The first press/critics screening of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES happened earlier today and resulted in a standing ovation. The posts coming from those in attendance are overwhelmingly positive. Here are some of those reactions that are hitting Twitter and Facebook pages. WARNING: Some of these posts contain minor spoilers for the film. I will try and post those at the bottom of the story and will warn you again before you get there. But please don’t whine that I ruined anything for you. This first few are spoiler free.
From The Dark Knight Rises Hype Facebook group: As far as audience reaction, there were only 40-50 ppl in attendance (mostly critics), but there was applause and I leaned over and shook Michael Uslan’s hand and congratulated him when his name appeared in the credits. I, myself, cried twice…once out of sadness and once out of pure geeky uncontrollable happiness.
@marcogennuso: Vince just saw Dark Knight Rises at a press screening & says: “Wow. Quite speechless at the moment….TDKR was everything I wanted it to be”
@TomMcAuliffe: Just finished the screening of Dark Knight Rises…so much awesome…can’t wait to see it again. And again. and “9 out of 10 for me. I’d put Amazing Spider-Man at a 7.5 and Avengers at an 8.5”
Tom McAuliffe again: “To your original question – there are things I criticize in every film, but this one measures high on many measures. There will be some surprises but not big ones, the beauty of the film is how well it tells the story. Tom Hardy was incredible as Bane, the storyline was fantastic. I think the Joker is far more iconic than Bane, with more memorable quotes, but this story was great, including Bane’s origin. Godfather 3 never happened. Xmen 3 & Spider-Man 3 were awful, this film was the perfect final chapter in the trilogy.”
Now, this next one contains specific spoilers for the film. If you truly want nothing ruined, stop reading NOW.
Facebook user KnightOfTheFall: Bane, whilst nowhere near as impressive as Joker, was an excellent choice for a bad guy. This guy is pure malevolence. There is a particularly violent moment which involves bane and a poor wall street dude. It’s something all parents need to be aware of before taking kids. Selina was great and Hathaway nailed the character and made her own interpretation but there are many little traits from past origins that come into play. JGL is not robin nor does he appear in the suit. He is just an idealistic beat cop. Nothing more. His character is handled and written well. Bale was excellent as Batman and finally, The Bat Voice, is done with justice. It’s not as forced as it was previously. Action scenes were excellent and truly make this move epic. The last 20 minutes with Batman and Bane are some of the finest fight scenes I’ve ever seen in a superhero movie. The camera is pulled back and slowed down to show the blows.
(UPDATE: A source wishing to remain anonymous e-mailed regarding this last review and claims it is completely off-base. Since I have no way of verifying either KnightOfTheFall or this anonymous source, I will leave them both here. Two man entah, one man leave!)
So, there you have it. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES sounds like it is shaping up to be everything we want the conclusion of Nolan’s Batman trilogy to be.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES screens for the rest of us on July 20th (14 days!).