Escape to the Movies: The Dark Knight Rises

[JoesshittyOs]

Worst. Superman. Trailer. EVER.

Seriously bob, you didn't miss much, just watch the first 40 minutes of Batman Begins and you'll catch the gist of the trailer.

It was a teaser trailer, and a decent one at that. It was surprising to see how they were handling it.

 

[Milanezi]

I haven't seen the movie yet, it arrives only next Friday here in let-down land (Brazil), I've got tickets to saturday, not Friday so I MIGHT, just MIGHT, escape the horde of teenager lunatics that insist on making jokes throughout the whole movie.
Well, what the frak is going on here MovieBob??? Lately I'm realizing something disturbing about your criticism: maybe you're just and extreme fan-boy. I say this because you put The Avengers on the top of the world, and sincerely, it's a good movie, but that's all it is, it's entertaining, didn't blow my mind away, but I didn't expect that either, so ok, nice movie, nothing much, the theatre nowadays is full of movies that have that effect (on me at least), I'll surely clap hands because doing a SUPER HERO movie that does that IS indeed a feat that proves the director's abilities. But what I find strange is that, wow, MovieBob would give it an Oscar if he could.
Batman The Dark Knight Rises: I'm not expecting much, I sure as hell don't expect it to be better than The Dark Knight (which I'm fascinated by), but I do think it will be better than Batman Begins (which was great at first, but then as you watch it again and again it becomes pretty weak). However, I've seen other reviews, from big folk, and they all loved it and many levels, and what is strange is, the things they loved the most is what MovieBob said aren't spectacular; for instance, I've seen a lot of praise on Tom Hardy's Bane, saying that the actor did a wonderful job expressing his feelings merely through his eyes, that Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman finally got to shine as a great character (since so far he was sorta led by the villains) and that, well, the story was damn impressive, giving the series the closure it deserved (although there seems to be a few plot holes), making Nolan's Batman trilogy the best super hero series ever. And then there are the reviews that went deep into the philosophical aspects that the characters bring hidden inside them.
It seems to me that MovieBob is sort of a fan boy for this kind of thing, setting his standards so high they actually become hazardous to his criticism. What I'm saying is: hey, I really HATE everything Lord of the Rings, but were I to review the movies or book, I WOULD praise it, because it deserves the praise. I think MovieBob is letting his feelings get in the way of his professional view...

 

[steampunk42]

im ok with this. I never expected it to be better than the Dark Knight. that being said, when bob says a movie is ok and that he "enjoyed it" im fine with that since my tastes are significantly lower. example: i thought the Postman was an ok film.

 

[Pinkamena]

Well, that's pretty much what I was expecting.

 

[shadowmagus]

Gives a 'mild' spoiler warning.

Proceeds to tell the mid-film twist. Fucking hell Bob.

Which mid-film twist? That Bane breaks the Bat?

OT: This isn't a surprise. I expected it would be a good movie, but it wouldn't be as good as TDK and possibly even not as good as BB. Still, it'll get my money, if even for one show.

I've read about eight reviews. NONE OF WHICH stated that.

It's a dickmove. It might not be seen as a massive shock, but when he says 'i have to explain the plot' I didn't think he'd fucking go that far, considering that again, NO OTHER REVIEW has had to say that. Bob has pissed me off before but this is a new level.

This happened in the comics though, as a poster after this points out. It's literally Bane's biggest claim to Batman villain fame and was a huge plot point in the Batman canon. Personally, I felt it would have been more of a twist (and a disappointing one mind you) if something like this had not happened.

 

[lithiumvocals]

Spoilered the big stuff in this post, not really any spoiler in my opinion are in the open but still if you want to know nothing about the movie then look away.

Just on the Bruce learning to be Batman again in the second act, can I just say I don't think that's what was happening. He fully admitted that he was completely prepared to die in the battle for Gotham while in that pit, but it never even occurred to him that he could die any other way until what's his face pointed it out. Seems more like the pit was doing double duty of reminding him that Batman wasn't just a thing about thrill seeking, and that he has an identity beyond Batman, which he had clearly forgotten in this movie. He got invested in the idea that he is Batman, when it was meant to be an incorruptible symbol and the pit set him straight. Hence why ENDING SPOILERS

Spoiler

He ran away with Selina after the bomb detonated, with John taking up the mantle.

So in my opinion it wasn't an unnecessary retreading of ground.

I disagree with the Bane stuff, the Selina romance, etc but really I doubt anyone cares about me arguing characterisation. I will say that the twist gave Bane's character all kinds of levels of depth (though I thought he was good before it).

Honestly I thought it was the best of the trilogy. Everything about it was just holy shit, they actually topped TDK to me. But to each their own, at least you weren't trying to hate it. Personally I held back the overpowering urge to piss just so I wouldn't miss a moment and I did it with a smile.

Also the Cillian Murphy cameo was nothing but awesome.

I agree completely with this. I absolutely loved the movie. I loved Bane as a villain. Every single line he had was solid fucking gold and he just fucking felt menacing. I loved John Blake and the way his character evolved. I loved the ending. I loved the scene on the football field. I have never been more satisfied by a movie before.

 

[Milanezi]

Oooh forgot to mention, we will see more Batman films, maybe not in this trilogy, but remember we have the Justice League Films coming in 2014/2015

I dread that soooooo much. Remember that Justice League "movie" that already exists? Look for it, it's so awful everyone should see it. It works kinda like a reality show (YES, you read it right), and I remember and overweight Flash in the most piss-poor imitation of costume discussing "Big Brother style" (the reality show) about how cool it is to be part of Justice League... So-Sad...
Obviously this Justice League would a big production and all but... I don't like the way it works in the comics already, plus the DC movie that really worked so far was Nolan's Batman, and I dare say Tim Burton's version was pretty fun, but that's all.
Well I didn't expect The Avengers to amount to anything good, and it was pretty entertaining, so I hope I'm wrong, on the other hand, I always expect some good out of the X-Men movies, and although they were all fun, they were also frustrating... Geez there's sooooo untaped potential for a good X-Men movie..

 

[lithiumvocals]

Anyone think the sales of this movie will go down now because of the Aurora shooting?

I heard about that. Jesus, that's some fucked up shit. My heart goes out to those killed and their families. Damn fucking shame.

 

[Katya Topolkaraeva]

I think a seriously reworked version of Poison Ivy (and then have philosophical debate on how much it's ok to do to save nature exc.) or the riddler would have been waaaaaay more interesting. But i never much liked any of the new batman movies so i don't really care.

 

[ZephrC]

Wow. Sometimes I like to think that it would be nice to have a place to discuss things on the internet with a bunch of random strangers.

Then I see threads like this one and remember why that's a terrible idea. I think most of the people in this thread are just here to talk about how they hate MovieBob and read all of his articles and watch all of his videos just so they can find more ways to despise him. It's very... odd and off-putting.

The Internet. Is. Weird.

 

[MetalMagpie]

I felt that Dark Knight dragged on a tad too long and could have done with being maybe 30 minutes shorter.

I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought that. When watching the film for the first time, I was convinced that they were setting up Two-Face to be the villain of the next film. Then they killed him off. *confusion*

 

[MetalMagpie]

Bob. Stop it. I understand there is such thing as opinions, but when was the last time you reviewed a movie that managed to surpass your insane expectations?

The Avengers, Cabin in the Woods or Captain America?

 

[Malisteen]

re who would make a better Nolan villain than Bane: the Riddler. Not stunt cast as Depp, but still. Do him as some sort of blend of Jigsaw and the villain from Speed. The Riddler works as a kind of detached academic that would mesh nicely with Nolan's preferences and Aesthetic.

As for the 'formula' for assessing Moviebob opinions: like most formulas that are surprising with their accuracy, if you examine it it's pretty obvious. Opinions vary person to person, yours will probably be different from MB's. So if MB's opinion couldn't be higher, you'll probably like the movie less than he does, and vice versa. I find the trick with reviewers is to find a few that generally lines up with your own opinions, and follow those regardless of what the rest say.

Otherwise: the review is telling me that this movie is what I already expected it to be from the trailers. Which means I'll enjoy it well enough.

 

[Trololo Punk]

I saw it last night. And although I did not like it as much as the Dark Knight I still really enjoyed it and found the ending to be a satisfying one. Better then the first in my opinion.

 

[itsthesheppy]

You know, if you don't think Bob's taste in movies, is good, or that his criticisms are accurate... why do you watch him at all?

I know I've disliked movies he's liked, and liked movies he hasn't, but I oftentimes find that his reasoning is at least sound; where we tend to differ is a matter of taste and he has admitted time and again that... you know what, never mind.

I will say that the revelation that Batman hardly ever shows up in his own movie is enough for me to give it a pass.

 

[Zeriah]

You'd have to be an absolute moron to think TDKR would be as good as TDK, Heath's performance was a once a decade performance. I'm thinking it would still be a great movie, just not as sublime as TDK and the general consensus appears to be exactly that. I probably won't be able to see it until Tuesday but I'm still quite excited.

 

[Falsename]

I demand to know Bob's cridentials as to why the hell he's a film critique.
"It's good but something just doesn't feel right" IS NOT a valid review point!
"Avengers was better" is a manner of opinion, sure, But they're completely different movies. Why even compare the two.

I take absolutely nothing in this review seriously or even from the mouth of someone who knows what they're talking about.

Movie Bob, stop pretending and find a new career.

-throws down mic and walks off stage with hands in the air-

 

[Falsename]

Bob. Stop it. I understand there is such thing as opinions, but when was the last time you reviewed a movie that managed to surpass your insane expectations?

The Avengers, Cabin in the Woods or Captain America?

Bob spews out words that 'sound' like they're from a critique. Stuff like 'plot', 'structure' and 'subtext'.

No one should take his videos as a real review. Now you may say that even critiques have differing opinions, but when they go against the flow as many times as Bob... you have to wonder if it's sincere or just for attention.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Bob. Stop it. I understand there is such thing as opinions, but when was the last time you reviewed a movie that managed to surpass your insane expectations?

The Avengers, Cabin in the Woods or Captain America?

Bob spews out words that 'sound' like they're from a critique. Stuff like 'plot', 'structure' and 'subtext'.

No one should take his videos as a real review. Now you may say that even critiques have differing opinions, but when they go against the flow as many times as Bob... you have to wonder if it's sincere or just for attention.

*shrug* Sometimes critics almost all agree. Sometimes most agree and some don't. And sometimes they're completely split. Since there's no scientific measure of a film's quality, that's just the way it'll have to stay.

There's really no such thing as a "real review" either. There's just people and their opinions. Some people are more skilled at explaining their opinions, and some people have background knowledge on a subject that makes their opinions more interesting. Those people are more likely to be able to make money as columnists and critics. But it isn't like being a doctor. There's no such thing as a "qualified" critic.

The two main uses of reviews are entertainment and informing consumer purchasing decisions. If you don't find MovieBob entertaining and his tastes aren't close enough to yours for you to use him as a guide for what films to see, then there really isn't much point in you watching his videos.

Personally, I watch the videos primarily for entertainment, as his taste in film is just a little too different to mine for his views to be especially useful to me. Even with the positive reviews (including this one), I probably won't bother to see Dark Knight Rises because I didn't particularly like The Dark Knight (or Batman Begins). Nolan's Batman just isn't my thing.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Who cares about Batman? Everyone wants to know what you thought about Spider-man Bob! I'm sure you're just full of interesting and logical concerns regarding the movie.

Sarcastic comment or did you miss his two Spiderman reviews?

*cannot detect irony very well on the internet*