• While this is called a "short film," you have to consider that it's incredibly difficulty to squeeze in a full story arc into 4 - 6 minutes. Almost better to think of it as a scene than a full-on film, really. That said, as far as characterization goes, the film does a good to great job of scratching out two opposing characters (even considering the bits of cliches like the coffee cups in a car during a stake-out), and is all-around really solid. The most negative thing that can be objectively said about this is the single-camera way of shooting it. That said, a quality camera is really, really expensive, and out of budget for a lot of people. So having the single shot throughout the work might be annoying (only if you subscribe to the idea that a scene must be constantly moving because audiences have incredibly small attention spans), it's not that big of a deal. Pay attention to it and you notice the focus shifts with whomever is speaking, which is a good enough approximation to a cut for one camera. That said, the cityscapes at the beginning did feel like they were tacked on to meet a contest time length. And, as EJC up there said, the Riddler looks kinda like Green Hornet, which was an interesting choice. All told, the film was enough to make you wish Nolan was doing something with the Riddler, so hey, success.

• Exposition like that is common in movies. Even the Nolan Batman films have them. And besides, people complain about their jobs all the time. It's not that blatant.

• I thought this was pretty good. I thought this would make for great scenes in a comic where two cops discuss the problems in Gotham. Yeah, maybe the scene needed more shot variety, but I dont see the need to be obsessively anal about it. It did say AMATUER in the the title. I came into this expecting a student film, not Citizen Kane

• I thought Will Forte look-alike did some excellent expression work and Stanley Tucci look-alike delivered his lines pretty well. Well enough that I didn't feel like it was an exceedingly dull short. I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this is one of the most professional looking amateur shorts I've seen.

• riiiiight... cuz we're not allowed to have our own opinions about anything. get the hell outta here with this idiocy. oh, and the short was DULL, at best.

• Way too slow-moving. And they lost me with the DAMN EMPTY COFFEE CUPS. Enough with that already.

• Yep. I was thinking the exact same thing, "Why would the Green Hornet have someone killed?"

• I forgot that everyone criticizing the short has written and directed Bladerunner, and isn't in fact some pretentious goon who thinks they developed Stanley Kubrick's film prowess. Having big internet balls doesn't mean that much kiddies.

• I thought it was the Green Hornet for a moment there.

• ITT: Butthurt film nerds.

• yeah, it needs more shot variety. The staging had the same amount of thought behind it as the conversations from the Star Wars prequels. Other then that the tone and lighting matched the Nolan films. I think this guy just needs to work on or hire a storyboard artist.

• There's a TV series begging to be made about the Gotham City police department trying to work with the constant shadow of Batman hanging over them. Have Gordon be a supporting character, Batman never fully appear in the show and instead have it be the usual NYPD/Homicide crew of beat cops, detectives and DA assistants having to deal with regular petty crime, lower-level crazies trying desperately but not succeeding get the big man in black's attention and a public with a love/hate relationship with vigilantism and the problems that creates for the true, legal public protectors. After re-watching The Dark Knight I realised that Gordon is really the true hero of Gotham since he's not a narcissistic rich boy with more money than sense and a whole load of personal problems he decides to manifest upon the whole of a major metropolis and the resultant anarchy it creates in figures like the Joker.

• I thought the production qualities were pretty good and the actors sounded natural in their lines, but everything else about the film is pretty wrong/bad. First off, if you're going to have such a long drawn out conversation with almost 10 SECOND BEATS in between them, you need to fill up those beats with something visual for the audience to look at, take in, and process. Not have use watching the Tarnatino lookalike sit there nodding into oblivion. There was nothing in the short that was done in the 6 minutes that couldn't have been done in 3 to 4. It seems like they had a minimum number of minutes to reach, and then forgot to hire an editor for those scenes (or that's all the editor had to work with). Next, they SERIOUSLY needed some different angles. The angles they used were good for a 30-40 second maximum, but so as not to bore the audience, they desperately needed to shift the focus off two bored cops, or spice up the dialogue. And let's not even get into the difference between Professional film and Fan Film dealing with the Use of Shadows. For some reason, Fan Films can never get that right or use it the same way film does. Because not only were the Angles locked off and uninspired, they were also too damn bright for them to be on a stakeout. It just ruined the mood of the car sequence and the fact that they guy was pulling a gun on his partner. If it was dark and we got a wide angle of the muzzle illuminating the cabin, sure, but there were so many missed opportunities with the cinematography that it was depressing to watch. Also, whereas this is the "Batman Universe" it is the Nolan-Verse, and the Riddler costume was SEVERELY out of place for the stylization they were trying to employ. We all know that Batman has a look that is a bit outlandish for everyday purposes, but if you look at the villains, they don't look cartoony or cosplay-like at all. The Hat was too green, and the use of the Latex Joel Schumacher style Domino Mask was out of place. If anyone was thinking this was a professionally produced short, all of that got wiped away the second you saw the Riddler's face and the short began screaming "WORLD'S FINEST! WORLD'S FINEST!". Not the vibe you want to put across if you're going for a Gritty Nolan-Verse version. It was a good endeavor, but the aforementioned issues matched with the fact that the story went NOWHERE for the viewer, sours me on the concept. It was an excellent try that looks very pretty, and I would've been glad to have been a part of it, but they need to do some work on the finer details of film making if they're trying to grab people's attention. Otherwise, it'll just turn out as an expensive failed resume submission.

• "Can you believe this? The captain's got us working double shifts?" THANK YOU OFFICER EXPOSITION. Not very good. And that Riddler looked like ass.

• Anyone understand the riddle?

• Needs more Goddamn Batman.

• I would much rather see a collection of shorts of this quality released officially to promote the Dark Knight Rises than another Batman: Gotham Knight anthology. As much as I love Bruce Timm, only a couple of those animated shorts worked.

• The Film was pretty good. I agree with Go, christ people always have to find fault with something. PS...I'm in the biz, or the bissz as real insiders call it...and I got some real insider info (but people in the bissz call it outsider info to throw people off the trail) Ann Hathaway is going to play Catwomen...but the kicker is that she will have feline aids.

• no offense, but it is really difficult to take comments seriously from someone named "pu$$ytron" anyways I liked it even if it isn't "real movie" quality. Makes me really want to see Nolan do The Riddler. I bet it would be awesome.

• No one that is in the biz calls it the biz. And thanks for the description of what Bane will look like, it just so generic and predictable anyone could have made it up, It's like the storyboard I saw when my uncle, who is dating a publicists cousin showed me. Batman will look brooding while crouching on a rooftop

• Film was pretty cool. Its kills me though when people like elitist snobs and try to bash fan films for any little perceived flaw (in ther own mind). Shut the fuck up sometimes and enjoy the ride for what it is. That was a solid effort.

• I loved it. An excellent representation of the Nolan-verse, IMO.

• One word: Boring I'm in the biz myself, though not affiliated with the new batman movie. My friend is a storyboard artist, although he isn't working on Dark Knight Rises, he has seen some character concepts and some storyboards. Apparently Hardy is going to be Bronson size, but there's no tubes or devices on his hand. His costume is all black and is almost S&M like.

• Like most fan films, lacks professional polish. Takes too long to get to the point. There's a balance and economy of storytelling that most fan films have trouble getting. It's like a 3 minute idea told in 6 minutes. Good on them for trying though. It's at least good practice on the way to getting better (even if they're not quite there yet).

• Meh. It was OK but really lead to nowhere.

• That main guy looks allot like Will Forte at the beginning

• Second.

TotalComments: 27