Okay, I have time to post some more detailed thoughts.
For some background, I think Begins and TDK are great films, but I'd put TDK a little ahead of Begins on most days.
I thought this was the easily the weakest of the three movies, at times bordering on parody. It felt like Nolan's worst flaws in the writing stage all came out in this one. There were dialogues that were so contrived and out-of-character that I was sort of taken out of it. Alfred talking about Ra's/the League of Shadows fanservice, Alfred's revelation of Rachel's letter, Gordon's corny attempt at revealing the truth about Dent, Talia's death monologue, Blake figuring out identity in five seconds, Gordon figuring out Batman = Bruce, etc. It felt like fan-fiction of a Nolan Batman at times.
There was a kernel of a great movie in this plot, at least conceptually. The beginning of the movie is slow and filled to the brim with a lot of expository dialogue, but I didn't think TDK's was that great either. Then midway, when all hell breaks loose, the middle section of the movie completely loses the plot. Occupied Gotham should be a wasteland, filled with despair, but we never really get a sense of what's happening on the ground. There's very little in the way of citizen interactions, so it's difficult to see what life is like to the average person. TDK did a much better of exploring the implications of terrorism. This movie... did not really give you a good idea of that. I mean, an entire American city is held for ransom, its police force is trapped under ground, its savior is taken out, but the implications are barely felt.
Bruce's training and rediscovery of his purpose in the middle could have been more fleshed out. Nearly all the character's arcs could have been, had some of them been cut. Honestly, there's no need to have Blake, Catwoman, or Talia in this movie. Either they needed to go and give this movie breathing room for the already existing players (Bruce, Alfred, Lucius, Gordon) and villain (Bane), or it needed to be longer to do them all justice. As it stands, TDKR feels like the most rushed 2 hour and 45 minute movie I've witnessed. Because of this, it doesn't earn its dramatic beats as well as it could have, had it be a little leaner.
Other nitpicks:
-Bane's dialogue was clearly ADR'd in the prologue and clashed with how it later sounded, sort of provoking a "WTF" reaction from my friends.
-Some of the scene transitions were funky, with little build-up or establishing shots. Take the scene were Bruce goes to the doctor, jumps out of the building, and then we're talking to Gordon suddenly. Or where Batman stands on the bridge, then skips to Catwoman's "don't be shy," where they take out what seems like three thugs, and are immediately in Bane's lair. I mean, Jesus, that was easy.
For some background, I think Begins and TDK are great films, but I'd put TDK a little ahead of Begins on most days.
I thought this was the easily the weakest of the three movies, at times bordering on parody. It felt like Nolan's worst flaws in the writing stage all came out in this one. There were dialogues that were so contrived and out-of-character that I was sort of taken out of it. Alfred talking about Ra's/the League of Shadows fanservice, Alfred's revelation of Rachel's letter, Gordon's corny attempt at revealing the truth about Dent, Talia's death monologue, Blake figuring out identity in five seconds, Gordon figuring out Batman = Bruce, etc. It felt like fan-fiction of a Nolan Batman at times.
There was a kernel of a great movie in this plot, at least conceptually. The beginning of the movie is slow and filled to the brim with a lot of expository dialogue, but I didn't think TDK's was that great either. Then midway, when all hell breaks loose, the middle section of the movie completely loses the plot. Occupied Gotham should be a wasteland, filled with despair, but we never really get a sense of what's happening on the ground. There's very little in the way of citizen interactions, so it's difficult to see what life is like to the average person. TDK did a much better of exploring the implications of terrorism. This movie... did not really give you a good idea of that. I mean, an entire American city is held for ransom, its police force is trapped under ground, its savior is taken out, but the implications are barely felt.
Bruce's training and rediscovery of his purpose in the middle could have been more fleshed out. Nearly all the character's arcs could have been, had some of them been cut. Honestly, there's no need to have Blake, Catwoman, or Talia in this movie. Either they needed to go and give this movie breathing room for the already existing players (Bruce, Alfred, Lucius, Gordon) and villain (Bane), or it needed to be longer to do them all justice. As it stands, TDKR feels like the most rushed 2 hour and 45 minute movie I've witnessed. Because of this, it doesn't earn its dramatic beats as well as it could have, had it be a little leaner.
Other nitpicks:
-Bane's dialogue was clearly ADR'd in the prologue and clashed with how it later sounded, sort of provoking a "WTF" reaction from my friends.
-Some of the scene transitions were funky, with little build-up or establishing shots. Take the scene were Bruce goes to the doctor, jumps out of the building, and then we're talking to Gordon suddenly. Or where Batman stands on the bridge, then skips to Catwoman's "don't be shy," where they take out what seems like three thugs, and are immediately in Bane's lair. I mean, Jesus, that was easy.
