Critics Consensus: The Dark Knight Rises Is Certified Fresh

No, the Dark Knight Rises was a terrible end to the trilogy. Before i am flamed though i am going to write up my rant and the problems the movie had. then i will accept flaming.

Jul 25 - 04:05 AM

My rant is posted here:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/909106/reviews/

Flame Away!

Jul 25 - 06:57 AM

A E

I agree (with Mukesh Singh, I mean).

Aug 7 - 12:24 PM

THGhost .

You can't expect a villain like Bane to match Heath Ledger's Joker, or any Joker for that matter. That'd be like (sorry for the comparison, DC fans) trying to compare Spider-Man's Rhino with Doc Ock, it just can't be done.

Jul 19 - 04:55 PM

Kyle VanderHeyden

rhino to doc ock? are you implying that bane is just a muscle bound idiot like the rhino (except in flowers for the rhino)

Jul 19 - 06:02 PM

Bad comparison, I would say the better analogy would probably be Kraven the Hunter with Green Goblin. Secret Six gave me a new appreciation for Bane as a character. It was nice to see his get to play top dog again.

Jul 20 - 02:40 AM

Chris Kaufman

Yes, SECRET SIX made Bane a better literary character, but whatever changes DC did to the JOKER after TDK, you'll see the same with BANE, who will now join the venomous and brutal A listers in rogue pulp history. pun intended.

Jul 20 - 03:26 PM

Bay is .001 Nolan

Ohhh

Jul 21 - 06:54 PM

Mitchell Adams

I was skeptical about the finale using Bane as the villain, because in my opinion it's not the most climatic adversary. but the writing made him seem like a terrifying villain, maybe not as psychological, but defiantly brutal. Even though this movie wasn't perfect. i don't think i, or anyone could have done a better job.

Jul 22 - 12:52 AM

Interesting fact, probably the best Batman ever The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller has one of the most underwhelming contributions from The Joker. He's there, but I think the fights with the Mutants Leader and even Superman were more memorable. I haven't seen TDKR's yet, but I kinda assumed based on the previous two that he'd borrow heavily from The Dark Knight Returns and just substitute Bane for The Mutant's Leader. Maybe incorporate some elements from Knight Fall.

Jul 22 - 04:47 AM

Craig Storey

Wait until you see Bane in action until you judge. I thought he was even more menacing the the Joker. Tom Hardy did an awesome job for sure

Jul 22 - 07:33 PM

Matthew Ekstrom

I'm seeing this in IMAX tomorrow. Can't wait!

Jul 19 - 04:59 PM

Michael Pickhardt

I hate that one of the biggest complaints was that it wasn't as good as the dark knight. Come on! every rotten review complained about that. THATS NOT A REASON TO GiVE IT A BAD REVIEW!!!! a lot of the positive review said that it was a fitting conclusion, so I'm going to take their word for it and not be disappointed because it not better than TDK.

Jul 19 - 05:01 PM

Luke Vader

I agree. It's not reasonable to expect it to be as good as The Dark Knight, which is one of the best movies of all-time. My hope is that it's better than the excellent Batman Begins and at least somewhat comparable to The Dark Knight. I would be satisfied with that.

Jul 20 - 05:52 AM

Expectations my friend. when they are not met, some people are disappointed. Look at the negative reviews for Brave, it is the same idea. It may not be fair, but it is reality.

Jul 20 - 06:10 AM

Merlin Ambrosius

People review movies based on whatever they feel like. It's totally subjective. Gotta get used to it. Heck, Ebert once said he reviews a movie based on his feelings. Which is great, unless you happen to see a movie while in a bad mood, or maybe you just got engaged, etc.

Jul 20 - 09:21 AM

Travis Touchdown

Well the negative reviews also say the film has a muddled plot and too many characters. Even positive reviews bring those points up. From the majority of reviews it seems like TDKR is a good conclusion to a trilogy, but it's no Return of the King.

Jul 20 - 10:50 AM

Kevin Hullett

The Two Towers was the best LOTR in my opinion but that doesn't hinder the fact Return of the King was amazing. Same with this series. It goes TDK, TDKR, Begins.

Jul 20 - 01:32 PM

Travis Touchdown

The thing about LOTR is that everyone has their favorites. It's funny because my list would go: Fellowship, Return, then Two Towers. I thought Two Towers was the slowest in the trilogy. All three films are great though, but if I were to make a list that's what it would be. With Nolan's Batman franchise TDK is widely regarded as the best in the trilogy. For LOTR, each film in the trilogy is about equal and it really comes down to personal opinion about which film is the best, instead of there being one standout film.

Jul 20 - 03:19 PM

Leo Monteiro

the two towers was by far the worst LOTR movie, deviated from the book greatly and had some silly scenes that didnt add to the story at all.

Jul 22 - 07:50 PM

Have to agree that the Two Towers was the weakest.

Jul 23 - 03:59 PM

Tallulah Robinson

I agree it's not quite as good as TDK but that's an honest opinion; I didn't have high expectations for the TDKR or anything.

But it's not because the plot was muddles or too many characters...how are they complaints? It was no more complicated than TDK (decidedly less so, really) and only like 5 main characters, if that...

Aug 7 - 05:49 AM

Will Jones

I'll come right out and say it, this is on par if not better than Dark Knight. Nolan has outdone himself.

Jul 20 - 05:31 PM

John Adams

I agree with that after seeing it I have to say it's better to judge it as a conclusion to a trilogy. On that end it's mission accomplished.

Jul 21 - 04:33 PM

Bradley J

Excited to see TDKR at midnight tonight!! Wish the score was a bit better but still impressive.

Jul 19 - 05:05 PM

Stepping Razor

I agree with you about the score. I was worried when I first heard that James Newton Howard wouldn't be working on the score again with Hans Zimmer, as he had on the previous two Batman movies. They really brought the right sounds to those previous scores. The new score really feels like half a score. It's missing Newton Howard, who did a good score for the Snow White/Huntsman movie.

Jul 19 - 06:11 PM

Bradley J

Really well that is disappointing. The score in a movie really impacts my mood of the film so I'm hoping it'll still be good.

Jul 19 - 06:20 PM

Stepping Razor

Bradley J., you were actually referring to the Tomato rating score, weren't you? I guess I had the music on my mind when you said score. :)

Jul 21 - 01:58 PM

I am kinda bummed to hear about the score, that was a highlight of mine in TDK

Jul 19 - 08:23 PM

Stepping Razor

During at least two moments in the movie, the music was so loud in the audio mix that I could barely tell what characters were saying.
Besides some of the already-heard themes from the previous movie, there just wasn't much in the way of the new music that hit me the way certain themes did in both Batman Begins and Dark Knight. Almost all the themes from Begins (particularly the melancholy ballads, the Tumbler theme and Scarecrow's theme) and numerous ones from Dark Knight (including Joker's creepy/disturbing theme, and the music when Batman is making his way up the skyscraper to get to the Joker) were great.
Nothing new here in TDKR is as good as those.

Jul 21 - 02:03 PM

Mark Marquis

I'm glad to see I'm not alone in missing James Newton Howard. Zimmer is a great composer, but his score for TDKR was overbearing at times. JNH brought a kind of balance to the hard edges of Zimmer. I don't know exactly who wrote which pieces of music, but I always assumed JNH handled the softer melodies, which he brilliant at. TDKR didn't require a lot of softer moments musically so it perhaps made more sense to just go with Zimmer. I think something was lost, however.

Jul 23 - 03:23 PM

Chris Cox

glad TDKR is a great movie

no one wants it to top TDK. just want it to be a great movie and send off of a fantastic trilogy

Jul 19 - 05:09 PM

Anybody heard of any good movies lately?

I have no idea when there will be an IMAX seat available. I may just go to a regular show, and probably during the week.

I thought "Hara-Kiri" came out last year, but that explains why I haven't been able to find it. Wasn't "Salute" listed last week? Who the hell wants to see the "Real Housewife of Versailles"? Bah. Who has money on a riot at at least one Batman showing? I got a 10 note on 3 trampled in Anaheim, Reseda, or Fresno Cali, with another 5 on a stabbing in East Orange New Jersey. Any takers for Miami/Tampa?

Jul 19 - 05:09 PM

Bigbrother .

I got 5 on a housewives stampede in Versailles based on your comments.

Jul 19 - 05:26 PM

Jesus Christ, America, don't you know how to take a joke? Thanks a lot, idiots, for making me the asshole.

Jul 20 - 05:03 AM

I'm pulling my comment at the end of the day. It's just not funny anymore. I'll leave it for a while just to say that anyone who wants to blame "fanboys", or movie violence, or even society itself are all a bunch of morons. This was an evil, sick sonofabitch who hopefully will get everything he's got coming to him. Let's not inflate the responsibility beyond that.

Jul 20 - 06:40 AM

Sean D

I just don't understand people. That's just plain fucked up.

Don't be hard on yourself, dude. No one could have seen this coming.

Jul 20 - 07:07 AM

You're right. I'll leave it up just to share this front and center on the thread.

"Even as we learn how this happened, and who's responsible, we may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil is senseless. It's beyond reason. But while we will never know fully what causes someone to take the life of another, we do know what makes life worth living.

And if there's anything to take away from this tragedy, it's the reminder that life is very fragile. Our time here is limited and it is precious. And what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it's not the trivial things, which so often consume us and our daily lives. Ultimately, it's how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another."

- Barack "the real goddamn Batman" Obama

Jul 20 - 08:06 AM

Gordon Terry

You Are A Prophet Janson J. . . . 12 DEAD AT BATMAN SHOWING!!!!! MORE KILLINGS? (no doubt based on the current trend of "Violence in America"); /// (We remember Sage Stallone.)

Jul 20 - 03:25 PM

I doubt it.

Jul 20 - 04:56 PM

Stephen Palmer

Whats with all the negative reviews complaining its too grim, gloomy, dark, and I swear one review even went as far as saying "it lacks humor"!!!! Are you serious look I get it, your critics and you want to make a name for yourself, while everyone else is singing its praises you few have to be trendy and unique and say "well i didn't find it as good as The Dark Knight...Really I haven't seen one legitimate bad review...This isn't spider man or avengers it isn't your son or daughters super hero movie this a tale of Heroism when being the hero makes you the villain, its going to get dark and grim. Christopher Nolan has done for Comic book movies what Graphic novels did for comic books completely re-established the genre as an legitimate medium of morality and depravity don't let theses embellished reviews deter you WATCH it!!!

Jul 19 - 05:23 PM

Right, they wanted Marvel cheese and jokes and airiness, and unicorns and rainbows. Avengers is good for what it was, but I think Nolan's gritty and dark Batman tops the cartoonish PoW BAM BOOM of other superhero adaptions.

Jul 19 - 09:11 PM

Luke Vader

The Avengers is great but there's no reason to expect The Dark Knight Rises to be like that. Nolan's take on Batman is more serious and that's fine with me. I'm glad there's some variety in style and tone among the superhero movies.

Jul 20 - 05:56 AM

Pathetic you are. A movie does not have to be utterly suicidally depressed like Dark Knight in order for it to be serious. If you actually watched Avengers you would know that it is a very serious movie but instead of using drama to show it the movie uses amazing acting, emotions, etc. Avengers is very much a serious movie it just decided to have some humor in it instead of being a wrist cutting exercise. You literally know nothing about any of the movies

Jul 20 - 08:29 AM

sanio stan

lmao. you know nothing about movies, do you? i guess your all time favorites are all comedies.

Jul 20 - 01:09 PM

Lol you have serious issues sanio. I guess your favorite movies are all depressing as hell since in your pathetic mind you think that the only way to be serious is to be depressing. You know nothing about movies

Jul 20 - 04:30 PM

"Dark Knight" is hardly suicidally depressed.

Jul 20 - 04:57 PM

It really is...unless you think an ending where the hero loses his best friend and crush, loses his happy future, loses the man who cleaned up the street, got seriously injured, let the villian win, and ending up as a criminal is happy...

Jul 20 - 05:35 PM

So for you there's no middle ground between "happy" and "suicidal depression"? I think they have medication for that.

Jul 20 - 06:18 PM

Jensen there is a middle, but TDK and TDKR are far from that middle ground.

Jul 20 - 07:20 PM

sanio stan

well i have a healthy mix of both comedies and serious movies in my top ten list. but i seriously doubt yours.

Jul 21 - 05:22 AM

Eric Gyasi

i need your mobile number or mail address

Jul 21 - 08:06 AM

Ranajoy Gupta

You are absolutely right and I second you. With Nolan it's all psychic and it embellishes you with the sheer feel of the story. By far this has been Nolan's one of the best.....The Dark Knight Rises is all about a superhero movie without a so called "superhero"

Jul 20 - 06:18 AM

Chris Young

Love the comics-graphic novels comparision. When it comes to comic book movies, as in comics, it's great to see different creators take on the characters, themes and storylines. It keeps it fresh and interesting. From Burton to Schumacher to Nolan--they were all entertaining. Comes down to the kind of movies you enjoy and the mood you're in. Will be interesting to see who picks up the Batman mantle next.

Jul 20 - 06:56 PM

Marijon Benedict

Or maybe their opinions differed from the people who praised the movie. I'd worry about a movie that gets ALL good reviews. The only way to please everyone is to safe. A movie that takes risks will displease someone. That's a good sign, not a bad one, and people who don't like it shouldn't be discouraged from saying so.

Jul 21 - 10:50 AM

Maurizio Chiappetta

It's an insult to the first two movies. The philosophies surrounding this Batman series between the lessons he was taught by Raz in part 1 and the Joker in part 2 makes part3 non-sensical. And for all the work they did to try and make this seem realistice-no effort was made in this movie. It's like they were just wrapping it up and getting the f out. You can't be a recluse on a cane and go out and kick ass pick someone made you a majiggy for your bummed knee. NO! You cannot utter the words "your vertabrae is protruding" and punch it back in to fix it. It's not a dent in a car. Anyways, I can go on and on. I've seen the first 2, 9x in the theatres and god knows how many times on dvd. This one hear=I want my money back.

Jul 21 - 12:48 PM

Nathan Friend

dumbass

Jul 22 - 02:44 PM

Jason Huang

FINALLY HERE! I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS! WATCHING THE PREMIERE!!!

Jul 19 - 05:25 PM

Lucky dog. Going Saturday at noon.

Jul 19 - 09:12 PM

Adam Jones

First of all I would like to say to all of the commentators that were giving death threats to critics who disliked the movies that they should be ashamed of themselves.

The Dark Knight featured one of the best examples of acting that I have ever seen in a movie through Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. Tom Hardy's Bane in comparison seems rather flat and one dimensional, although it is nice that he is an actual threat and not some lacky like he was in Batman Forever. Because of this I strongly suspected that the Dark Knight Rises would have a lower RT score than The Dark Knight, and I was right. It's also interesting that most negative reviews (as well as more than a few positive ones) mentioned that the movie is overly long and has too many major characters. I guess Nolan may have overdone some of the elements of the film to meet a satisfying conclusion to his Batman trilogy, but even through this film is a solid B rather than a Solid A the previous film is, I and millions of others will still enjoy it alot.

In terms of Box Office, I didn't anticipate that the film would get this much hype on the week of release. Because of it, there is an excellent chance that this film will beat the opening weekend of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 $170 million. I don't think it will beat Avenger's $207 million weekend because of the lack of 3D prices and the fact that TDKR seems to be generating a lot more interest in men than women unlike the more even split for Avengers. I would say that $195 million would be the most this film will make in the opening weekend in the USA and Canada, which would still be astounding for a 2-D film. If TDKR did make that much, then it would mean that it sold more tickets than Avengers by a substantial margin.

Jul 19 - 05:36 PM

Kadeem Stewart

That's a good RT score! Even that boring movie critic from the Associated Press can't even say a damn word on why she doesn't like The Dark Knight Rises. I know it can't match and compare the styles of the Oscar-winning 2nd Dark Knight (R.I.P. Heath Ledger), but I hope it could become another box office hit behind The Avengers.

Jul 19 - 06:05 PM

Rod Guzman

Well 7% less than TDK doesn't mean is worse, of course I was hoping TDKR match or surpass its predecessor but at least I can be happy to see that Chris Nolan created the best superhero trilogy....oh sorry the ONLY superhero trilogy that doesn't suck at the third movie.

Jul 19 - 06:10 PM

King Crunk

Glad to see the biggest movie of the year seems to have met expectations. Have to wait until tomorrow to catch, but I am very excited. This is pretty much the end of summer for me, as I doubt I will be heading back to the theater for a wide release until Lawless hits at the end of August.

Jul 19 - 06:44 PM

Christopher Kulik

No interest in THE BOURNE LEGACY? Lol, that's the only one left coming out that I'm on the fence about seeing in the theater.

Jul 19 - 10:45 PM

eh... if it starred Matt Damon i would be all in. But a cameo or less (still not sure if he is in it or just his mugshot) means i am not that excited about it.

Jul 20 - 06:59 AM

One of the negative reviews is from Rex Reed who said:

"Speaking lines they cannot possibly understand, not one actor makes any attempt to be believable. So manufactured and synthetic that they eventually lose all sense of reality, they're like reconstituted orange juice and processed cheese."

I'm not going to flame on him for that. I'm going to flame on his for this quote about the first film in the series:

"Batman Begins is for morons."

So the 85% of critics who liked it and the 90% of audience who rated it fresh are morons, right? I'd be more inclined to believe Rex Reed is a moron. How did a douche like this even make a name for himself. This guy probably enjoyed Batman and Robin, and honestly his reviews shouldn't even be counted here.

Jul 19 - 06:46 PM

Rex Reed is a dish. Nobody has taken him seriously since the 80s. He pioneered the critic's snark. He's still mad of the reviews he got in "Myra Brekenridge"

Jul 19 - 07:58 PM

Mike Crowley

It's nice to see a realistic viewpoint on the reviews for this film. Apparently people forgot that 87% is a very good number. Also, please respect other individuals opinion on this picture. It's not something to get upset over folks. In the end it's just entertainment.

Jul 19 - 06:46 PM

Fred Brooks

You're right, since when is 87% bad, that's a better scroe than a lot of Oscar winning films get. Between this, TASM's 74% & "The Avengers" 92-93%, all 3 comic book film's have good to great scores. It now appears that we may be getting more consistancy, quality and substance in our CBM's these days, let's hope it stays that way.

Jul 19 - 07:00 PM

Eamon Kirwan

It's an awesome film ..and trilogy. I think they are intelligent masterpieces. Batmans story is the hardest story of all superheroes to tell and Nolan has done a superb job in all 3 movies and ended it superbly - better than i had anticipated. Critics opinions are so off the wall - they are just stupid and attention seeking.

Jul 20 - 12:20 PM

Daniel Raimondi

criitcs suck at review movies see it for yourself they gave superman returns a good rating

Jul 20 - 01:55 PM

Kristine Chan

I was able to watch the movie yesterday, and it did not disappoint. You know your doing it right when 87% is an inconceivable score, it tells us so much about the standard of film making we come to expect for Nolan's films.

As for as the movie itself, TDK was a better film for me and still remains as my favorite comic book movie, TDKR on the other hand met and surpassed all of my expectations, it features excellent cinematography and acting, it got me laughing and crying, the journey was amazing. The last 30 min of the film is a sure winner and i'm gonna watch it again.

The film premiered on the 19th here in the Philippines, can someone explain it to me why some movies get released here first before you guys over there in the u.s.

Jul 19 - 07:03 PM

Good question. I heard The Avengers isn't opening in Japan until August. ???

Jul 19 - 08:00 PM

That's true and it doesn't sit well with a lot of Japanese. I actually had a girl offer to sleep with me if I'd take her onto base to see The Avengers lol. Now that's a dedicated fan...because I'm not a good looking guy :)

Jul 20 - 02:49 AM

So, did you do her or what!?

Jul 21 - 09:50 PM