The Dark Knight Rises (Spoilers)

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Alkaloid
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Re: The Dark Knight Rises (Spoilers)

Post by Alkaloid »

Just saw it, was pretty disappointed to be honest.

I think the only two things I actually liked were the way they tied Robin into the film, because I felt they kind of had to have him in there somehow, but the traditional green hotpants and domino mask don't really fit the tone of the Nolan films and the way they eventually did it was really good, and Alfreds "I hoped you never came back" speech, because that was actually poignant and Michael Cain can really act.

I think most of the problems in the film come down to pacing, starting from the '8 years later' everything felt very rushed. I think it would have been better to carry on directly after TDK, Bats the hated symbol he was supposed to be, still doing his thing, playing the occasional cat and mouse game with Selina, occasionally meeting with Gordon, Blake stumbles on a meeting between the two, having already made the connection between Wayne and Batman and doesn't reveal it, and we see Bruce working with Talia on their failed green energy project and all that sort of thing, making the city a better place while Wayne falls apart physically and mentally, until finally Bane shows up and Selina betrays Batman to Bane, things play out as they do in the film and Bane cripples Wayne and locks him in the pit to make him watch while he destroys all he has accomplished in Gotham. Then the 8 years comes, we see Gordon desperately trying to stem the flood of organised crime and corruption Bane starts, Blake becomes reduced to masked vigilantism, Selina actually has time to be torn apart by guilt, Talia, having taken over the board in Waynes absence slowly and carefully dismantles all the good work he has tried to do, and Gotham is generally made a worse place than before he even became batman.

You then have those 8 years of Wayne healing himself physically and mentally, so that he not only can make that climb out of the pit but wants to (that was what I pulled from the rope metaphor, you need to fear losing something if you don't get out of the pit, even if it is just your life, the pit is a place the fearless can stay forever.) and finally comes to the realisation that he has to make the climb on his own, without the rope (whoever decided he had to be told that needs a slap) and can return to Gotham as a new, improved Batman. That way the final confrontation with Bane is a better metaphor, in a city that is on the verge of tearing itself apart Bane is dark and Batman has become light.

That scene outside the courthouse was I think the only time in all three films where we actually Batman, as Batman, in daylight, so you get the final metaphor where he has gone from being a symbol of fear in the shadows for the wicked to a symbol of hope for good people in the light, literally rising. Then 'dies' saving the city from Banes nefarious plot with the help of Gordon, Selina and Blake, and the final few scenes can be pretty much untouched.

My .02 on how to make that story work while changing as little as possible, anyway.
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