Re: Inception - Paddy Chayevsky's Dead, Part II
i'd like to be more incisive but i'd have to watch the film again in order for that to happen and i'm not about to do so. as for TDK, as you call it, it was overrated at best, full of plot holes, and seemed frankly uninspired, albeit more entertaining overall than 'I'... but, again, i only saw TDK once, so i only know that it didn't work for me.
Here's the first atypical non-fanboy response on the IMDB which more or less sums up my position (and I agree about Shawshank as well...):
The most over-rated film ever. Surpasses Shawshank
Due to the 1,000 word limit for reviews (which forced me to cut my original review for this turd literally in half), I'll cut right to the chase:
Too many superfluous subplots. The expedition to Hong Kong to kidnap some random guy using a method with such absurdity, James Bond would roll his eyes was just stupid. What purpose did this guy serve in an already overlong film? He wouldn't be missed if that scene was cut.
Then there's the nerdy guy on TV that says he knows who Batman really is, but that goes absolutely nowhere. Come on, how hard is it to realize that it would take a billionaire to afford his own personal, state-of-the-art, custom tank? - The ferry boats. Nobody noticed the THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF FLAMMABLE LIQUID IN THE ENGINE ROOMS?! Come on! Not only that, it's a huge departure from the main action to a bunch of random, unknown characters late in the story that served no previous purpose and then just ended. Where did that come from? I'd rather see what the main characters were up to at the climax of the film and not a bunch of anonymous strangers.
I'm also trying to figure out how the joker wired the largest hospital in the city to completely explode without anybody noticing. I might be a while with that one.
The cell phone gag was insanely unbelievable and felt totally out of place, both thematically and in comparison to the attempted realism that Nolan was trying to evoke throughout the rest of the film.
Too long for its own good, yet simultaneously not long enough for the amount of material crammed in. It's a common mistake that Nolon keeps making over and over again with every film and he still hasn't learned. His stories have too much going on and not enough time devoted to each part.
There are at least 5 or 6 extraordinarily violent vehicle crashes, and everybody involved in each one walks away without even a bump or bruise.
What happened to the Joker crashes the party scene? That just ends before it's over and leaves me wondering what the hell happened afterward.
Gordon's faked death did not work at all. The whole idea of Gordon faking his death relied on the knowledge that not only would the Joker shoot the mayor, but that he would do it from street level...plus, Gordon needed to know where the shot was coming from in order to jump in front of the bullet. Plus, Batman showing up at Gordon's house afterward served no purpose for his character since he already knew what was really going on, which made the whole scheme incredibly obvious to the audience.
We're never let in on what Batman's motives really are. Does he love Rachael or not? We don't know. Why does he believe that he must put down the cape and stop being batman? He does this, but we don't know why. Why did he believe his only hope for no longer having to be Batman rested in Harvey? And why did he feel all hope was lost for his goal of no longer being Batman when Harvey vanished from the Hospital to become a psychotic killer? We have absolutely no idea. His actions make no sense and we're left to assume his motives.
The climax felt completely out of place because it did not build from the narrative. It was manufactured. Everything about the end of this film is just wrong.
The ending only works if Bruce wanted to stop being an outcast only to be forced to continue to be an outcast in order to protect the greater good.
But where are the scenes that show us Bruce Wayne's desire/need to put down the cape and live a normal life? I don't understand why Bruce put down the bat suit in the first place. We were never given that information. And if he wanted to so badly, wouldn't now be the perfect time with all the police on the lookout for him? Seems like an unnecessary risk for him and a nice deterrent for petty criminals - having the police on guard as well as the idea of Batman being a murderer. But instead, Bruce keeps going as Batman even though Gordon knows that Batman is innocent? The ending of this film makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever.
I know someone will complain about me being so harsh on a comic-book movie, but you wouldn't look at obvious mistakes in a children's movie and excuse them on the grounds that it's only a kid's movie, would you?
Pixar wouldn't.
C
cyanaura
(view)
i'd like to be more incisive but i'd have to watch the film again in order for that to happen and i'm not about to do so. as for TDK, as you call it, it was overrated at best, full of plot holes, and seemed frankly uninspired, albeit more entertaining overall than 'I'... but, again, i only saw TDK once, so i only know that it didn't work for me.
Here's the first atypical non-fanboy response on the IMDB which more or less sums up my position (and I agree about Shawshank as well...):
The most over-rated film ever. Surpasses Shawshank
Due to the 1,000 word limit for reviews (which forced me to cut my original review for this turd literally in half), I'll cut right to the chase:
Too many superfluous subplots. The expedition to Hong Kong to kidnap some random guy using a method with such absurdity, James Bond would roll his eyes was just stupid. What purpose did this guy serve in an already overlong film? He wouldn't be missed if that scene was cut.
Then there's the nerdy guy on TV that says he knows who Batman really is, but that goes absolutely nowhere. Come on, how hard is it to realize that it would take a billionaire to afford his own personal, state-of-the-art, custom tank? - The ferry boats. Nobody noticed the THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF FLAMMABLE LIQUID IN THE ENGINE ROOMS?! Come on! Not only that, it's a huge departure from the main action to a bunch of random, unknown characters late in the story that served no previous purpose and then just ended. Where did that come from? I'd rather see what the main characters were up to at the climax of the film and not a bunch of anonymous strangers.
I'm also trying to figure out how the joker wired the largest hospital in the city to completely explode without anybody noticing. I might be a while with that one.
The cell phone gag was insanely unbelievable and felt totally out of place, both thematically and in comparison to the attempted realism that Nolan was trying to evoke throughout the rest of the film.
Too long for its own good, yet simultaneously not long enough for the amount of material crammed in. It's a common mistake that Nolon keeps making over and over again with every film and he still hasn't learned. His stories have too much going on and not enough time devoted to each part.
There are at least 5 or 6 extraordinarily violent vehicle crashes, and everybody involved in each one walks away without even a bump or bruise.
What happened to the Joker crashes the party scene? That just ends before it's over and leaves me wondering what the hell happened afterward.
Gordon's faked death did not work at all. The whole idea of Gordon faking his death relied on the knowledge that not only would the Joker shoot the mayor, but that he would do it from street level...plus, Gordon needed to know where the shot was coming from in order to jump in front of the bullet. Plus, Batman showing up at Gordon's house afterward served no purpose for his character since he already knew what was really going on, which made the whole scheme incredibly obvious to the audience.
We're never let in on what Batman's motives really are. Does he love Rachael or not? We don't know. Why does he believe that he must put down the cape and stop being batman? He does this, but we don't know why. Why did he believe his only hope for no longer having to be Batman rested in Harvey? And why did he feel all hope was lost for his goal of no longer being Batman when Harvey vanished from the Hospital to become a psychotic killer? We have absolutely no idea. His actions make no sense and we're left to assume his motives.
The climax felt completely out of place because it did not build from the narrative. It was manufactured. Everything about the end of this film is just wrong.
The ending only works if Bruce wanted to stop being an outcast only to be forced to continue to be an outcast in order to protect the greater good.
But where are the scenes that show us Bruce Wayne's desire/need to put down the cape and live a normal life? I don't understand why Bruce put down the bat suit in the first place. We were never given that information. And if he wanted to so badly, wouldn't now be the perfect time with all the police on the lookout for him? Seems like an unnecessary risk for him and a nice deterrent for petty criminals - having the police on guard as well as the idea of Batman being a murderer. But instead, Bruce keeps going as Batman even though Gordon knows that Batman is innocent? The ending of this film makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever.
I know someone will complain about me being so harsh on a comic-book movie, but you wouldn't look at obvious mistakes in a children's movie and excuse them on the grounds that it's only a kid's movie, would you?
Pixar wouldn't.
