Review Detail

Very professional editing from Krausfadr, however I disagree with the narrative decisions made.

Things I didn't like:
-Opening text crawl has limited meaning for the rest of the film, the movie also begins without introducing batman's brutality adequately. Relies heavily on cultural or prior knowledge of the character to sell this version of Batman.
-Leitmotifs which were expertly crafted by Giacchino are often ignored and replaced with stock music.
-severely cuts down on all footage with Alfred
-desync issue at 45:55
-not a fan of the new childrens drawing special effect in martha and thomas' bedroom
-Ending structure is wrong. Subway scene should remain at the beginning to establish Batman.

Things I liked:
-love the film grain
-great dialogue change between gordon/batman in the police station. Sorts everything out nicely
-Moving the car chase to the end in order to "end the drops operation once and for all" is inspired and brilliant

Specific suggestions:
-keep the subway scene at the beginning to establish the character of the batman, he sees the batsignal, and cuts to him entering the crime scene, just like the film. it's easier this way. You can cut it in right after your new intro where he motorcycles back to the batcave and starts reviewing his footage.
-new special effect to replace the bella real sign, I would change that to a "STOP DROPS" poster like we see in the subway, to establish that drops are an issue in the city (I have a suspicion that the original footage has a "STOP DROPS" poster anyway)
-we dont need the "hes an orphan" line from batman, if riddler says it in the next scene (have him say "Im giving you a chance. Do you know what being an orphan is? No one ever gave me a chance" Instead, much more effective) keep the new writing on the note, as a clue
-you can cut out the murder weapon part in Riddler's apartment, it no longer ties in to your new narrative. Just have the card.
-making the bruce/alfred conversation the last scene of the film, to give bruce a character arc. This way, batmans actions are based in uncertainty, disdain, hatred, ambiguity, but the film ends with bruce reinvigorated with hope, having received the truth from alfred. the bat signal lights up again, and cut to credits. I think it really is the best note to end the film on.
-The ending scenes should be 1. batman/riddler interrogation, 2. drops warehouse/penguin car chase, 3. riddler talks to joker in arkham, then 4. bruce talking to alfred in the hospital. (and 3.5: batman saying goodbye to selina in a conjunct version of the scene before talking to alfred in the hospital).


I think this cut has potential to be the definitive edition, with just these few new scene reshuffles. I know I am suggesting a lot, but let me know what you think. Maybe I'll whip up this edit on my own, though I've never done it before. Thanks for your hard, hard work cutting out that TERRIBLE Bella Real/gotham flood subplot