PM.

[Reflectionist]

But there's no Kierkegaard...
Give a shit. Still on E.

On principal, I still agree.

[Veteran]

I enjoyed all of it right up until the final sequence. I thought Catwoman was the best thing in it.

Spoiler

Oh why couldn't he have been dead? I don't buy the fixing the autopilot thing. It was a poignant end and I felt the entire build up was ruined by him having a happy ending. I thought his escape from the hole was a reminder that yes, Gotham does need Batman and then he goes and fakes his death? He rather lazily leaves breadcrumbs for Robin to discover the Bat Cave?

Nah, don't like that. Now, if he'd have popped up in the cave to officially leave Crusading duties to Robin, I would've liked. As it is, leaves a bad taste in my mouth to watch a superhero effectively give up.

Only other jarring moment for me: Talia had 3 or so months to flood the reactor. Well done for leaving it to the final 10 minutes. Amateur.

Oh, and, there was like 15% Batman in this film and 85% emotional roller coaster.

I came out of the movie feeling like finishing a journey, and I liked the movie for it. I'll still buy it on DVD which is how I judge any film.

[SteveT]

No matter, Rephe delivered on the text itself. That's even better. All I need to do is have myself a google search binge.

OK, I can't let this go on any longer. It's the friggin' last line.

You can see for yourself:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/98 . Project Guternberg is awesome.

The whole thing is online? AND FREE?

Project Guternberg has free downloads of public domain works. Whenever you're looking for a copy of a classic, think about starting there. (Butt-covering disclaimer: Project Guternberg is not a piracy website. It contains zero material with an active copyright.)

Its best for things that were originally English language. While a work's copyright may expire, a translation can be copyrighted, so English translations may not be public domain. I've run into it before, and that's my best explanation for the lack of Kierkegaard (or the mundane: no one posted it ).

Edited by SteveT, 25 July 2012 - 11:48 AM.

[Steel Samurai]

Spoiler

The first third of the film I was kind of like "oh dear God, Nolan has lost it. Miranda Tate is an even more boring love interest than Rachel Dawes, and that's saying something."

I didn't really buy the Bruce/Miranda love thing to begin with, nor do I think I bought his sudden "oh hey bitches I'm Batman again." And I was making a definite attempt to not analyze the film.

But then Knightfall + No Man's Land + Talia (which I was not expecting at all) and all was forgiven.

[Reflectionist]

Its best for things that were originally English language. While a work's copyright may expire, a translation can be copyrighted, so English translations may not be public domain. I've run into it before, and that's my best explanation for the lack of Kierkegaard (or the mundane: no one posted it ).

Ah, makes sense.

[Veteran]

You know, I think the more I ponder on it, the more I don't like the movie.

Spoiler

Batman doesn't actually do anything heroic besides remote controlling his flying car into the sea with a bomb. And even that, as it turned out, was at no personal risk.

Detective work? Robin does it.
Bane is killed by Catwoman.
Talia is killed in a car accident.
In the 8 years between films, Batman does nothing and Bruce loses his money.

What a hero!

[Crimson Lego]

Spoiler

Well, that is why the movie is called The Dark Knight Rises.

Batman also was the one who ran Talia into that hole in the road, so I suppose that was heroic.

[Sir Deimos]

Vet

Spoiler

PLEASE STOP CALLING BLAKE ROBIN.

[Veteran]

But that's his name!

If it helps

Spoiler

He was the best Robin ever in a Batman movie.

[Sir Deimos]

Granted... but still. XD

[Crimson Lego]

Spoiler

While I liked JGL's character as whole...


Robin John Blake =/= Richard 'Dick' Grayson.

[Selena]

Spoiler

Probably because he was never meant to be, Leo.

[Crimson Lego]

Spoiler

Didn't stop them from slapping on Robin in front of the John.

[Sir Deimos]

Spoiler

They didn't. They said it was his birth name. He could be Robin Blake. Either way it was the lamest part of the movie.

[Selena]

Leo:

Spoiler

There have been several "Robins." Including Bruce Wayne's son. Robin is rank - a position - not an individual person. The sidekick of Batman. It was just a simple shout-out.

Also several different Batgirls.




....Somewhat sad we didn't get to see Gordon visiting his family, and them showing a redheaded girl. But the Nolan films are all in their own universe.

[DarkJuno]

Spoiler

I was happy enough with him even having a daughter, albeit one who they kept hiding the face of in Dark Knight.

And c'mon guys, that was just a wink at the fans, he's not literally a Robin - next thing you know one of ya'll will claim the entirity of the football team were all his secret sidekickis since the stylized "R" logo (for Gotham Rogues) is pretty blatently the same style as Robin's R.

[Oberon Storm]

Spoiler

I imagine the character turning out to more of a mix between Robin or Nigtwing with Azrael.

[Chukchi Husky]

I managed to see the film last night. Is it me of have cinemas gotten louder?

Spoiler

First thought, once I saw the Bat I thought we finally discover that this Batman takes place in the past of the Blade Runner universe.

I kept seeing all the parallels with The Dark Knight Returns. Even little things like Bruce Wayne being clean shaven when he resumes being Batman.

I like how they did Bane, but my only previous experiences with the character was in Batman & Robin and Batman: Arkham Asylum. I didn't like the effect done on his voice. I was told it was done so the audience could understand what he was saying through the mask, but every film dubs the actor if they wear a mask.

About Talia, I thought her character would end up being on the side of Bane, but came as a surprise when she revealed herself as Talia. I guess I fell for the Bane back story. The only thing I know Talia from is the animated series though.

I had questions about the fusion reactor. When it was first brought up and we find out it was shut down out of fear of being turned into a bomb, I was thinking that fusion bombs already exist.

Edited by Chukchi Husky, 27 July 2012 - 04:59 AM.

[Reflectionist]

Spoiler

The idea, to Bruce, was that Miranda had propositioned him three years before the film, with the idea to create a fusion reactor that would provide clean, sustainable energy to the world, without the use of fossil fuels. Wayne invested in her idea, having retired, still trying to help the world. Once the project was finished, through Wayne Enterprises R&D, Bruce discovers Dr. Leonid Pavel's work... and how easily it is to turn such a machine into a nuke. So he basically shuts the project down, wasting the investment and nearly bankrupting Wayne Enterprises in the process, and leaves it under the river for years, to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Of course, Wayne is being manipulated wonderfully by the League of Shadows, led by Talia Al Ghul in her father's wake.

Bane shows up as really nothing more than a blunt instrument of Talia's. Sure, he's probably re-employed by the LoS specifically to take down Batman, and as such, provides a distraction to keep him off of Talia's scent. Breaking him was just icing on the cake. Putting him in the pit, making him watch the League of Shadows destroy Gotham... that's probably Bane's idea. We see in the film, right after Talia reveals herself, that he isn't exactly a following-orders kind of guy. She says, "Don't kill him. I want him to feel the fire..." and he says "We both know I have to kill you now... you'll just have to imagine the fire."

I thought Bane and Talia were both equally important to the plan. Bane breaks the Bat... Talia breaks Bruce. Like... he's broke as shit.

[TheAvengerLever]

Spoiler

As far as Bane being a henchman goes, I don't think he was that at all. It was all teamwork. Talia and Bane both shared strategic credit for the plan to bring down Gotham, as well as defeating Batman as Rephe says above me.

Edited by TheAvengerButton, 28 July 2012 - 12:45 AM.

[Reflectionist]

Personally speaking, I loved this movie. I'll admit, I looked up spoilers before I saw it, but it's still a great movie. It's better the second time, because once it clicks that...

Spoiler

...Miranda Tate is Talia al Ghul... you start to see that pretty much every one of her lines in the first act is a reflection of something Ra's al Ghul says in Batman Begins... specifically about restoring balance and doing what is necessary. It's subtle, and well done, and brings a lot of depth to the second viewing.

I also found myself pretty uncomfortable with how much of myself I saw in Bruce in the first act. With how close to home some of Alfred's lines hit, particularly...

Spoiler

...the first scene where Bruce is in the Batcave, doing research on Selina.

"Fascinating. You two should exchange notes over coffee."
"So now you're trying to set me up with a jewel thief."
"At this point, I'd set you up with a chimpanzee if it brought you back to the world."
"There's nothing out there for me."
"And that's the problem. You hung up your cape and your cowl, but you never moved on. You never found a life, to find someone--"
"Alfred, I did find someone."
"I know. And you lost her. That's all part of living, sir. But you're not living. You're just waiting..."

And of course...

"Maybe it's time we stop trying to outsmart the truth... and let it have it's day."

It was the same story with some of Officer Blake's lines:

Spoiler

"Not a lot of people know what it's like... do they? To be angry in your bones. I mean, they 'understand'. [...] Everybody 'understands'... for a while. Then they want the angry little kid to do something he knows he can't do: move on. So after a while, they stop understanding, and [throw you under the bus]. I figured it out too late. You've gotta learn to hide the anger, and practice smiling in the mirror. It's like putting on a mask."

It's just... the way he sets his jaw, his eyes gloss over, and he can't look anyone in the eye. I know how that feels, and it was heartwrenching to watch. .

Edited by Reflectionist, 28 July 2012 - 06:29 PM.

[Fin]

I've been told the ending is the GRITTY! and REALISTIC! version of this.

[Twinrova]

Me and Ben went to go see it on Friday finally. We both really liked it but omg I had the hardest time understanding Bane. I couldn't figure out what he was saying half the time.. D:

[Reflectionist]

I've been told the ending is the GRITTY! and REALISTIC! version of this.

Classic. And quite. XD

[JRPomazon]

The unintentional similarities are incredible.

[Stew]

The movie was incredible. I thought Bane's voice was epic as hell!

Spoiler

I didn't like the idea of Wayne leaving Gotham. Faking his death? Sure! But Gotham always needs Batman. I guess that's why Robin becomes the new Batman. I understand it as an ending for the series, and they couldn't leave any cheap loose ends. But still.

The teaser for Man of Steel gave me wood.

[Selena]

The classic Batman video makes me smile and gives me so many good feels.

[Steel Samurai]

Spoiler

I really don't understand why people are having such trouble with Bane's voice. I thought it was perfect. A deep rumble is what you expect for such a bulky guy, and when it was actually quite high it only added both to his sinister aura and our perception of his intelligence. I always felt he was the chief architect of the scheme of which Talia was only backer and overseer.