Dark Knight Ascends, The

I didn't really enjoy the original *Dark Knight Rises*. The film took too many liberties with the Batman mythos, leading to a plot that felt disjointed and less compelling than it should have been. However, after watching DonkeyKonga's fan edit, I have to say it made a bad movie into an okay one. The edit strips away unnecessary subplots and focuses more on the core narrative, resulting in a more streamlined and coherent story. While it doesn't completely salvage the film, it definitely improves the pacing and clarity, making it a more enjoyable watch.

The orignal film is my least favorite of the trilogy but I enjoyed it when it was released. However it doesn't hold up as well as I would have liked.

This was quite a strong edit. The cuts were seamless. And I like a lot of the decisions that were made and things that it tried to do. The audio felt a bit unbalanced. quiet scenes were too quiet making louds scenes too loud if the volume was raised. But might not be the fault of the editor. I feel like some of the reworked dialogue, like Blake's new reveal of how he knows batman, were a little jarring and could use another pass to try and make them feel more natural. (Easier said than done, I'm sure.) But conceptually its a great idea. Removing some of Bane's dialogue for "im a necessary evil" also felt a bit jarring but that one may have been cause I'm used to the original. I understand the thought behind it, but cutting dialogue mid sentence is always a challenge. I loved the recut Talia reveal, which let Bane keep more of his agency, and removing her death scene that never really worked in the original. I also loved the altering of the flow of time to account for Bruce returning to gotham and the bomb. I watched the version that included the Dent plotline and will have to try the other one because this movie still felt a bit too long.

A great edit and will likely be the version I return to if I watch it again (unless I prefer the edit without the Dent storyline. Well done!

i didn't really like the original Dark Knight Rises. For me, there were too many departures from the mythos that not only didn't add anything, but detracted from a compelling, coherent story. DonkeyKonga's edit fixes almost all of them.

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.

I must confess that I've always enjoyed rewatching this movie more than its overly-lauded predecessor. Not because its a better film (it's absolutely not), but simply because it's a lot more fun and silly. From Bane voiced as a Scottish grandpa to Drama Club Catwoman and the painfully obvious "I was Talia all along!" twist, this film is just plain dumb, but in a way that I enjoy. DonkeyKonga's edit does a good job of keeping the fun while reducing the more outrageously stupid elements. My only quibbles would be with the ending. Trying to keep the survival of Bruce ambiguous doesn't really have any weight given that we've already seen Fox learn that the autopilot was repaired. And while removing the truly dumb 'Robin's my middle name' bit is understandable, I think not hinting at his future as Batman's heir makes his character arc too much a bummer. Otherwise, though, this is a really fun edit that makes the best of a pretty botched film.