Re: Hot Toys – MMS183 - The Dark Knight Rises: Bane Collectible Figure
Well just to throw a bone into the discussion:
Personally I love the first fight the most. The choreography there made sense and you could tell there was a certain methodology in their fighting (Bane was calm and perfect, Batman was sloppy and stubborn yes but certainly not without strategy). While I wasn't completely disappointed in the final fight, it did feel more underwhelming not because of Bane, but because of Batman. It wasn't so much that the fight was horrible, rather it was the strategy behind the fight. It works on the idea that Batman had a better resolve and thus was able to power on through. It's nice and simple, but I won't lie in saying that I'd have preferred a more cerebral approach as to how he would've faced Bane than just another straight-on fist fight. I actually found the original screenplay more interesting, in that despite being overpowered by Batman, Bane insisted his men to stay back. That sort of showcasing would've been welcome as at least it would've signaled Bane's arrogance and underestimation of Batman's skills, something that wasn't conveyed well enough during the fight.
Also the cinematography, it just wasn't as dynamic as the first fight. Watch the fights back to back, look at the camera angles/zooming and even just the placement of the characters on the screen. If you can seriously tell me that the second fight matches up to the first fight, I honestly wouldn't be able to take you seriously. That aside, the final fight wasn't terrible by any means, but it certainly doesn't match up to the brilliant work that was put into the first fight.
Admittedly, I actually liked Bane even in the comics BUT I find a certain level depth in Bane that I can truly appreciate (something I could never find the comic version) in Nolan's version, in that he somehow managed to tie up Bane's connection to Ra's Al Ghul and Bruce as something that's more personal (albeit twisted) than ever before especially in comparison to his team-up with Ra's in the comics.
One quote I truly agree with from TheProcrastinator is this one:
Bane in TDKR is someone who despite his great intelect, is nonetheless driven by some misguided and pathetic beliefs, that he is trying to force upon the world at gun-point.
Accounting for some of the removed dialogue in the screenplay, I found that despite his ex-communication, Bane truly did seem to hold Ra's in high regard. Heck he practically described him as the one who "rescued" him, hence why he truly wanted to fulfill Ra's Al Ghul's destiny. It was something that I was wondering since many people often say that he was only attached to Talia and that his dedication to the League was only a masquerade (meaning that his influence mainly came from Talia and Talia alone), when in fact, the original screenplay actually indicates that he was written as someone who really respected Ra's. What I liked about Nolan's Bane the most was his twisted connection to Bruce, in that he holds a personal grudge against him based on the fact that Bruce betrayed the League. It's certainly twisted considering how one bit of removed dialogue from Talia clarified that Bane was in fact too much for the League, and that Ra's only saw a monster that couldn't be tamed (beyond the whole thing about being a bad "reminder" of his wife's death). So the fact that he hold Ra's in high regard enough to want to torment Bruce, DESPITE being ex-communicated for such reasons, was something I found interesting.
Now personally I'd argue, Joker was definitely more scary. His unpredictability and lack of direct influence on the players of his schemes was what made him feel more frightening, since he purposely avoids making it seem as if he had a hand in things. That sense of unaccountability made him feel untouchable, so defeating him by proving his point to be wrong was truly the only way to "beat" him as crushes the very basis of his plans. He had a creepy moralistic view that made him act as if he was above everyone else, or rather, he's the only one that's actually accepted the true unhinged nature of humanity. What made him truly frightening was how it seemed as if any sort of misfortune (be it imposed by him or upon him) seemed like a pleasure to him, almost as if nothing could get under his skin. I do like how Joker treats Batman almost as if they were equals, equals in that they recognize the shackles of authority, with the exception being that Batman let's his morals get the better of him.
While I did say Joker was more frightening, I felt that Bane was definitely more imposing. Unlike Joker, Bane actually felt like he held concrete principles (as twisted as they are), and it made him seem harder to reason with. He was something you had to deal with, not something that escapes under the radar like Joker. While Joker was certainly frightening, his phantom-like influence made him feel more intangible, unlike Bane who did in fact seem like an impending force of absolute authority. Both certainly work well based on what they're meant to represent, and while I'd say that Bane is definitely my favorite villain from the trilogy, I wouldn't rule out Joker because of how utterly well-crafted he is as a villain in his own right.
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Couldn't have said it better myself.
