The Dark Knight Rises (additional thoughts)

I recently broke down and bought The Dark Knight Rises on bluray.  I'm just such a sucker for Batman that I chose to overlook all the flaws that I remembered and give it another try.  I'm glad I did, but boy I need to revisit a few things.  Specifically, I'm gonna need to revisit the score I gave it.

So this is not a second review.  But rather just a few extra thoughts to add to the original review.

First: I'm confused by the airjacking/kidnapping scene at the beginning.  The whole point was to abduct the Russian scientist, right?  So to do that, Bane gets himself turned over to the CIA at the same time the scientist is so he can break out and capture the guy.  Straightforward, right?  Well, not exactly.  Here's my problem: the only way for Bane to be turned over to the CIA without the CIA knowing it was actually Bane they were getting is to have the guy who turned the captives over to the CIA actually work for Bane.  Follow?  The guy delivering the captives (and the scientist) to the CIA had to work for Bane, otherwise the whole scheme wouldn't work.  CONCLUSION: Bane's big plot to kidnap the scientist involves three steps: 1) kidnap the scientist. 2) turn him over to the CIA, along with Bane himself. 3) attempt a daring and risky mid-air second kidnapping.  So tell me, why was the whole plane kidnapping thing necessary at all?

Second, I hated the second-in-command of the GCPD.  You know, the guy who lets Bane get away so he can try to capture Batman.  His character is one note, and that note is "try to be as wrong as possible all the time, and annoying to boot."  He's not quite as bad as the guy in Iron Man 2, but he's trying.

Third: The Dark Knight Rises has very few standout, just plain excellent moments.  Most of it is just plain ordinary.  The best part is when the gangsters try to cheat catwoman; Anne Hathaway simply steals the scene.

Overall, the movie is an exercise in adequacy pretending to be excellence.  How does Batman find Catwoman when she's being attacked?  Pure luck?  Why does every fight feel so over-choreographed, and un-exciting?  How does the fact that an autopilot is fixed allow Batman to teleport instantly out of the blast range of a nuclear bomb?  Why does the end turn Bane into a puppy dog, and then dispose of him without fanfare?  Why is John's real name Robin?

Repeat viewings of The Dark Knight continue to elevate that film.  It will go down in the books as the best Batman film yet, and perhaps the best that ever will be made.  The Dark Knight Rises just plain isn't on the same level.

Therefore, here are my new ratings for the movie:

Entertainment: Old score -5    New score -4
Artistic Value: Old score -6    New score -3 (what was I thinking before?)
Technical Merit: Old score -6    New score -5

Overall: Old score -5/10    New score -4/10