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GManD
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- Review count1
- Helpfulness votes0
- First reviewJuly 23, 2012
- Last reviewJuly 23, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
GManD's Reviews
Overall rating
4
/
5
IMAX Looks Great! Sound--not so much.
PostedJuly 23, 2012
GManD
from Houston, TX, USA
Age:45 to 54
Gender:Male
Goes to the movies:monthly
Dialogue
3
/
5
Special Effects
5
/
5
Art Direction
5
/
5
Acting
5
/
5
Story
4
/
5
Camerawork
5
/
5
I've been fortunate enough to see this film twice. The first time in normal HD, and the second in IMAX. If you're seeing it only once, then see the standard version. While the action scenes take your breath away on the IMAX screens, you'll constantly lean over to your seat-buddy and ask "What did he say?" And I'm not talking about Bane. His dialogue is easy to make out because it occupies the main portion of the soundtrack when he's on screen. Unfortunately, every other character's dialogue is drowned out in the bombastic IMAX sound mix.
It's really hard for me to NOT recommend seeing the IMAX version because the film really jumps off the screen. You are THERE in the opening skyjacking scene, but unless you like sitting in the first four rows near the center speaker, you're going to miss a lot of the script points.
I even spoke to the manager of our local IMAX to complain about the sound. He told me it was a known issue and that they've received several complaints. In fact, the manager personally complained to the IMAX engineer who informed him that he could only make minor changes to the mix because the sound levels were locked in by Christopher Nolan himself. Wow. Thanks Chris. Loved your film, but enough of us complained about the sound to merit "rain check" tickets from the theater manager. It really diminished the experience.
I WAS sitting in the fourth row, but whenever anyone spoke in a hushed voice, and they do that a lot in this film, it was an audible blur. Since I had already seen the film in SD, I was somewhat familiar with the spoken lines, so I could mentally fill in the blanks. However, several of my friends who thought they had "great seats" in the center of the theater could only hear effects, music and strangely enough, Bane.
It's really hard for me to NOT recommend seeing the IMAX version because the film really jumps off the screen. You are THERE in the opening skyjacking scene, but unless you like sitting in the first four rows near the center speaker, you're going to miss a lot of the script points.
I even spoke to the manager of our local IMAX to complain about the sound. He told me it was a known issue and that they've received several complaints. In fact, the manager personally complained to the IMAX engineer who informed him that he could only make minor changes to the mix because the sound levels were locked in by Christopher Nolan himself. Wow. Thanks Chris. Loved your film, but enough of us complained about the sound to merit "rain check" tickets from the theater manager. It really diminished the experience.
I WAS sitting in the fourth row, but whenever anyone spoke in a hushed voice, and they do that a lot in this film, it was an audible blur. Since I had already seen the film in SD, I was somewhat familiar with the spoken lines, so I could mentally fill in the blanks. However, several of my friends who thought they had "great seats" in the center of the theater could only hear effects, music and strangely enough, Bane.
But enough about the IMAX sound. The movie is what matters, and what an effective piece of filmmaking it is. The performances are stellar. Hathaway overcomes the initial doubts about her casting, and Joseph Gordon Levit proves to be a better villain than any prior Batman adversary by stealing every scene he's in.
Pacing wise, you need to give the movie a while to get started. Nolan has to get all of his chess pieces on the board. The plot is dense, and multilayered, but once the game begins, some of those chess pieces will surprise you. Sure, they move in predictable patterns, but like any good chess strategy, there is some bait and switch going on, and if you've managed to stay away from spoilers, you're in for a few surprises.
As always, Nolan doesn't let script details bog down the production, so there are a few obvious plot devices and logic issues, but none of that detracts from this character-driven, mythic superhero movie that contains real emotional arcs and does the impossible by making you care about Bruce Wayne and his struggles to move on with his privileged, yet painful existence.
This is a fitting end to Nolan's series, detractors be damned, and whoever ends up in the driver's seat for the inevitable sequel/reboot has a very large cape and cowl to fill.
Pacing wise, you need to give the movie a while to get started. Nolan has to get all of his chess pieces on the board. The plot is dense, and multilayered, but once the game begins, some of those chess pieces will surprise you. Sure, they move in predictable patterns, but like any good chess strategy, there is some bait and switch going on, and if you've managed to stay away from spoilers, you're in for a few surprises.
As always, Nolan doesn't let script details bog down the production, so there are a few obvious plot devices and logic issues, but none of that detracts from this character-driven, mythic superhero movie that contains real emotional arcs and does the impossible by making you care about Bruce Wayne and his struggles to move on with his privileged, yet painful existence.
This is a fitting end to Nolan's series, detractors be damned, and whoever ends up in the driver's seat for the inevitable sequel/reboot has a very large cape and cowl to fill.
Pros great actors, visually stunning
Cons imax sound mix, obvious plot devices
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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