THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
It feels rare for films to have a perfect trilogy, but Christopher Nolan succeeds in giving just that in his own Batman trilogy.
PLOT
The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after the death of Harvey Dent. As the Batman, Bruce Wayne took the blame of his passing, resulting to stop fighting crime. With the ‘Dent Act’ denying parole to mob members, organized crime had been eradicated. Selina Kyle poses as a maid to steal his fingerprints and abduct a congressman. During a failed handoff, Commissioner James Gordon gets attacked by mercenaries and encounters the renegade Bane, an excommunicated member of the League of Shadows. When Wayne is told from officer John Blake of what happened, he is encouraged to get in good health and return to the public. He goes after him when attacking the Stock Exchange. Bane goes there with Wayne’s fingerprints for transactions that leave him broke. That same night, he encounters the cat burglar Selina, who took the fingerprints to Bane and corporate rival John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn) of Daggett Industries. She had done so in exchange of a clean slate, one in which they didn’t provide her at the same handoff where Gordon got attacked. He promises to give it to her in exchange of Bane’s location. Before leaving, Alfred Pennyworth resigns as butler, believing that Wayne’s not strong enough to face the new threat. When Lucius Fox tells him he is broke, Bruce provides his trust towards Miranda Tate, pointing her as Wayne Enterprises CEO and access to his fusion reactor, which leads to a romantic relationship. He chose her in order to prevent Wayne Enterprises being absorbed by Daggett. Since he was in allegiance with Bane, the latter kills him when no longer needing him. When Kyle gives Wayne a location to Bane, it leads to a trap. As the Batman, he fights Bane but is beaten by him so badly it leads to his back being broken. He is then sent to a prison where it’s said to be impossible to escape. Bane begins his path to destroy Gotham: trapping almost every officer in the sewers, destroying every bridge in the city but one and killing the mayor at a football game. There, he announces that a citizen holds the detonator to the fusion reactor, now turned nuclear bomb, which will go off within five months. The following day, he releases the prisoners of Blackgate Penitentiary, revealing the truth of Harvey Dent’s last day, due to information he discovered from the speech he took from Gordon. He also makes his own democracy by allowing ‘kangaroo courts’ that kills Gotham’s elite. Gordon and Blake were lucky enough to avoid his wrath like few officers. Blake was only able to discover Bane’s plot when it was too late. During this time, Bruce is able to recover from his injuries. Before escaping, he discovers from other prisoners that Bane is the alleged heir to Ra’s al Ghul, who escaped the same prison as a child. When returning to Gotham, he only has hours until detonation. He helps free the officers from the sewers, saves Gordon from execution and makes his return known to Bane. The following morning, the police fight Bane’s army and Batman is able to defeat Bane, while Gordon is looking for the bomb to prevent detonation. Blake tries to get people to the remaining bridge to avoid the explosion. Tate stabs the dark knight, revealing that she is Al Ghul’s child, Talia, and she escaped the prison. Bane has been her protector ever since she was born in the prison. When he helped her escape, he was in conflict with other prisoners that led to his disfigurement. When Ra’s found him, he recruited him and applied him his mask and his excommunication was because of his love for Talia. This whole time, Bane’s actions were plotted by her, to finish the destiny of Ra’s. Gordon is able to prevent the trigger by blocking the signal. Kyle saves Batman by shooting down Bane, after turning down her opportunity to escape Gotham. They chase Talia to get the bomb back to the reactor chamber but before she crashes with truck and dies, she is able to flood the said chamber, preventing any chances to stop detonation. Batman takes the bomb with his aerial craft, ‘The Bat’, to take it to the bay so it can go off safely. He is presumed dead and honored as a hero. His house, Wayne Manor, becomes an orphanage and his estate went to Alfred. A new repaired Bat Signal is planted at GCPD, which Gordon discovers. Fox also discovers that Wayne fixed The Bat’s malfunctioned autopilot before the explosion. After quitting the GCPD, Blake is given access to Wayne’s cave. The films ends with Alfred on a vacation, discovering the alive and well Bruce Wayne from a distance, with Kyle.
THOUGHTS
When first seeing this film twice in theaters during the year of its release and the multiple times re watching it afterwards, I personally believe that Nolan is able to finish this trilogy the way he started it: on a high note. Like other third films in a trilogy, it is not the superior one of the bunch, but it holds up equally as it’s able to wrap up the arc of our lead character so well. With Nolan’s use of IMAX cameras, the action in this film is an obvious highlight that stands out. From the opening plane crash, the stock exchange heist, the bomb chase and both fights between Batman and Bane, are scenes you can’t take your eyes off of. Speaking of Batman vs Bane, when the caped crusader was beaten by his masked foe it was frightening to see because it’s the kind of moment no one wants to see their heroes go through. So when Batman beats him in the rematch, it becomes up-lifting. Seeing the design of the the aircraft, The Bat, was over the top compared to other designs of the Batwing, but it succeeds in being different. As a final entry to the trilogy, it succeeds bringing everything full circle from the first two films to this one. What makes this film special is how it is about legacy. The Batman was never supposed to be the enemy but the hero Gotham deserved and the fact that the city realized that in his last stand, it makes his victory even more triumphant. Surprisingly, this is the only film in the trilogy where it actually felt like a superhero movie. Batman Begins was an origin story, The Dark Knight was an action packed experience that became an all time classic but here, it feels like a superhero because of how the city finally believed in the hero when hope was lost, mistaking him for something he never was. And like every superhero movie, you can never go wrong with a great ensemble. Christian Bale proves for the last time that he is the best interpretation of the caped crusader because he is a hero that is at his most vulnerable. With the sacrifice and loss he went through, it was logical for him to lack motivation during that 8 year gap. He didn't know how to rise above his grief until evil gained a re emergence. Once he knew he was needed again, he had to continue his promise in protecting the city but unknowingly acted reckless upon his return and learned the hard way he wasn't prepared for the new threat. Seeing him recover and emotionally was proof that any odds can be overcame, making his journey all the more mesmerizing. Michael Caine definitely showed a conflicted depiction of Alfred, doing his best to be the father figure Bruce needs. Because he is understandably worried of he's up against, he chooses to be honest at the worst of times. He wants him to live a peaceful life and can't stand Batman is still a part of it, thus telling him that Rachel chose Harvey over him. The scene in which Alfred resigns is well acted between Caine and Bale because it's heartbreaking to see two people that are family to each other drift apart. Alfred wanted to protect him, but unintentionally pushed him away. The one thing I learned from family though is that making amends is inevitable. Despite an upsetting truth, Bruce still trusted Alfred with his estate because understood that he was trying to protect him. He always knew he couldn't be Batman forever, which made it smart for him to fake his death. When they see each other across the cafe and exchange smiles, fulfilling Alfred's fantasy, it comes to show how they'll never forget each other, always appreciating the positive impact they had on each other. Not much can be said with Morgan Freeman's presence as Fox, yet still you adore the character's loyalty to the dark knight, being the ally he needed when shit was hitting the fan. With Rachel gone, it was a little hard to imagine Bruce finding love again, which made it surprise to see him find it in an unexpected place. My preference remains to be Michell Pfeiffer, but Anne Hathaway impressed me with her portrayal of Catwoman. She stood out for making the combination of seductive and intelligent very dangerous. Bruce falls for her not just off of that, but also because she lives the total opposite of him, freely. Seeing her live as such moves him because he's never felt inspired to do the same and the time has with her inspires him for the first time. She would feel the same for him this time because she envies his life and takes notice how selfless he is compared to other men she's encountered. Seeing that they have a clean slate together at the end proves that they'll continue to live however they want in positive fashion. Joseph Gordon Levitt leaves a good impression in the role of John Blake because you admire how prideful he is in doing the right thing. Bruce chooses him to be Gotham's new defender because since both are orphans, he relates to the feeling of not letting people know how you really feel. He knows that he will be selfless enough to put others before himself and won't regret any of it. Whether he becomes a new Batman or 'Robin', hence the middle name, it is a given that Blake will do his best in protecting the city as the dark knight did. That is why this movie is about legacy: There are always a set of positive core values you create to be a good person and at some point, you will pass it on to someone who understands it and is willing to respect it for their generation and so on. So however big of an impact Blake makes as a vigilante, there is no doubt that he'll be respected by younger generations as well. Gary Oldman is great again because he’s expressing Gordon as a man who has his own guilt. After Dent died, his family left him and his career is the only thing he has left in his life. He is someone who is broken deep down but is unwilling to let that stop him from doing what he has to. The selflessness he presents during the be all end all of crisis events makes you respect him if you already haven’t. I respect Gordon even more for not telling the truth of Harvey because he knew that once his image is destroyed, hope would be lost for Gotham, in its own way. The flaw is that when Bane reveals the truth, it doesn’t affect the rest of the movie, as it’s not talked about afterwards. I honestly choked up more of Batman’s cryptic reveal to Gordon more than his last exchange with Alfred. “A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy’s shoulders. To let him know the world hadn’t ended”. That quote stuck to me because he’s saying he was his hero when he needed one the most, the most impactful ‘thank you’ he could ever give. While I admire seeing the cameos of Liam Neeson's Ra's and Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow to bring things full circle, they don't overshadow the impact made by the main villains. Tom Hardy is able to make Bane as intimidating as the comics depict him to be, the only difference is that he didn’t have to be exposed to the ‘Titan/Venom’ drug like the comics. The fact that he is built out of natural strength is what does the trick in fearing him, hence having our skin crawl when he breaks Batman's back. He may have been the underling for Talia al Ghul, but every action he made on her behalf paid off and that alone made him a figure one would always remember. His death was very disappointing because knowing he had done so much, it would look like it’d be difficult to kill him but instead it was so easy for Kyle to do. It only becomes harder when he didn't even hear the engine rev up before he got shot. The identity of Talia was cleverly kept a secret, which gives Marion Cotillard the chance to use her seduction and charm to reflect how she always has a trick up her sleeve. Like Hardy’s Bane, the only flaw with the performance is her death scene because it doesn’t feel like anyone was sure how to depict it. While I complain about how two death scenes weren’t acted out well enough, there were still a handful of stuff in the story that bothered me. Like first off, considering how famous Bruce Wayne is, he should have had security in Wayne Manor during the Dent Day party. I’m sure he would’ve not overthought it if he did it but if so, Selina would’ve had a slim chance of robbing the prints and his mother’s necklace. I’ll always hate continuity errors and I can’t believe I spotted one here. My eye was twitching like crazy when I noticed there was a headline and the word ‘heist’ was misspelled saying ‘hiest’ instead. I know that we’re supposed to know who Bane is but when did Alfred find out? If he’s browsing through the dark web about criminals like him, we should see that because that would earn the exposition. The plane crash remains an insane opening to witness, but it has me thinking, what would Bane do if the CIA agent unmasked him before takeoff? I mean if he had no alternative and that agent exposed him on the ground, he'd be screwed. I also wonder what would Selina if she didn't abduct the congressman? She needs somebody as a scapegoat, so it's not like she would grab a random jaywalker to get out of it. On top of that, was she really smart to confront Daggett in his home filled with security? I know she's desperate to get the clean slate, but she should've waited until he was legitimately home alone. Speaking of legit, every transaction that went down during the heist should've not been so since the purchases' time period would've been shown to prove that Bruce was robbed. And there were witnesses for crying out loud, they could've said something. And can we talk about how lucky Blake was when he found Gordon? He went to the same spot he saw the dead orphan. The water flow is supposed to be unpredictable, yet this is saying otherwise. That even leads to me asking how would he get a warrant to re-investigate Harvey's death? I know this means he figured it out who Bruce was, but he's gonna need really need evidence to prove to a judge, which is a long shot for him. I'm even irritated that Bruce wasn't being updated on running out of funds for orphanages until he met Blake. The man grew up as an orphan, so Fox and/or Alfred should've told him way beforehand. It's even cool when he repels down the window to briefly talk to Gordon, but it gets hard for me to believe no one looked out the window or noticed he wasn't in the room he was in. I do think the stock exchange heist was pretty intense, but isn't it weird how that building only had one entrance/exit. Considering how crowded that place can be, people especially staff should have other places to go in and out. There is no doubt that the Bat gets a cool introduction when Batman uses it to escape from the police, but how the hell do you park an aircraft like that so quietly? The fact that no one finds it on their own throughout the movie is insane. I even wonder why was every cop sent to the subway to look for Bane? The group led by Deputy Commissioner Peter Foley (Matthew Modine) was not enough to be above ground. And lastly, there were policemen blocking the only intact bridge and blow it out of fear Bane would blow up the city. If Blake wanted them on their side, he should’ve just told them that Bane died and maybe they’d believe it. The fact that he pushed them by trying to walk across the bridge wasn’t smart at all. If you ignore those flaws, I guarantee you’ll still be loving this movie. Overall, The Dark Knight Rises is a solid conclusion to Nolan’s Batman trilogy. If you ignore the various flaws of this third wheel, you’ll likely enjoy it as much as the prior films.
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