Parting Shot: ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Cinematographer Says ‘The Avengers’ Was ‘Appalling’

Wally Pfister -- who shot The Dark Knight Rises for director Christopher Nolan -- is not a fan of The Avengers. The cinematographer, who has worked with Nolan on several movies and won an Academy Award for Inception, recently called Marvel's record-setting film "appalling," taking specific issue with what he called "illogical storytelling."

Basically, it seems like Pfister thinks The Avengers failed at telling a good story visually, which is an arguable position, but considering the myriad plot holes in The Dark Knight Rises, his use of the phrase "illogical storytelling" is somewhat amusing.

During a Q & A session earlier this week at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, Pfister said the following:

"I thought The Avengers was an appalling film. They'd shoot from some odd angle and I'd think, why is the camera there? Oh, I see, because they spent half a million on the set and they have to show it off. It took me completely out of the movie. I was driven bonkers by that illogical form of storytelling."

By nearly any measure, The Dark Knight Rises is a more aesthetically rewarding film. That said, Pfister accusing the creators behind The Avengers of employing illogical storytelling tactics invites all kinds of criticism of his and Nolan's film. The topic of The Dark Knight Rises' plot problems has been covered on this site and others, so I won't go too in depth, but the third of Nolan's Batman films has several notable logic issues: A chase scene that starts in the middle of the day ends at night, despite the movie explicitly telling you it lasts less than ten minutes; police officers spend three months underground, yet somehow grow no facial hair; Commissioner Gordon and several others are forced onto a patch of thin ice, presumably to their deaths, until Batman shows up and suddenly it's perfectly safe to stand on the ice and have a conversation; Bane reads a letter he stole from Gordon to the citizens of Gotham (why Gordon even had it on him for so long we'll never know), and no one questions its authenticity. The list goes on.

The Dark Knight Rises is a very enjoyable film on a number of levels, and undeniably an impressive piece of cinematography. But "illogical storytelling" leveled at The Avengers? At any non-Dark Knight Rises film? To quote a former U.S. President, that "takes some brass."

[Via The Huffington Post]