6 replies to this topic

[Darrell Cody]

Who else thought Anne Hathaway and Christian Bale did a great job, and Christopher Nolan did a great job with the story? Those characters had a real romanticism to them. (I really want hear thoughts about the positive elements of it.) And the whole trilogy had a really great quality to it.


And it shows Batman fighting the movie's version of Occupy Wall Street. How frickin' AMAZING is that? They make it clear: Good guys: Batman. Bad guys: OWS.

[Hairnet]

Christopher Nolan paces his movies in a way that doesn't allow one to get comfortable with anyone particular scene. Its always energetic, shifting, and moving ideas around. This is a good thing in my opinion. The screenplays are full of conversations about abstract ideas, which is very interesting because very few people actually write characters who talk about abstract ideas like this. Ayn Rand is one of them.

I watched the trilogy triple feature at my local theater on the night of the premiere. Watching all three in a row really does give me a good idea about how all the ideas in the movies connect to one another. The various villains and heroes have different ideas on justice and how to go about doing justice. Two Face's psychotic take on determinism or Raz's medieval-ninja-terror network are what stand in the way of Bruce Wayne's ideas of justice.

What is interesting to me about this is that this departs from the comic book interperetations of the Batman mythos, where characters are typically representative of a mental illness. The focus on justice, and characters views of justice makes powerful and interesting characters rather than just lunatics who would be shot on sight in any sane universe.

Even his allies have different takes throughout the movies, and change their minds on various ideas throughout the movies.

Ultimately I found that the last movie was about Bruce Wayne finding a reason to live beyond being Batman, (to live non-altrusitically I would argue), and how this in itself allowed him to conquer the challenges he had to face.

Just as a note, Christopher Nolan said that the three themes of the trilogy are fear, chaos, and pain, respectively. Really interesting.

[Jake]

I thought the movie was awesome. My wife didn't care for Bain's voice, but she's a speech pathologist, so it was probably professional knowledge conflicting with a fictional interpretation (much like anytime I see a goofy helicopter scene in a movie).

Just as a note, Christopher Nolan said that the three themes of the trilogy are fear, chaos, and pain, respectively. Really interesting.

Would this mean the positive themes or resolutions of the climaxes were courage, order, and joy?

[Dániel Boros]

Not exactly

In the first film Bruce Wayne became fear itself by becoming batman. He never needed courage.
"Like your father, you lack the courage to do all that is necessary. If someone stands in the way of true justice... you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart." Ra's al Ghul

In the first film fear is good and courage is bad...

[TheEgoist]

Who else thought Anne Hathaway and Christian Bale did a great job, and Christopher Nolan did a great job with the story? Those characters had a real romanticism to them. (I really want hear thoughts about the positive elements of it.) And the whole trilogy had a really great quality to it.


And it shows Batman fighting the movie's version of Occupy Wall Street. How frickin' AMAZING is that? They make it clear: Good guys: Batman. Bad guys: OWS.

Possible plot spoilers ahead:

Spoiler

Not really. Bane just used the populism as a ploy to dupe Gotham into chaos. His plan was never destruction of the rich, it was destruction of Gotham itself. Nolan has said as much. And note that Wayne had to be broken in order to make the climb from The Pit. His doctor tells him that Bane made the climb because Bane came from nothing. It was only something a man who had nothing could do. So, in this way, Bane breaking the Bat is what allowed him to make that climb. If Bruce were simply left there as is, I think the movie is implying he couldn't do it. So, you can construe an anti-privilege message as well. Bruce had to be stripped of everything. To put it in the words of Tyler Durden "It's only when we've lost everything, that we're free to do anything.".

Of course, I don't think they meant it so literally.

Edited by softwareNerd, 29 July 2012 - 09:05 AM.

[Dániel Boros]

***Mod Edit: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***

Spoiler

Bane didn't make the climb

Edited by softwareNerd, 29 July 2012 - 09:04 AM.
Added spoiler tags

[TheEgoist]

Bane...

SPOILERS OMG DON'T LOOK

Spoiler

Yeah, but Talia did and the point still stands. She was born and raised in a cell. Bruce Wayne was born and raised in a mansion.

Edited by softwareNerd, 29 July 2012 - 09:05 AM.