John Truby on The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan's ambitions)

For more screenwriting and story tips: truby.com
John Truby discusses co-writer/director Christopher Nolan's ambitions for his third and final film of his Batman trilogy.

[@Forehead2Brick]

Damn, he's right. I knew there was something off about that story but didn't have Truby's insight to express it.

[@R.P.McMurphy]

I freaking love John Truby!

[@AlexRider589]

I think one reason TDKR doesn't feel right is that it completely switches the series genre. In this franchise's case, the genre is the setting. The first two were clearly crime dramas that were infiltrated and heightened by Jungian archetypes and reimagined comic book characters. Whatever TDKR is, it's not a crime drama. Changing the genre breaks this story world. For example, Gordon feels like a hardboiled detective in the first two. In this, he feels like Gary Oldman acting. I think it's because the story world is gone beneath his feet. Bane and Talia can still work, but they have to be new and escalating forces infiltrating the same noir crime drama genre feeling Gotham. Keep the noir darkness and save all the daylight for a triumphant sunrise in the ending. Have Batman investigate Bane, Talia, and their underground army like a detective. They're like a new militarized version of the mob underworld, continuing Batman's war on organized crime to the heights of militarized escalation. You don't have to retell the same old story, but: If you take the genre characters out of their genre, doesn't feel right anymore. At least that's my take on my latest viewing.

[@andge1001]

To me the biggest flaw of the film was that the antagonists don't have a clear and motivated goal; Bane and Talia want to stick Batman in the pit so he can watch how the citizens of Gotham fight to survive in spite of the fact that they have no chance to succeed - just like the shaft down to the pit as Bane explanes; the sunlight up there gives you hope, but actually that is futile.
That is such an undramatic and drawn-out goal that the film stalls.

I don't quite agree with you on the subject. I think what Bane is attacking by freeing all the prisoners is the Harvey Dent symbol. By destroying it, all criminals ho have been kept behind bars too many years by the Dent law get out of jail and become part of Bane's army and steal from the rich. Two systems collapse at the same time, chaos is created. I think Bane does something dramatically interesting here.

[@RusticChivalry1985]

I agree. Bane was doing a kind of "French Revolution" thing, but we never got to feel the plight of the common people to create that moral battle.
Instead we got old white money spoiled angsty play boy needs to come out of retirement. And we didn't really feel pity for Catwoman's plight.
I SOOOOO love TDKR though. Actually my favorite of the 3.

[@neosoontoretro]

"I agree. Bane was doing a kind of "French Revolution" thing, but we never got to feel the plight of the common people to create that moral battle." So orphans who joins Bane's army because they can't find work doesn't show the plight of the common people?
"Instead we got old white money spoiled angsty play boy needs to come out of retirement. "
You do realize this film is about Batman right?
"And we didn't really feel pity for Catwoman's plight."
Sure we didn't. Even though we got hear monologue about wanting to start over and her doing more for poor then Bruce Wayne's rich friends.