Dark Knight Ascends, The

The Dark Knight was a phenomenal movie and in no way did I had the same expectations from the third Dark Knight film. Actually, when I first saw it in cinema I liked it, although I was "feeling" something was off that I couldn't quite put my finger on because I was blinded by the excellent cinematography by Christopher Nolan. When I got past that, in future re-watches, I started to see aaall the problems with this movie and my enjoyment factor dropped to like a 6.

Technical wise, the audio and visual editing was outstanding! I didn't notice or "felt" that something was tampered with at any time.

On the narrative side of things, this edit salvaged the movie for me. I had watched a more aggressive edit before this and it didn't work at all. A quick note, the editor explained to me in a message his thoughts about Bruce/Batman retiring for the past 8 years, after like a couple adventures as Batman, and it really helped me to see this particular thing from another perspective and actually saved the first 40 minutes of the movie for me, because I could not stand it at first.

Also, as I mentioned above, the editor changed the ridiculous way that Blake knows Wayne is Batman. I mean, what, orphans have a secret code or something and see through each other? I wouldn't even have thought that this could be done, excellent job!

Loved the trimming of some scenes and dialogue here and there and the alteration of the time the bomb goes off. But, there is one part that the editor chose to keep and it was a shame. That Batman lives at the end and we see him at the cafeteria in Paris. I think, since how this trilogy went, it would have been a great ending if the editor changed the scene, as some others have done, and let him make this final sacrifice for Gotham. And if someone wants a more happy note, we can leave Blake finding the Bat cave, something that the editor has removed.

Besides that, definitely check this edit out! I mean, if you didn't quite enjoy the third movie and you want to have a closure when you rewatch Nolan's trilogy, this edit is the way to go! I know for me it will.

Thank you DonkeyKonga for all your hard work and thanks to anyone who read my review!

P.S. The editor of kind enough to work on two minor complaints I had with the edit and made this just perfect! Of course, I changed my review accordingly. Thanks again!!

At first I found it hard to tell if this was edited mainly because the vast majority of the cuts and edits between scenes and dialogue were so clean as such I than watched the theatrical cut afterwards to see what had been taken out than watched this edit again and despite some plot points such as the unraveling of Gordon’s concealed secret of Harvey Dent’s true nature at the hands and voice of Bane being cast out of continuity the film flows really well maintaining the escalating chaos of Gotham's reckoning.

The exclusion of other plot related elements and the alteration of others greatly improved characterisation and intelligence as Bane now being the child bestows this iteration of the character with more inhumanity, comic book accuracy and independence, removing that awful attempt at a subversive plot twist. This film was definitely an example of why certain tropes should be played straight rather than subverted, averted or deconstructed. The removal of his few lines of sympathy and curiosity help to establish, enhance and maintain his reputation as a tyrannical visionary with delusions of grandeur.

On both the IMAX showings and the officially released DVD & Blurey there was a huge vocal audio disparity between him and the rest of the cast as while everyone else sounded normal he sounded way to loud, thankfully DonkeyKonga has resolved said issue and Bane's voice is now much easier on the ears even during scenes where he's shouting and emitting his frenzied battle grunts.

I do think the compliment on the child's voice should have been removed as it makes it sound like he as some small form of appreciation for Gotham when his whole mantra is about destroying Gotham both figuratively and literally, continuing on the subject of characters this version of Commissioner Gordon is definitely an improvement thanks to the removal of his guilt tripping and the fact he essentially figures out that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same well before the final act thanks to some clever dialogue manipulation.

Though there are a few things I felt could have been cut with the first two being Selina Kyle's and Miranda Tate's expressions during the final portions of Gotham's chaos though as to why, for Selina the moment after she blows up the blockade telegraphs that she’s going to stay and fight for Gotham or more specifically Bruce which diminishes some of the tension during the second Batman and Bane fight where as excluding said scene would have made her sudden return more impactful and less obvious, as for the case for Miranda Tate's expression.

It telegraphs to early and easily that she’s in control of the whole situation and will soon backstab Bats when her personal connections and infiltrations to both his company and his compassion are much more subtle and carefully placed hints as to her true nature and intentions though the removal of the sex scene between her and Bruce in one of the files not only improved the pacing but said removal was hardly noticeable with the switch between the scene of Wayne putting down the picture frame and Blake visiting Gordon in the hospital flowing seamlessly.

The third and final thing that I think should have been removed were the scenes hinting at Bruces survival as the idea of the Caped Crusader dying in a heroic sacrifice and the sombre scenes that follow would have made for a much more emotionally impactful ending and a great way to symbolise the end of the trilogy as well as Christopher Nolan's involvement with the Batman film franchise, the other reason I say this is because there are to many hints to suggest that Bruce isn't dead such as Alfred's dream he mentioned earlier in the film and him looking over to what is intended to be an unknown figure across the cafe.

Otherwise the emphasis on ambiguity pertaining to the Dark Knights fate is definitely a step up from the theoretical cut both narratively and visually and speaking of visuals I found that there was a bit of an inconsistency with the footage ratio as some parts of said footage bore black bars beneath and above it where as other portions of the footage did not though the placement and usage of text for ‘’The Dark Knight Ascends’’ perfectly matches that of the films and enters and leaves the presence of the screen at just the right time though I wish it had replaced ‘’The Dark Knight Rises’’ text at the end of the credits.

Initially I found that the audio of the first part of the intro veered towards the right ear and a little bit of the centre rather than being heard from both sides of the ears but has since been amended so that it now flows and sounds like traditional and authentic 5.1 Surround Sound and despite some nitpicks I can honestly say that I throughly enjoyed your take on Christopher Nolan’s third and possibly final entry in the Dark Knight Trilogy.

I think this is an excellent edit of an otherwise 'okay' movie. I never loved the third Nolan Batman movie, and this edit goes a long way to fix most of the issues I had with it. The extended time until the bomb goes off helps give more time for Bruce to recover in the Pit is one. While I don't mind that Talia was the one to escape the Pit instead of Bane, I do like that it gives something back to highlight Bane's toughness, while Talia exacting revenge for her father's death and completing his works is enough for her. I really didn't like the "Robin" name drop at the end (that was just silly), BUT I did like that he inherits the Bat-Cave, so it's a shame that's gone. Also while I do like that Bruce survives in this edit, I don't think the scene in the tropics is needed, just keep in the autopilot dialogue and maybe cut out Alfred crying. But that's a matter of personal taste.

Overall it's a really great edit. The other edit I enjoy is Wakeupkeo's TDKR: The Consequences Edit, but I didn't like the added screen text for that one, and I am a sucker for a positive ending, and would rather have Bruce's death be ambiguous rather than final.

I enjoyed most of the narrative changes, some fixed plot holes, other removed minor (sometimes major) annoyances. The film is better because of them.

The removal of Robin works, that subplot goes nowhere (for me) and it was just sequel-baiting and too much in-the-nose. The changes on Bane and Talia’s stories also improve both characters.
And the most obvious annoyance on the original film is completely fixed: the stupid bomb timer. The bomb plotline is still stupid as hell, but it’s bearable and at least a bit believable now.

The only occasional flaws with the edit are audio related, like some previous reviews have stated. On some scenes, the audio shifts too much, from way too loud into way too hushed (checked the original film and these are not there). The most obvious portions are a lot of Bane’s dialogue lines. They stand out a lot (more than in the original film), showing the dialogue has been edited.

Edit 29-07-2023:
- the faneditor fixed the audio issues I've noticed, In the most recent version, the audio is just fine.
- i'm updating my review accordingly

Firs things first, I have to commend DonkeyKonga for how receptive he was to certain editing criticisms I had before this review. He promptly and effectively fixed various issues which I and a few others had and it really shows with how slick this edit is.
It's become a cliche at this point, but you can show this edit to anyone who hasn't watched the film before and they will have no clue it was an edit. The presentation is top notch (this aint a two channel, 720p presentation we're talking about here) and the narrative changes are subtle enough to feel like an official release in it's own right. You get exactly what you came for with this edit. Everything DonkeyKonga said he did in the description is handled masterfully.

Having said that, there are a few stickler narrative changes I just cant get behind in any respect.
SPOILERS FOLLOW

This edit, for me, took a movie I really like, turned it into a movie I could love, and then introduced new narrative contrivances which made me merely like the film again.
First off I'll lead with the good.
Bane as a character in this film is presented masterfully. I always had problems with Bane in the original Dark Knight Rises, but even I was confused as to how anyone could properly edit out the Talia reveal.
Donkey Konga did just that. In this version of the film, Bane is no longer a simping henchman, but a terifying echo of Batman. His character is exactly the way it is throughout the original Dark Knight rises all the way until the last ten minutes.
I know firsthand how hard it was to accomplish this, which is why I give mega props to DonkeyKonga.
It improves the narrative structure immensely which makes it all the more baffling that Nolan decided to twist the audience. It wasnt enough for the original film to have talia be revealed as an accomplice of Bane. No, SHE had to be the hardened soldier who escaped from the pit, and Bane her ever loyal simp, thus completely undermining Banes presence at all.
This film massively improves that baffling narrative flaw.
It also rather ingeniusly makes commisioner Gordon the one who discovers Batmans identity, not John Blake.
This again, worked almost perfectly. (It was a tiny bit redundant showing a flashback to Gordon putting a coat on Bruce Wayne in batman begins with the way the new narrative plays out but i digress)
John Blake is no longer Robin. Perfect.
There are also more subtle changes to the films pacing and structure which went a long way in serving the film. Again, flawless.

Now for the two sticklers,
I really loathe the fact that this edit cut out the Harvey Dent subplot. Its something I had reservations about before watching, and my every reservation was, in my view, justified. I'm sorry but theres just not much of a story here without that subplot. It's super important for me, and I think super important for the audience, that Gordon and Batmans deception in the dark knight is payed off in some respect in this film. Its exclusion created buckets of problems for me.
Why does the city celebrate the murderer of Harvey Dent with a statue number one.
Number two, why does Bane suddenly transform into a populist when freeing the criminals from blackgate? This did not work for me at all in this edit. Bane suddenly, out of nowhere, plays up a populist revolt against the man narrative, despite 5 minutes prior telling the entire city he was going to blow them up. This only works in the original film because Bane oozes cynicism while reading Gordons letter, showing the that the entire Empire of New Gotham city is built upon a murderer, in turn breaking Gothams spirit and also, unwittingly, making Gotham hungry for Batmans return, thus making the flaming bat symbol all the more emblematic. This, in the original film, almost CREATES the class disparity narrative the rest of the film rolls with which is why its exceptionally important to keep. It shows that the crime act which has saved Gotham city is built on a literal lie. This is an important chickens coming home to roost in the original story and is just completely dropped here for no apparent good reason.
Now theres just a gaping hole in the middle of the film. The entire film goes out of its way to show that one officer chasing batman at the expense of bane, because batman was responsible for the death of dent. Later on that officer works with Batman. Why?

With this new narrative change, the film becomes about Gotham learning to celebrate a man who they believe to be a murderer. It just leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, and its done even worse by yet another pointless narrative edit.
The very ending of the film.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know, show dont tell and all that jazz, but without seeing Bruce in the flesh the ending felt rather empty to me, and pointlessly ambiguous, We know wayne survived, so show him for us. I think the audience, and Alfred, deserves that payoff. Less discerning viewers could come away with impression that Bruce died and alfred is dreaming or it doesnt matter if bruce is alive or not or whatever, inception style. I just really hated it. More importantly, it completely left a dead end on Selina Kyles story arch. The subplot of the technology which erases someones past is never fully resolved. We really need to see Bruce and Selina in a new life for that subplot to have any importance. Its even alluded to at the end of the movie right before the credits, but again, we never see Selina. For. No. Good. Reason. Other than chasing a nolan signature melodramatic ambiguity so the audience member can feel smart.


I understand that I'm not entirely the intended audience for this edit. I knew full well that these narrative changes were in this edit going in. But its made all the more frustrating for me because everything else is SO on the money here.
I wish there were a seperate version--one which preserves the original final seconds of the film and the harvey dent subplot. Because I really have nothing but good things to say about the rest of this fanedit. From smaller things like the cutting to black in Bruce's ascension, to larger things like how this entirely fixes Bruce getting back to gotham and how he escaped the batplane in time, this really is meticulously and thoughtfully edited.
It just, to paraphrase George Lucas, goes a bit far in a few places.

All in all, I recommend this edit. But I'm still left searching for a perfect middle ground between this and the original release.

(btw mega props to donkey konga for the alternate no romance cut. this really focused the film on batman and catwoman, which was a huge boost to the film. Plus, less miranda tate is always welcome lol)


UPDATE: Subsequent to this review the editor, DonkeyKonga, was kind enough to make an alternate cut of the film with the changes I suggested here. This is now, by far and away, the definitive way to watch the film for me.
If youre like me and liked the Dent sideplot, and wanted to preserve Bruce and Selina at the end, but wanted a Bane which was true to his representation 3/4ths of the way through the film then this is the way to watch.

The ending to the trilogy is fixed once and for all.