# Dark Knight Rises (open spoilers past the first post)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 19, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783 "2012-07-19T22:37:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 8

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**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/141 "2012-07-24T21:03:53Z")

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> [@Cubsfan](#):
>
> I thought the movie was fine for the most part but one thing that bothered me was that it seemed like everyone was speaking in a normal, movie volume but whenever Bane spoke it was like his mouthpiece was fed directly into the theater speakers to compensate for the muffled nature of his voice. It was pretty jarring every time he spoke because it was like someone was speaking into a PA in the theater.
> 
> Anyone else have this same experience?
> 
> Otherwise I thought it was pretty good, though I agree they kind of ham-fisted the survival at the end and shoved it in our faces.

Yes! It was like his lines were on a completely different audio track. Like director’s commentary.

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**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/142 "2012-07-24T21:58:51Z")

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> [@Simplicio](#):
>
> We were laughing about that to. But I actually think I’d do the same thing in the unlikely event that I was a costumed superhero trying to disguise my voice. Its too easy to get confused and use the wrong voice if you alter your voice based both on whether you’re in your costume or not _and_ based on who your talking to.
> 
> Easier to avoid screwups if you just to use the Batman voice whenever your dressed as Batman. Plus then you don’t have to worry about eavesdroppers.

Nah. When Bruce puts on the suit, he’s not just Bruce Wayne dressed in a bat suit. He really is Batman.

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**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/143 "2012-07-24T22:52:13Z")

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I knew the second Miranda kissed him she was one of the bad guys.

My biggest peeve was with the look of Gotham. In the first two movies, they went out of their way to make it look different. But now it’s obviously just New York.

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**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/144 "2012-07-25T00:57:31Z")

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> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> Michael Caine should get his third Oscar for his performance.  
> Tom Hardy’s performance was phenomenal considering he had to do it all with just his eyes and voice.

If anyone gets an Oscar, it should be Hardy.

Caine does a good job, but he basically just acts upset in five scenes, which are all pretty much interchangeable.

Hardy, by contrast, puts on a tour de force performance. His physical acting is out of this world, and towards the end, when he looks at Talia, it’s the same man and yet different; with just his eyes he conveys pure, unspoiled, honest love, and you totally believe it. This incredibly sadistic creature just plainly loves the little girl he protected, and Hardy delivers it perfectly. He did a masterful job.

I also disagree on Hathaway, who did Catwoman just fine. Frankly, I was shocked they pulled that off as well as they did.

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**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/145 "2012-07-25T01:53:14Z")

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> [@Ivorybill](#):
>
> A good movie wouldn’t rely on the fans covering for poor story telling, IMO.

I think fanwank opportunities make movies more interesting. Better than explaining every damn thing in minute detail.

> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#):
>
> Also, as a British person, my two thoughts were (a) we can’t tell stories, but by gum we can make films, and act in them (b) every cut, every 0.85sec shot of the batbike nipping between some squad cars cost more than the total budget of every British film made last year, and was spent to better effect (c) the camera is always moving, 'cause it’s a movie.

Remember one of the producers was Emma Thomas, Nolan’s British(-born) wife …

> [@AlsoNamedBort](#):
>
> Occupy started September 2011. Most of the movie (especially the Bane scenes) was done being filmed before that.

A Facebook friend who lives in FiDi has pictures from shooting for TDKR on November 5, 2011. Near Occupy, even if the filmmakers didn’t actually get footage of Zucotti Park.

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**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/146 "2012-07-25T03:20:30Z")

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> [@Blaster\_Master](#):
>
> …As for Bruce getting back to Gotham quickly, presumably he has cash and resources elsewhere, so that didn’t bother me at all…

Yeah, he’s very clearly not literely dead broke, and almost certainly has millions stashed in secret overseas bank accounts to use to start a new life with Selena.

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/147 "2012-07-25T05:26:47Z")

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My take, which y’all can ignore for the discussion currently on-going.

I didn’t watch the first C. Nolan Batman film so I must say I was rather confused by this one. My wife missed the previous two films and was completely stumped. I guess the single-most clear emotion I got from the film was _surprise_, as in “WTF is Liam Neeson doing in this movie? Is he training Batman how to fight wolves? Was his daughter kidnapped? Will he say ‘release the krakken!’? WTF? Where did he come from? Did I fall asleep?”

Bain was boring. I had no worry that he was going to win - I mean, the guy was copied right out of [Mad Max: The Road Warrior](http://brianvsmovies.blogspot.com/2011/04/road-warrior.html), so I knew he could be easily defeated. Heath Ledger did such an incredible job as the Joker that it pretty much doomed this character to ho-hum-ness, and the fact that this type of bad guy has been done to death didn’t help. I did call him Hannibal Bain a couple times, which amused my wife. (Or so she acted, which is the same to me. 😉 ).

I found the corporate takeover scene(s) to be laughably silly\*. The Board of Directors looked to have 40 people on it! How the hell do they ever get anything done? And since Wayne Enterprises seems to be a public entity, I think the next film. _Batman vs. the SEC, DOJ, and FBI_ won’t have much in the way of exciting set pieces and action sequences.

All-in-all, it was OK. Not as good as the second movie in the series, which is one of the better comic book movies ever. Not as good as _The Avengers_.

\*Though the most laughable one was in _Lost_, S7, where Sun buys out her fathers industrial concern with her settlement money from Oceanic Airways. Uh… if Oceanic has that much cash on hand, what the fuck are they doing sinking it into the airline business?

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**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/148 "2012-07-25T06:16:21Z")

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> [@JohnT](#):
>
> My take, which y’all can ignore for the discussion currently on-going.
> 
> I didn’t watch the first C. Nolan Batman film so I must say I was rather confused by this one. My wife missed the previous two films and was completely stumped. I guess the single-most clear emotion I got from the film was _surprise_, as in “WTF is Liam Neeson doing in this movie? Is he training Batman how to fight wolves? Was his daughter kidnapped? Will he say ‘release the krakken!’? WTF? Where did he come from? Did I fall asleep?”

Well of course you were confused. This is not Memento; you can’t start at the end.

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/149 "2012-07-25T06:40:23Z")

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But the second movie wasn’t confusing at all. Given that its box office was much greater than the first one, I surely wasn’t the only person who saw DK2 without seeing DK1 beforehand, and I don’t think we missed anything. OTOH, DK3 referenced the first pretty heavily and, as far as I remember, ignored the 2nd, more popular film. Anyway, I doubt I’m the only one confused by this film.

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**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/150 "2012-07-25T10:32:26Z")

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**JohnT** , watch _Batman Begins_.

That’s my answer to everything, but this time it’s not just because it’s an awesome movie 😛

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**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/151 "2012-07-25T12:03:16Z")

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> [@Martian Bigfoot](#):
>
> When Bruce puts on the suit, he’s not just Bruce Wayne dressed in a bat suit. He really is Batman.

Don’t be absurd; he really is Batman, and sometimes he’s just Batman dressed up in a Bruce Wayne suit. 😉

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**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/152 "2012-07-25T13:37:25Z")

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> [@JohnT](#):
>
> OTOH, DK3 referenced the first pretty heavily and, as far as I remember, ignored the 2nd, more popular film.

They didn’t reference the Joker, but the situation at the end with Harvey Dent was referenced plenty of times. Personally, I think it’s fair to expect that, if you’re making the third movie in a trilogy, calling back to either of the previous two films is fair game. It’s not like you have to watch 9 seasons of a TV show to get the pertinent information, it’s a single movie.

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**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/153 "2012-07-25T13:52:37Z")

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> [@Dr.Rieux](#):
>
> My biggest peeve was with the look of Gotham. In the first two movies, they went out of their way to make it look different. But now it’s obviously just New York.

That’s because the first two movies were filmed in Chicago. 😉

At least, I know the first one was and I’m pretty sure the second one was – wasn’t part of the big truck chase on Lower Wacker Drive?

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**Author:** ![HenryGale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@HenryGale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryGale)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/154 "2012-07-25T15:26:21Z")

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> [@johnspartan](#):
>
> Spoiler in 3…2…
> 
> I understand that in one of the early drafts, Joseph Gordon Mary Kate Olsen Leavitt’s character in Dark Knight Rises was to be named Robiny Robin McRobinsalot and be played by the love child of Robin Wright and Robin Williams, but Nolan thought perhaps that would be too subtle.

I was beginning to think that nobody was going to mention this. That stuck out like a sore thumb made of cheese in an otherwise camp-free film. If they had to name him, couldn’t they have made him Dick Grayson or Tim Drake? Are we to believe that he is going to gallivant around in a cape and mask, using his real first name as his superhero identity?

Besides that and the lamentably bad Marion Cotillard death scene that others have mentioned, I liked The Dark Knight Rises. Not the best popcorn flick of the summer for me though, that goes to The Avengers.

> [@Skammer](#):
>
> That’s because the first two movies were filmed in Chicago. 😉
> 
> At least, I know the first one was and I’m pretty sure the second one was – wasn’t part of the big truck chase on Lower Wacker Drive?

Yes, that was lower Wacker. I believe a lot of the second film was shot in Chicagoland. At the very least, the hospital that the Joker blows up is an old Brach’s factory on the west side.

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**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/155 "2012-07-25T15:56:28Z")

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> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> Yeah, he’s very clearly not literely dead broke, and almost certainly has millions stashed in secret overseas bank accounts to use to start a new life with Selena.

This is even actually said in the film, by Selena Kyle; “even the rich don’t go broke the same way we do.” And it’s true. Super rich people declare bankruptcy and still have enough money to live a decent lifestyle for the rest of their lives. “Broke” is a relative concept. Donald Trump’s gone broke lots of times but he never stopped living large.

For a billionaire to stahs a couple of million bucks away somewhere safe is no big deal.

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**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/156 "2012-07-25T18:06:17Z")

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> [@Double\_Foolscap](#):
>
> **JohnT** , watch _Batman Begins_.
> 
> That’s my answer to everything, but this time it’s not just because it’s an awesome movie 😛

It works as an origin story, but it suffers from the same problem as this one does: What is behind the League’s singular obsession with Gotham City? It’s corrupt? What was going on in GC that doesn’t happen in the rest of the world? The rich don’t care what happens to the poor? That’s called Objectivism, or more commonly today, being a Republican or moderate Democrat. And if it’s about how poorly the downtrodden are treated, why kill them along with everyone else?

The second movie worked because the central villain was a nihilist who just “wanted to watch the world burn.” The first and the third fall completely on their faces because the villains seem to believe that they are making some profound statement about “corruption” and “greed” and “balance” by doing the same thing the Joker was doing in the second. But none of what they say makes any sense in light of their actions.

Ultimately, the problem seems to lie with Christopher Nolan, who is clearly a brilliant film maker but who thinks that incomprehensibility is the same thing as depth…

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**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/157 "2012-07-25T20:12:13Z")

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> [@jrepka](#):
>
> The rich don’t care what happens to the poor? That’s called Objectivism

::sigh::

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**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/158 "2012-07-25T20:17:05Z")

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I just got back from the movie and I loved it. I think it is the best of the 3 Nolan films. Granted, there is no single performance with the gravitas of Ledger as Joker, but everyone was great in their roles.

I sure hope that the foreshadowing at the end indicates that JG-Levitt may be taking up the mantle.

I can’t be the only one who got a small Dark Knight Returns vibe from the story…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/159 "2012-07-25T20:49:31Z")

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Now I have to ask, how much CGI was used to make Tom Hardy as big as Bane?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-knight-rises-open-spoilers-past-the-first-post/628783/160 "2012-07-25T20:58:19Z")

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> [@jrepka](#):
>
> It works as an origin story, but it suffers from the same problem as this one does: What is behind the League’s singular obsession with Gotham City? It’s corrupt? What was going on in GC that doesn’t happen in the rest of the world? The rich don’t care what happens to the poor? That’s called Objectivism, or more commonly today, being a Republican or moderate Democrat. And if it’s about how poorly the downtrodden are treated, why kill them along with everyone else?
> 
> The second movie worked because the central villain was a nihilist who just “wanted to watch the world burn.” The first and the third fall completely on their faces because the villains seem to believe that they are making some profound statement about “corruption” and “greed” and “balance” by doing the same thing the Joker was doing in the second. But none of what they say makes any sense in light of their actions.
> 
> Ultimately, the problem seems to lie with Christopher Nolan, who is clearly a brilliant film maker but who thinks that incomprehensibility is the same thing as depth…

Well, politics aside, I do agree with you that the “message” of this last movie is muddled to say the least. At least in Batman 1 RAG could be construed as using Gotham as a symbol of Western corruption - that while yes there is wealth, the civilization itself isn’t necessarily great.

I think Batman 3 tried to tell too many stories and really failed in showing the “main” plot of Bane trying to blow up the city and why.

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