Author Topic: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy  (Read 33054 times)

oldkid

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #380 on: May 24, 2017, 02:14:45 AM »
And this is the most disappointing part of the film.  I don't believe that Batman could possibly heal well enough to accomplish this fight (let alone make the "impossible" jump).  I still don't see why it is important that Miranda is the child talked about instead of Bane.   All of these major "twists" let the air out of the whole film.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #381 on: May 24, 2017, 09:00:04 AM »
In the comic, it takes Batman a good year to recover from Bane breaking his back. And even when he returns, it's a while before he faces Bane again.

1SO

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #382 on: May 24, 2017, 11:00:19 PM »
Because of the doctor scene, I wouldn't believe Batman could ever beat Bane. The impossible jump is more debatable because I think the support rope is deliberately too short to prevent someone from reaching the other side. Much like the first movie, it's not the jump that stops you, but the fear that keeps a person from trying without the rope. Miranda being the child brings some humanity to Bane, but yes it re-calibrates the bad guys to where I don't care anymore. Switching from Scarecrow to the League of Shadows in the first film was excellent. Switching from Joker to Harvey Dent in the last film was problematic. Miranda is so under-developed that it would be more interesting if the boy in the pit was Blake, or even Lucius Fox. Implausible but more interesting.

1SO

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #383 on: May 24, 2017, 11:20:33 PM »

The Dark Knight Rises - The Protector
"Innocent is a strong word to throw around Gotham."

A late game exposition Chapter where the bad guy starts monologuing, giving Gordon enough time to put on the detonation blocker. There's a contrast between Marion Cotillard who takes the tone of "let me tell you a story" as opposed to Michael Caine, who could always internalize these passages, or Morgan Freeman who had a slight amusement about it. Cotillard is a fine actress, but she might as well be a third-person narrator as she attempts to clear up the relationship between her, Bane and Ducard.

I like the image of Miranda plugging Bane's mask back in, though it seems weird that even with a knife wound Bruce just holds still while she does it and Bane is able to get behind him, wrapping a cord around his leathered neck.  ???
Rating: * * 1/2
« Last Edit: May 25, 2017, 10:46:25 PM by 1SO »

1SO

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #384 on: May 25, 2017, 11:12:45 PM »

The Dark Knight Rises - The Fire

I find it interesting that Bane doesn't speak around Miranda. I thought perhaps the broken mask made speech impossible, but he speaks to Batman moments later. I don't know if it's a choice Tom Hardy made or Bane simply had nothing to say, but it puts all his response into Hardy's eyes expressing sadness, which he does very well.

If I had posted a screenshot of dead Matthew Modine you might accuse me of not trying to find good in the film. I remember comments about how silly he looks dead. My observation is with how nobody outside thinks Miranda is bad so she probably gets into the Camo Bat Mobile so easy because they assume she's a hostage.


"About the whole 'no guns' thing, I'm not sure I feel as strongly about it as you do."

The end of Bane comes from Selina Kyle in another moment that bends Bruce Wayne's code but doesn't quite break it. To me it just points up the problem with Bane all along, there is no way for Batman to stop him without killing him. Bane can work through pain and break any restraint. Without Catwoman committing murder, Bruce Wayne would be dead. How can he justify it? How can he not?
Rating: * * * - Okay

1SO

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #385 on: May 27, 2017, 12:21:39 AM »

The Dark Knight Rises - Bomb Chase

This is the Chapter that seems to hold the key to my turning on him. A CG heavy (for Nolan) storm of explosions and situations going nowhere, there's nothing here that elevates the film above most other mindless cinema garbage, making the selected screenshot indistinguishable from a Transformers film or the currently blasted DC universe.

The showdown is so dispassionate that there's not even a moment of excited anticipation when Batman and Catwoman team up to take down the bomb truck being guarded by two Camo Bat Mobiles. One fires on The Bat, but we don't see what gets hit. Batman doesn't alter his course until the missiles. There's no geography to show Catwoman closing in on the convoy. The turns with the rotating tires look CG this time, much like most of the shots with The Bat. When the truck drops to the lower road it comes as a relief to finally see some on set action again. And again, it's not like this is unusual for a superhero film, but it's extremely unusual for Christopher Nolan. Even when he goes for epic scale, he often prefers it to look real.


You can have all the debate about Bruce refusing to kill Bane because of his code, but here he opens fire on the truck, killing the driver. You can't even make an argument for him aiming in a way to not kill the driver or Miranda because it's not possible. He kills the driver and sends the truck plunging into the road below.

...oh, and this is all done with Gordon in the back of the truck, not knowing what's happening, so he's not braced for the impact of the truck falling, but he emerges unscathed. To paraphrase an internet troll, how was this all allowed to happen? What led Nolan to come up with and decide to carry out this sequence as the climax of his trilogy?
Rating: * *

1SO

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #386 on: May 29, 2017, 12:04:50 AM »

The Dark Knight Rises - Detonation
"I never cared who you were."
"And you were right."


I took a day off to remind myself of the purpose for taking on the trilogy. Having passed my final frustration firewall, these posts were making me sound like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. ("Worst Batman Ever.") I've probably gotten all I'm going to get regarding my turn against Christopher Nolan. I still appreciate all that came before this film, much like I no longer trust what comes next. It's actually comparable to a number of other filmmakers who put out work that seems far beneath them, a reversal of their talents. Barry Levinson after Toys, Rob Reiner after The Story of Us, M. Night after Lady in the Water. The difference is there are many who think Nolan has yet to slip, just like I think Always is an under-appreciated Spielberg film.

I'm going to finish this out - can't be too much longer left - but I'm going to ease up on the microscopic analysis because it's too negative. I don't care to discuss Miranda's death, Catwoman's kiss, Batman's very non-cryptic hint to Gordon before he goes off and commits the supreme sacrifice for his city or not. I'm disappointed. It's a disappointing film. Nolan has his reasons. Maybe after Heath Ledger passed away or after the triumph of Inception he just wasn't feeling it.
Rating: * *

1SO

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #387 on: May 29, 2017, 10:51:08 PM »

The Dark Knight Rises - Batman Forever

The final curtain. Bruce Wayne is alive and no longer living in Gotham. Blake actually has been Robin all this time. For the end of a trilogy it leaves the door open wider than I would expect, though not wide enough for any natural reason to have Batman keep on fighting the criminals of Gotham. Nolan knows he doesn't have the final word on the caped crusader and delivers a conclusion that offers a way to continue if the studio didn't want to throw out everything he did.

I like some of it, hate Alfred's graveyard breakdown. Not that it's too maudlin, it doesn't seem right for the character. The screenshot is my favorite moment here, a reminder that Batman is a symbol and not just a man. Takes the sting out of the corny Batman statue at City Hall.

Again, I'm not interested in the autopilot dialogue or Alfred finding Bruce and Selina at that cafe. That's what Nolan decided to do? Fine.
Rating: * * 1/2

Actually, I'm going to let Sam have the last word, with a quote from a review posted today of Interstellar that captures my current level of frustration and disappointment with Nolan.

There’s a wonder to this films existence, but there are many moments where it becomes clear that it could have been a much better film. Less exposition and more mystery would have gone a long way to making for a much more thoughtful film. Instead, Interstellar comes across as a compromise, a film that wants enough smart moments to get hardcore sci-fi fans, but enough explanation to make sure the average moviegoer won’t leave the film too confused or perplexed. The film’s boldness is executed to be safe and profitable, hampered by its desire to appease instead of having the boldness to challenge and confuse.

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The Dark Knight Rises - A Ranking of Chapters
« Reply #388 on: May 29, 2017, 11:09:44 PM »
High-Altitude Hijacking
Someone to Open Doors
Game Day
Cages
Alfred’s Ultimatum
Batman vs. Bane
Destruction Sites
Investments and Interest
Beneath Gotham
Bane on the Plane
The Clean Slate Myth
One of the Maids
The Fire
Open Fire
Allies
Time to Go Mobile
Not Living, Just Waiting
18 Hours
Everyone’s Home
Bane Makes a Speech
The Legend of the Child

Back From the Pit
The Symbol of Oppression
Return of the Batman
Out of the Pit
Batman Returns
Batman Forever
The Doctor & The Mercenary
The Trigger
Martial Law
Crane’s Court
The Protector
This Way to Bane
Bane’s Lair
Harvey Dent Day
Scar Tissue

Stocks and Bane
Detonation
Fresh Air
Bomb Chase
Marking the Truck
Here’s the Important Part
Weaponized Clean Energy
The Night Batman Vanished


FINAL The Dark Knight Rises 44 CHAPTER RATING: 2.744
FINAL The Dark Knight 42 CHAPTER RATING: 3.167
FINAL Batman Begins 42 CHAPTER RATING: 3.024

oldkid

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Re: One Chapter At A Time - The Dark Knight Trilogy
« Reply #389 on: May 30, 2017, 01:34:32 AM »
1SO, you and I are much closer to the Dark Knight ratings than any of the Pixar films.  I am still amazed by the tight rendering of Batman Begins, but it doesn't give me the gut pleasures of The Dark Knight.  And TDKR has some spectacular moments, but the overall film left me cold.   Thank you for leading us through this trilogy again.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

 

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