“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
With audience interest in The Dark Knight Rises rapidly growing, thanks in no small part to the IMAX screening before Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol and the release online of the film’s trailer on Monday. This is sure to be very well received as it is to be the final part in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy; however there have been a few rumblings due to the sound of Bane’s character played by Tom Hardy. The problem is that some people are complaining that they can’t quite hear what he’s saying. Bane wears a mask throughout the movie which he breaths a chemical that gives him colossal strength, the trouble is some audience members have said his voice is rather muffled and hard to understand. “A fantastic action sequence hurt by the fact that you cannot understand the villain at all,” commented one fan on Twitter.
Others poked fun at the seven-minute prologue. “The Dark Knight Rises prologue was really great, especially when Bane spoke the soon-to-be-classic line: 'Mmrbl ffrmrff hmrbblfmm,'" wrote one.
Movie studios tend to listen to fan websites as they do have influence and are seen as key to building up anticipation and promotion. And the word is they have not been kind regarding the prologue, “We've seen the Dark Knight Rises prologue -- and yes, Bane really does sound that bad,” wrote IO9.
Sources close to the movie say Warner Bros. is very aware of the sound issue. One source working on the film says he is “scared to death” about “the Bane problem.” And with good reason. The last Batman film, 2008’s The Dark Knight, grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, and the studio doesn’t want anything to tamper with Rise’s chances for success. Nolan has informed executives that he plans only to rework the sound slightly. No one could ever doubt Nolan, his standing in the industry is deserved however, and the studio will be worried by these recent comments.
Warner Bros. has supported Nolan’s wishes in the past; moviegoer complaints about the character could create pressure to make changes. Or the studio and Nolan can do nothing and hope that fan interest in The Dark Knight Rises outweighs any issues with understanding Bane's dialogue, Watch this space...
