WWHHHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?????!!!!!!!!
Despite the awesomeness that was The Dark Knight Rises trailer, the number one complaint among bat enthusiasts was Bane's voice. Several people found it difficult if not damn near impossible to hear what the hell Tom Hardy was saying. Personally I was able to hear Hardy clearly when he tells Bruce Wayne, "When Gotham is ashes you have my permission to die."
But I'm not everyone.
Rumor has it that the outcry has the execs at Warner Bros. nervous and that something needs to be done. With a $250 million budget I really can't blame them. However to be perfectly honest this movie is going to make money no matter what and I will go on record as writing that at the very least this movie will rate a 9. I know that's tantamount to going all in in Texas Hold 'Em without looking at your cards, but hey sometimes you just gotta say "Let's dance!"
Apparently, the one person who isn't concerned is director Christopher Nolan. Although he will apparently tweak the voice in editing, Nolan refuses to go back and change Bane's dialogue. His position is that the audience needs to only get a "general idea" of what Bane says and that it's not necessary to understand every word.
Um...what?
Look I guess I could understand his reasoning if the villain had a lisp or a stutter or something but that's not the case. I'm of the opinion that Bane's dialogue could be very crucial to various plot points in the film, and being able to understand Bane is essential. Granted Bane does wear a breath mask throughout the film so maybe a certain muffle is warranted, but don't make him completely unintelligible.
Bottom line is that although Christopher Nolan has earned his reputation as one of the leading directors working in Hollywood today, the studio execs have to step in tell Chris to correct this. It would be a tragedy for the voice of a main character to undercut an entire film. The main focus needs to be the anticipation of the film's release, not the voice of a main character.* However, I have faith in Nolan and I trust that this whole voice situation will be ironed out in post-production.
*On a side note one of the biggest complaints with The Dark Knight was Christian Bale's Batman voice. Too many people felt that it sounded like Clint Eastwood after a sandpaper and gravel milkshake. Hopefully Bale toned it down for The Dark Knight Rises.
Way to work in the "let's dance" reference. And for the record, when I watched the trailer, on a tiny laptop screen with the built-in speakers, I could hear Bane's line just fine.
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