"The Dark Knight Rises" Review and Discussion Thread (spoilers)

[Greg Cox]

I think it's Gordan who states the bomb detonates 20-some days after it's activated. That gives Bruce a little over 2 weeks to come back at 100% from a vertebrae popping out his back via a healing punch and magic rope.

The bomb does indeed take 5 months to degrade. The point at which Gordon, Tate, and Fox are talking about the bomb, there are only 23 days remaining and they need to come up with a plan. Batman has not yet returned from his exile at this point in the movie.

Exactly. Bane says explictly that the bomb will explode five months after it's disconnected from the reactor, in the scene down in the reactor chamber with Dr. Pavel.

Months pass, and winter comes along, while Gotham is occupied . . . and Bruce is stuck down in pit.

(Trust me, I actually had the entire story plotted out on a calendar so that I could keep track of how much time had passed between each scene! And I hid the calendar at the end of every working day!)

 

[Guartho]

It's not going to get to a minimum safe distance in 5 seconds no matter what kind of ejection system you have...not in reality, of which many like to harp on Nolan's Bat films for existing.

I'm saying he ejected very close to Gotham, perhaps even as the Bat passed through that building, or right before.

If you're saying the Bat couldn't have made it 6 miles out in the time it appeared to, well that I don't have a great explanation for.

 

[Warped9]

I'm finding myself wanting to see this movie again and not necessarily waiting until the disc is released.

 

[Yminale]

However, what I'm not willing to suspend is that the Bat is capable of reaching the minimum safe distance of six miles off the coast of Gotham

A 4 MEGATON bomb wouldn't have a blast radius of 6 miles. "Little boy" was 15 KILOTONS and had a blast radius of 2 miles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy

I'm thinking at least 30 miles blast radius and therefore Batman and Gotham would have been doomed.

 

[tighr]

However, what I'm not willing to suspend is that the Bat is capable of reaching the minimum safe distance of six miles off the coast of Gotham

A 4 MEGATON bomb wouldn't have a blast radius of 6 miles. "Little boy" was 15 KILOTONS and had a blast radius of 2 miles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy

I'm thinking at least 30 miles blast radius and therefore Batman and Gotham would have been doomed.

Your facts are meaningless to me!

I'm basing the 6-mile radius solely on on-screen dialog. It was clearly not adequately researched. Of course, its just one of the many plotholes in the film.

How does Bruce Wayne, who doesn't even have shoes, get from an Asian desert all the way to Gotham, which has no bridges, without being seen?

 

[Warped9]

How does Bruce Wayne, who doesn't even have shoes, get from an Asian desert all the way to Gotham, which has no bridges, without being seen?

Although all Bruce's known assets were wiped out I'm willing to bet Bruce made sure he had resources available known only to him. It has long been a trait of Batman's to prepare for all sorts of contingencies others might not think of.

 

[Yminale]

How does Bruce Wayne, who doesn't even have shoes, get from an Asian desert all the way to Gotham,

He is friends with Superman and the Flash

which has no bridges, without being seen?

He's the goddammed BATMAN!!! Crossing a frozen river isn't that hard. You can use anything from DIY snow-shoes to a hovercraft or personal submarine.

Here's one suggestion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizugumo

 

[Allyn Gibson]

However, what I'm not willing to suspend is that the Bat is capable of reaching the minimum safe distance of six miles off the coast of Gotham

A 4 MEGATON bomb wouldn't have a blast radius of 6 miles. "Little boy" was 15 KILOTONS and had a blast radius of 2 miles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy

I'm thinking at least 30 miles blast radius and therefore Batman and Gotham would have been doomed.

A 4-megaton bomb has a blast radius of roughly 13 miles.

I played around with Nukemap. Assuming Gotham is near the site of Atlantic City, you get this. Assuming New York, you get this. Both maps are drawn assuming a water detonation that doesn't touch land.

 

[Yminale]

A 4-megaton bomb has a blast radius of roughly 13 miles.

I played around with Nukemap. Assuming Gotham is near the site of Atlantic City, you get this. Assuming New York, you get this. Both maps are drawn assuming a water detonation that doesn't touch land.

Cool site. Thanks

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb.

 

[CaptainCanada]

How does Bruce Wayne, who doesn't even have shoes, get from an Asian desert all the way to Gotham, which has no bridges, without being seen?

He's Batman? Honestly, I have a hard time seeing why people get so stuck on that first part. He's supposed to be the most resourceful man on the planet. Getting back to the US doesn't seem like it would present any special obstacles to someone like him.

As for Gotham itself, it seems like the effort is mainly focused on stopping people from getting out, not getting in.

 

[Gotham Central]

How does Bruce Wayne, who doesn't even have shoes, get from an Asian desert all the way to Gotham, which has no bridges, without being seen?

He's Batman? Honestly, I have a hard time seeing why people get so stuck on that first part. He's supposed to be the most resourceful man on the planet. Getting back to the US doesn't seem like it would present any special obstacles to someone like him.

As for Gotham itself, it seems like the effort is mainly focused on stopping people from getting out, not getting in.

First of all...he was not just sitting in an asian desert. It was sitting next to a fairly large city.

Secondly, the people watching Gotham were more concerned with people getting out rather than looking for a single man trying to get in. A city is a big place...getting in ain't hard. Remember, Wayne Manor is in the suburbs...thus his equipment would be out there. Finally...most modern cities have all sorts of maintenance and supply tunnels underground. Bridges and major tunnels are just for road/foot traffic. Its a foregone conclusion that there are tunnels across the river that house fibre optic cables, gas and water mains etc. Hell, back in the 90s here in Chicago they managed to flood part of downtown because, while doing maintenance work, city workers accidentally punctured a century old tunnel under the Chicago river that everyone had forgotten about.

 

[Yminale]

Well I had a neat thought. What if Bruce Wayne is still in the pit and the ending was a hallucination? It would explain all the logical inconsistency and plot holes. It would also explain why Bruce Wayne basically got everything he wanted. A reborn city, his reputation restored, retirement as Batman, a normal life and a successor. Something to think about.

 

[Agenda]

I think the movie could've been improved by being a little less ambitious.

For instance...

-What about Bane attacking the Batcave and holding Batman there for a bit instead of the whole "5 months in desert prison" thing?

-Instead of messing with Gotham for almost half a year, it would've made more sense if he just wanted to f---ing destroy it.

-Getting rid of the Talia character and making Bane the only villain.

-I wasn't opposed to Blake, but I don't think he needed to be in the movie so much. I also would've killed one the main characters (Gordon, Alfred or Fox) at some point in order to raise the stakes.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well I had a neat thought. What if Bruce Wayne is still in the pit and the ending was a hallucination? It would explain all the logical inconsistency and plot holes. It would also explain why Bruce Wayne basically got everything he wanted. A reborn city, his reputation restored, retirement as Batman, a normal life and a successor. Something to think about.

There's a part of me that actually likes this.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

This is the Inception dradle spinning all over again.

 

[Trekker4747]

This is the Inception dradle spinning all over again.

Dradle? Ummm. Do you mean top?

 

[RoJoHen]

Maybe all the Nolan Batman films are part of the Inception-verse. Joseph Gordon Levitt incepted Bruce Wayne. He made Bruce dream that he had retired so that he could gain access to the Batcave in his mind!

 

[Yminale]

This is the Inception dradle spinning all over again.

I like films with ambiguity. It annoys me when some sequel explains everything or the director decides to reinterpret his movie (*cough* Blade Runner *cough*)

 

[Yminale]

Maybe all the Nolan Batman films are part of the Inception-verse. Joseph Gordon Levitt incepted Bruce Wayne. He made Bruce dream that he had retired so that he could gain access to the Batcave in his mind!

I like the idea that the entire movie existed in Bruce Wayne's head. Bane represented his dark side, the person he would have become if he surrendered to the League of Shadows. Blake represents Bruce Wayne positive side, the man he would have become if hadn't become Batman. Miranda Tate is really Rachel who Bruce believes betrayed him and wants to punish. Bruce loses everything he sees as a burden, his money, being Batman, the city itself. Selina Kyle is actually Bruce's mother, the only women Bruce believes both abandoned him and won't leave him. That's why she wears the pearls.