THE READING ROOM: The Dark Knight Rises

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Did you like the new "Batman" movie? I didn't. Here's why.

(A Facebook conversation)

Ramesh Prabhu

Is it me?

I thought "Inception" was more intelligent. "Gangs of Wasseypur" more absorbing. "Avatar" more inventive. "Dhobi Ghat" more real. "Madagascar-3" more fun. "Dabangg" more entertaining. "Crash" more thought-provoking.

Is it me?

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Apar Dham, Shobhit Siddharth and 2 others like this.
- Apar Dham I've not seen Madagascar 1,2 and 3. Never been able to warm upto animated movies. But agree with the rest! :-)
  
  18 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu ‎Apar: Don't you want to know what I'm talking about? You're not going to like it, my friend.
  
  18 hours ago ·
- Apar Dham Well, you just decided that I'm not going to like it! So what's the point now? :-s
  
  18 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu Sorry. Well, I watched "The Dark Knight Rises" today. And that's what I'm talking about.
  
  18 hours ago · · Shyam Prabhu likes this
- Apar Dham Aahh! Doh! Silly me! :-p Sir, please please please, share your views about The Dark Knight Rises! It has been a long time since I had a healthy debate with someone! Especially, you! :-p
  
  18 hours ago ·
- Pooja Kamath Do watch 'Dark knight rises'. It's an amazing movie! :)
  
  18 hours ago ·
- Ramanathan Iyer Did you like it? Ramesh sir, please amplify your answer a bit.
  
  18 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu Where do I begin, Apar? First, there wasn't enough Batman in this Batman movie. Then, I also thought there wasn't enough Batman in Batman either. Next, there were lots of set pieces that seemed to be randomly put together -- there was no coherent narrative. I found the dialogues pretty hokey also. All those movies I talked about in my status update above? I would much rather watch them a second time (make that three times for "Inception" because I have watched it twice already) than be bored like I was today.
  
  18 hours ago · · Paromita Chakraborty + 1 other
- Ramesh Prabhu That is why I am wondering: Is it me?
  
  18 hours ago ·
- Arpan Bhattacharyya Yes. It's you.
  
  17 hours ago · · You + 1 other
- Ramesh Prabhu Luckily, our tickets only cost Rs.99 apiece at Meenakshi Mall, otherwise...
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Arpan Bhattacharyya Rs. 99? For the big bad Bat? Nah, that explains it! You watched some other movie...
  
  17 hours ago · · Ramanathan Iyer likes this
- Ramesh Prabhu Apparently, Arpan, and we learnt about this after we bought our tickets, ALL shows at Cinepolis on Wednesdays are Rs.99 each. :-)
  
  17 hours ago · · Nandini Hegde likes this
- Ramesh Prabhu Anyway, I am just glad that someone else out there shares my views: http://goo.gl/SiY9P.
  
  Review: 'Dark Knight Rises' disappointingly clunky, bombastic - CNN.com
  www.cnn.com
  
  He is risen!
  
  17 hours ago · ·
- Arpan Bhattacharyya Frankly speaking, I don't know what the reviewer is talking about here.
  
  1.) What on earth does Mr. Charity mean by "...as others have noted, the movie's defense of the establishment in the form of philanthropic billionaires and an incorruptible police force gives it a conservative gloss..."? The only philanthropic billionaire is Bruce Wayne.
  
  2.) Bane is more than just a "brawny sewer rat"; he's the first villain who can physically match up to (and beat the daylights out of) Batman while still managing to have an obscene thirst for large-scale destruction.
  
  3.) "..stop yakking and pull the trigger..."? Hahaha! Most movies would end within the first 10 minutes if the villains started doing that!
  
  4.) Obviously this gentleman doesn't have a knack for research, as is amply proven by his description of prison in Jodhpur as "hellhole... in Afghanistan". Is that because he was trying so hard to make his point about the terrorism link?
  
  5.) This movie isn't Nolan's best. It isn't even the best of the trilogy. There are a few flaws, some of them quite glaring (like how Batman survived a nuclear blast with a 6 mile radius). But it certainly isn't "disappointingly clunky and bombastic".
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu Well, I was disappointed for all the reasons I have mentioned above, and now that I think about it, I agree with Charity -- "The Dark Knight Rises" is indeed clunky and bombastic. :-)
  
  That reference to Afghanistan, Arpan, is not meant to be literal. The sentence reads: "... hellhole he comes from sure looks like it belongs in Afghanistan". See what I mean?
  
  And as for "Batman" surviving that nuclear blast, if you remember the scene that came afterwards, we learn that he had fixed the autopilot on his plane six months prior to all the events. So he bailed out, let the autopilot take over, and flew to Paris (or is it Rome) for his rendezvous with "Catwoman". :-)
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Sanaa A'esha I agree with Ebert's review. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20120717%2FREVIEWS%2F120719981
  
  The Dark Knight Rises :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews
  rogerebert.suntimes.com
  
  ‎"The Dark Knight Rises" leaves the fanciful early days of the superhero genre f...See More
  
  17 hours ago · ·
- Faye DSouza More than?
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu ‎Sanaa: Here is what I like from Ebert's review:
  
  It isn't very much fun, and it doesn't have very much Batman.
  
  When it finally comes down to Bane and Batman going mano-a-mano during a street fight, it involves an anticlimactic fist-fight. He blows up the city's bridges and to top that lands a right hook on Batman's jaw?
  
  Bane is the least charismatic of the Batman villains, but comes close to matching Bruce Wayne and Batman in screen time.
  
  All of these characters and their activities produce stretches in the first half of the film during which, frankly, I was not entirely sure who was doing what and with which and to whom.
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu ‎Faye: More than "The Dark Knight Rises".
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Sanaa A'esha Yeah. Ebert's review captures everything I feel about the movie.
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Arpan Bhattacharyya Yes. In hindsight (such a wonderful thing, isn't it?), that Afghanistan bit was a bit of a rant on my part - I do see your point. And yea, I know that he fixed the autopilot but how far could the plane have flown in the few minutes/seconds before the blast. But that's a debatable point. As for the review and your views, I still disagree. It is indeed an "honorable finale."
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu So here's an important question: Do old fogeys (like me) and adolescents no longer like the same movies?
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Arpan Bhattacharyya Hehehehe! Only when it comes to Batman. :)
  
  17 hours ago ·
- Nandini Hegde Sirji, I agree with everything except Dabangg. I think it was a pathetic film and because of that film directors made similar films. I still haven't watched TDKR. I really liked TDK but the main reason for that was Heath Ledger's performance.
  
  15 hours ago ·
- Amrutha Raman Sir I see your point - But as a crazy comic fan, especially the Batman series one thing what I liked about 'The Dark Knight Rises' and Nolan's scripting is bringing in depth in the character Batman. Batman is not just a 'detective' with fancy gadgets, but has his own inner struggles to fight with. And agreed that Bane wasn't as cynical as the Joker ( If that is the standard that has to be met with) but Bane is the most intelligent villian in the entire series of Batman. This movie is an inspiration from the 1993 series Batman - The Vengeance Of Bane. Batman fears him the most out of all his villains. I think Nolan had the guts to show Batman more than just a super Hero.
  
  2 hours ago ·
- Ramesh Prabhu ‎Nandini: I hear you! But, for what it is worth, here's my post on "Dabangg" -- http://goo.gl/gIxUt.
  
  THE READING ROOM: Plenty of bang for your buck
  engageentertainenlighten.blogspot.com
  
  This blog is for students of Commits, a media college in Bangalore, where I teac...See More
  
  46 minutes ago · ·
- Ramesh Prabhu ‎Amrutha: I hear you, too! But I think I have been reading comics and been a comics fan since before my students were born, so perhaps I see all this from a different perspective. :-)
  
  42 minutes ago · · Arpan Bhattacharyya likes this
- Arpan Bhattacharyya Quite a few years before your students were born. :)
  
  40 minutes ago · · You + 1 other
- Amrutha Raman Hehe.. Well I shall rest my case for now..
  
  38 minutes ago ·