I didn't really care much about the ending one way or the other, the film as a whole was a dissapointment for me, so a more clear-cut ending wouldn't have really done much good anyways.

Well i'm a sucker for endings that tie up all loose ends, I guess that makes me old fashioned, I don't mind an ambigious ending once in awhile, but the ending to Inception just felt more lazy then anything else.

At the risk of trying to speak for JB, it's good to maintain a sense of perspective/balance/whatever... and you can't do that unless you calibrate your understanding of what is good and what is bad. Example: if you want to know what makes a good James Bond movie, you have to include the bad ones to know what doesn't fit the criteria.

Either that, or JB is a masochist. Exposing himself to Battleship and Ghost Rider: SoV might be evidence for that.

A very good question, indeed.

I do have a rather odd inquiry, non-spoiler related. I'm curious if TDKR has any uses of the F-bomb. I ask due to the fact that no other Batman movie has used it, and TDKR was specifically singled out for language.

And also how John Blake at the end

If you need to know whether or not he's in "actual" reality, I'd argue that you're largely missing the point of the film.

Not as good as The Dark Knight, but that feels more like a matter of preference, since the tone and structure were quite different. The Dark Knight Rises is more conventional than the previous one. For me, the Joker had added a unique tension and unpredictability to that story; he was like a series of ticking time bombs that can go off anytime, anywhere, to anyone. The whole movie was in constant tension. For some, that became a detriment late in the third act when things may seem tiring with the constant climaxes. There's some truth to that, but I love the unpredictability of it all, and it ended on a perfect scene.

TDKR has more of a three act structure: the first act setting things up, the second act putting plans in action; and the third act is resolution. For me, there are a few stumbles, mostly in the first act and overlapped a bit into the second. This was a movie with a lot of ideas, characters, and plot threads; so many that even 2.45 hours may seem like it will not be enough. Nolan almost pulled it off, but certain characters and a plot point or two should have been given more time to breathe, especially if some of the things/characters would become important late in the proceeding. It doesn't quite hurt the quality of the film much overall, but it made the first act feel a little bit rushed setting things up, and exposition-heavy. A rewatch would help clear things up and clarify my feeling on it.

Bane here was more of a force of nature with a plan than an uncontrollable freak. The nature of the role doesn't allow for a lot of flexibility, but Tom Hardy did very well with what he was given, doing a lot of threatening and menacing with only his eyes and pose. Anne Hathaway also surprised; Catwoman has more background than I initially thought, and she played several aspects of her character well, while injecting light-hearted moment into the grim proceeding. Marion Cotillard was kinda wasted in an underwritten role (or maybe it just ended up on the cutting room floor); only towards the third act that she was given something to do. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was strong as a hothead outsider integrating into the Batman's world.

There are 2 things this movie has over the previous one. For the longest movie in the franchise, it also feels like the shortest; great pacing there. And the last half (last hour?) of the movie was just incredible, easily topping anything in all the 3 films. For once in Nolan's Batman trilogy, the climax is the best part. Every plot thread comes together. Every character plays a part. Nolan's talent of crosscutting events shines; from a certain point onward, the movie just builds and builds continuously into a prolonged, grand and stirring climax. And the final moments were perfect: a sometimes bittersweet, mostly rousing send-off for all the characters. It's the best ending I could ever hoped for to the trilogy.

3.5/4.0 (Came this very, very close to full 4.0 and still not sure; a rewatch is needed)

That's not the issue here, though, because normally I prefer things to be open-ended. I hate it when writers go out of their way to tie up every loose end possible, and I usually like endings that are left open to interpretation. Inception didn't feel like it was meant to be open-ended, though, and Nolan points incredibly clearly towards a negative interpretation before "it wobbled". If you're going to show it wobble, show it falling down . . . no reason to cut to a black screen except to insert an "open to interpretation" ending at the very last second where it doesn't belong.

The only other time I felt as irritated at an ending like this was reading Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, and that one at least didn't feel so out-of-place.

The reviews have been positive, but nowhere near as good as the first two. I still can't help feeling like I'm in for at least somewhat of a letdown. I am going to see all three in IMAX back to back to back tonight. That should be fun.

And questions that cropped up but were never answered like,

And also how John Blake at the end

BTW, Marion Cotillard is a total liar.



Never trusting a word that comes out of her mouth again.

With the phone call and the 'well what now?' sort of thing? it's been years since I read it, I'd best go back and do it again! Amazing book, never caught the movie though.

Yeah, and that ending doesn't really generate the same feeling for me going back and reading it again. It actually seems to be somewhat appropriate given events leading up to it. Inception's ending is as bad as ever on a 2nd viewing. I just can't buy that it was really meant to be open-ended. There is so much in the final minute pointing to a negative or "sad" ending, that it feels like Nolan decided at the last second to throw in some ambiguity for people who don't like sad endings.

BTW, I read some pretty lukewarm reviews of the Norwegian Wood movie back when it was released, so I never went out of my way to see it. Probably will at some point.