WARNING: "The Dark Knight Rises" spoilers below
This is the Batman movie I've been waiting for - the ultimate Batman movie about Batman. While "Batman Begins" is primarily focused on Bruce Wayne, and Nolan gives the spotlight to The Joker in "The Dark Knight," his final installment shifts the attention to Batman: the legend, the symbol, the hero that Gotham needs.
The Batman we see in this film is a different Batman; his willingness to take the fall for Harvey Dent in order to to save Gotham from knowing the painful truth has resulted in Batman's damnation. The death of Rachel has left him broken and hopeless, with no foreseeable future. I could feel that hopelessness oozing through the screen. Christian Bale's portrayal has always been spectacular, but "The Dark Knight Rises" really proved to me that he has always been meant for these films. The sense of gloom was overwhelming. I was sitting in the theater, worried that Batman's emotional and psychological state was beyond repair.
Enter Bane, a massive beast of a man, who is willing to do whatever is necessary to accomplish his goal of destroying Gotham. While he lacks the psychosis and overall creepiness of The Joker, Bane is just as merciless. Like Batman, Bane has made himself into a symbol. True, he represents the criminal underground; an uprising of sorts. But he also embodies the literal underground - the underworld, such as that of Hades. As Greek mythology tells us, the Underworld is hidden deep within the earth. It is not a place of fire and brimstone; rather, it is a place without hope, without sunlight, a dark and desolate prison where the dead slowly fade away into nothingness. Bane is the ultimate adversary for Batman, and the reason is perfectly laid out during their sewer showdown:
BANE: "You adopted the darkness; I was born into it."
Chills ran up my spine when Bane said this. It was as if he was telling Batman to give it all up, that he doesn't belong. It reminded me of Carmine Falcone's speech to Bruce in "Batman Begins":
CARMINE: "People from your world have so much to lose. Now, you think because your mommy and your daddy got shot, you know about the ugly side of life, but you don't. You've never tasted desperate. You're, uh, you're Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham; you'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who didn't know your name. So, don't-don't come down here with your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you'll never understand. And you always fear what you don't understand."
Bane is the perfect counterpart to Batman. I was very pleased with his inclusion, and although half of his face is covered, Tom Hardy did a fantastic job inducing fear in us all. My only criticism of Bane's role is that I was hoping for more hand-to-hand combat between him and Batman. The sewer fight was over fairly quickly, and their fight scene on the steps of the courthouse could have lasted longer - but this isn't a movie about Bane, or any other villains; it's about Batman.
Moving on to another pleasing interpretation, which is that of Selina Kyle. She is a different kind of Catwoman, in that she is not - I repeat, NOT - a victim. By not delving into Selina's back story, Nolan brilliantly allows the character to develop on her own terms. Her decisions and her actions are not predetermined by a string of painful flashbacks or memories (in contrast to Bruce Wayne); rather, Nolan gives her the freedom to be however the hell she wants to be. That's not to say that she is exempt from feeling the consequences of her actions. When Selina leads Batman to Bane's hideout underneath the city, she commits an unspeakable betrayal; and at the exact moment when the deed is done and the gate slams into the ground, Selina's face turns to horror in regret for what she's done. It's a key moment for the character, and Hathaway's seemingly effortless ability to convey this moment of regret is nothing short of impressive.
While she remains a minor part of the story, Selina still makes an impact. She is strong, clever, and not above using her feminine charm to manipulate those who get in her way (I'm particularly referencing the bar fight scene, in which Selina goes from trigger-happy she-warrior to horrified female citizen in an instant). She and Batman are different in more ways than they are the same, which made for an interesting relationship between them. Again, Nolan manages to breathe new life into a much beloved character, altering the traditional version just enough to make it fit into his Batman universe.
Following his disastrous encounter with Bane in the sewers made possible by Selina's treachery, Batman is broken and Bruce Wayne resurfaces. In a nod to "Batman Begins," Bruce finds himself in The Pit, a prison in south Africa controlled by The League of Shadows. In cruel fashion, Bane leaves a television in Bruce's prison cell, so that he may witness Bane's destruction of Gotham. While Bane is blowing up football fields and bridges, Bruce is at his weakest. He is helpless. A fellow prisoner tells Bruce the story of a young child who managed to escape The Pit. Upon hearing this, Bruce begins the long process of rehabilitation in an effort to get back to Gotham.
When Bruce fell down the well in "Batman Begins," his father was there to rescue him. When Bruce was then imprisoned in China, Ra's al Ghul was there to bail him out. There is no one to rescue Bruce from The Pit; he must do it himself. In a key moment during his time in The Pit, Bruce tells his fellow prisoner that he is not afraid to die. The prisoner then replies, "If you have no fear, then what will keep you alive?" (I'm not sure that was the exact quote, but it was along those lines). In "Batman Begins," Bruce learns to overcome his fear, and to become fear itself in the eyes of his enemies. In "The Dark Knight," Bruce has managed to expel his own fear, but when he attempts to use it on The Joker, it is a meaningless weapon. In "The Dark Knight Rises," Bruce has come full circle, realizing that he must embrace the fear he once tried to shut out, in order to survive. Fear will become the motivation for action.
This is when the film really starts to come together. Bruce is free from The Pit and ready to use his own fear in order to save Gotham. It's been a roller coaster for us viewers, seeing Batman returning to the streets of Gotham, then seeing Batman nearly destroyed, then seeing Bruce in The Pit, to finally seeing Batman returning to Gotham. It's certainly an up/down, up/down experience - not enjoyed by everyone - but this is what has to happen in order for Batman's story to come full circle.
From the moment Batman returns to Gotham to the beginning of the end credits, Nolan delivers a true spectacle. What remains of the GPD marches out against Bane, with Batman by their side - or rather, delivering air support via The Bat. This moment, this return of our hero, can only be described as sheer joy. I was nearly jumping out of my seat, so thrilled to see that my hero had returned. After everything Batman has been through, after all of his sacrifices, after all of his failures, Batman knows exactly what he has to do. He is not the hero Gotham deserves, he is the hero that Gotham needs.
And just when I'm starting to feel hope, Nolan throws a curveball. A physically defeated Bane sits hunched over, his mask nearly torn to pieces at the hands of Batman. And then it happens - Talia al Ghul.
We are introduced to Miranda Tate early on, as a clean energy activist and member of the board at Wayne Enterprises. Her pet project is a clean energy reactor, a device that would provide the entire city with free, clean energy through fusion power. Miranda is charming, smart, and seemingly trustworthy. When it is revealed that Bane plots to hijack the reactor and use it as a nuclear bomb, Miranda suggests shutting down its core to prevent the reactor from being converted into an A-bomb. This obviously doesn't happen.
When Bane gets his hands on the reactor, he tells Batman that he's given the detonator to a citizen of Gotham. (This is a sort of nod to "The Dark Knight," wherein The Joker threatens to blow up two boats fo citizens if one boat does not detonate the bomb on the other). Upon Batman's apparent defeat of Bane, Miranda Tate enters the room, knife in-hand, stabbing Batman just as he is interrogating Bane about the detonator to the bomb. She reveals that she is Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. She also reveals that she was the child who escaped The Pit - we were previously led to believe that Bane was the child. But no - Bane was Talia's protector, and he has been all along. This huge reveal shakes the very foundation on which the story - up until this point - was built. I perceived that Bane was the threat, that Bane was the mastermind, that Bane was the villain. But the true villain was there all along, right in front of my eyes. My heart completely sank, not just for myself but for Batman. He trusted her, he shared a log-fire sexual escapade with her, he gave her the means to create this bomb. Talia reveals to Batman that she intends on finishing the work which her father started: destroying Gotham.
What I love about Nolan's inclusion of Talia is the parallel she provides to Bruce Wayne in "Batman Begins." Filled with anger and resentment for the death of her father, Talia seeks to destroy the man who destroyed her life. Batman is Talia's Joe Chill. Although she seeks to carry out her father's mission, in the end she is in it for the revenge. But, as demonstrated in "Batman Begins," Bruce Wayne learns an important lesson that Talia never gets the chance to:
BRUCE WAYNE: "Justice is about more than revenge."
With Talia out of the picture, Batman still has to figure out a way to save Gotham from the bomb. And he figures it out quickly. Again, we have another moment from "Batman Begins" that seems to work its way into the sweeping character arc of Batman. Before Ra's al Ghul meets his doom on the Gotham train that is about to derail, he acknowledges how far Bruce has come:
RA'S AL GHUL: "You finally learned to do what is necessary."
And so, Batman understands what he must do. We see The Bat flying out of the city, over the ocean, bomb attached. And then, a flash of white. At this moment, I was completely on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Not because I thought that Batman was dead, but because everything has led to this pinnacle moment, this last act, this ultimate sacrifice. It was tragic and beautiful. At this point, I'm crying like a baby and shaking like a leaf.
The final moments of the film felt like a blur. We see Batman's sacrifice, we see Bruce Wayne's funeral, we see a statue of Batman taking its rightful place in Gotham - so much sadness yet so much hope is squeezed into these final moments. I'm at my lowest point, but I also feel a sense of hope.
And Nolan delivers on my hope with John Blake. As the young, hot-headed cop who was working alongside Gordon, Blake was an interesting character throughout the film. His introduction with Bruce earlier in the film - about them both being orphans and about how much he and the other boys looked up to Bruce, the billionaire orphan - it wasn't a conversation that I thought would hold much weight. But I soon realized that it was in that moment that John realized who Bruce really was. (Many people are annoyed by John's sudden discovery, but to me it makes perfect sense). As John becomes disillusioned by the lack of justice and compassion in Gotham, he begins to understand why Batman must exist, why Gotham needs him.
Without me realizing it, Nolan had been setting up John Blake to carry on Batman's legacy throughout the entire movie. I didn't think he was anyone except a helpful young cop. But it made perfect sense, in the end. Blake has known the same tragedies as Bruce Wayne, but he does not share Bruce's faith in Gotham. Blake has seen the city in its worst moments. When the kids on the bus are not allowed to leave Gotham per the commands of its own police department, it is the ultimately betrayal of justice for Blake. As he steps up in Batman's place, Blake will become a new breed of hero: rather than putting his faith into the GPD or the district attorney, Blake will claim sole responsibility for Gotham's fate. He will understand that the city cannot be trusted to take care of itself. Despite Nolan's nod, I do not believe that John Blake will become Robin - he will take Bruce's place and become Batman. Batman is not a man, Batman is a symbol - which means that anybody could be Batman. And so we see Blake arriving at the Batcave, stepping onto a platform that begins to rise - "The Dark Knight Rises" indeed.
I know this review started to stray away from the traditional format of movie reviews, but I had a lot to say. I have yet to see "The Dark Knight Rises" for a second time. But something tells me that my feelings won't change much from the first viewing. For me, everything came together and the trilogy was brought to a graceful close. Batman's story has been complete - we've watched him from birth, to rebirth, to death, and finally to immortality. It's been a joyous ride, and I wish I could fully and more adequately express my admiration for what Christopher Nolan has done for my favorite childhood superhero. As I stated before, "The Dark Knight Rises" defeated me; it broke me down, it made it past my skepticism and dug itself deep into my emotional lockbox; it was so huge in scope and so grand in scale that at one point, I didn't think I could take anymore. But isn't that what a movie is supposed to do?
This is the Batman movie I've been waiting for - the ultimate Batman movie about Batman. While "Batman Begins" is primarily focused on Bruce Wayne, and Nolan gives the spotlight to The Joker in "The Dark Knight," his final installment shifts the attention to Batman: the legend, the symbol, the hero that Gotham needs.
The Batman we see in this film is a different Batman; his willingness to take the fall for Harvey Dent in order to to save Gotham from knowing the painful truth has resulted in Batman's damnation. The death of Rachel has left him broken and hopeless, with no foreseeable future. I could feel that hopelessness oozing through the screen. Christian Bale's portrayal has always been spectacular, but "The Dark Knight Rises" really proved to me that he has always been meant for these films. The sense of gloom was overwhelming. I was sitting in the theater, worried that Batman's emotional and psychological state was beyond repair.
Enter Bane, a massive beast of a man, who is willing to do whatever is necessary to accomplish his goal of destroying Gotham. While he lacks the psychosis and overall creepiness of The Joker, Bane is just as merciless. Like Batman, Bane has made himself into a symbol. True, he represents the criminal underground; an uprising of sorts. But he also embodies the literal underground - the underworld, such as that of Hades. As Greek mythology tells us, the Underworld is hidden deep within the earth. It is not a place of fire and brimstone; rather, it is a place without hope, without sunlight, a dark and desolate prison where the dead slowly fade away into nothingness. Bane is the ultimate adversary for Batman, and the reason is perfectly laid out during their sewer showdown:
BANE: "You adopted the darkness; I was born into it."
Chills ran up my spine when Bane said this. It was as if he was telling Batman to give it all up, that he doesn't belong. It reminded me of Carmine Falcone's speech to Bruce in "Batman Begins":
CARMINE: "People from your world have so much to lose. Now, you think because your mommy and your daddy got shot, you know about the ugly side of life, but you don't. You've never tasted desperate. You're, uh, you're Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham; you'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who didn't know your name. So, don't-don't come down here with your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you'll never understand. And you always fear what you don't understand."
Bane is the perfect counterpart to Batman. I was very pleased with his inclusion, and although half of his face is covered, Tom Hardy did a fantastic job inducing fear in us all. My only criticism of Bane's role is that I was hoping for more hand-to-hand combat between him and Batman. The sewer fight was over fairly quickly, and their fight scene on the steps of the courthouse could have lasted longer - but this isn't a movie about Bane, or any other villains; it's about Batman.
Moving on to another pleasing interpretation, which is that of Selina Kyle. She is a different kind of Catwoman, in that she is not - I repeat, NOT - a victim. By not delving into Selina's back story, Nolan brilliantly allows the character to develop on her own terms. Her decisions and her actions are not predetermined by a string of painful flashbacks or memories (in contrast to Bruce Wayne); rather, Nolan gives her the freedom to be however the hell she wants to be. That's not to say that she is exempt from feeling the consequences of her actions. When Selina leads Batman to Bane's hideout underneath the city, she commits an unspeakable betrayal; and at the exact moment when the deed is done and the gate slams into the ground, Selina's face turns to horror in regret for what she's done. It's a key moment for the character, and Hathaway's seemingly effortless ability to convey this moment of regret is nothing short of impressive.
While she remains a minor part of the story, Selina still makes an impact. She is strong, clever, and not above using her feminine charm to manipulate those who get in her way (I'm particularly referencing the bar fight scene, in which Selina goes from trigger-happy she-warrior to horrified female citizen in an instant). She and Batman are different in more ways than they are the same, which made for an interesting relationship between them. Again, Nolan manages to breathe new life into a much beloved character, altering the traditional version just enough to make it fit into his Batman universe.
Following his disastrous encounter with Bane in the sewers made possible by Selina's treachery, Batman is broken and Bruce Wayne resurfaces. In a nod to "Batman Begins," Bruce finds himself in The Pit, a prison in south Africa controlled by The League of Shadows. In cruel fashion, Bane leaves a television in Bruce's prison cell, so that he may witness Bane's destruction of Gotham. While Bane is blowing up football fields and bridges, Bruce is at his weakest. He is helpless. A fellow prisoner tells Bruce the story of a young child who managed to escape The Pit. Upon hearing this, Bruce begins the long process of rehabilitation in an effort to get back to Gotham.
When Bruce fell down the well in "Batman Begins," his father was there to rescue him. When Bruce was then imprisoned in China, Ra's al Ghul was there to bail him out. There is no one to rescue Bruce from The Pit; he must do it himself. In a key moment during his time in The Pit, Bruce tells his fellow prisoner that he is not afraid to die. The prisoner then replies, "If you have no fear, then what will keep you alive?" (I'm not sure that was the exact quote, but it was along those lines). In "Batman Begins," Bruce learns to overcome his fear, and to become fear itself in the eyes of his enemies. In "The Dark Knight," Bruce has managed to expel his own fear, but when he attempts to use it on The Joker, it is a meaningless weapon. In "The Dark Knight Rises," Bruce has come full circle, realizing that he must embrace the fear he once tried to shut out, in order to survive. Fear will become the motivation for action.
This is when the film really starts to come together. Bruce is free from The Pit and ready to use his own fear in order to save Gotham. It's been a roller coaster for us viewers, seeing Batman returning to the streets of Gotham, then seeing Batman nearly destroyed, then seeing Bruce in The Pit, to finally seeing Batman returning to Gotham. It's certainly an up/down, up/down experience - not enjoyed by everyone - but this is what has to happen in order for Batman's story to come full circle.
From the moment Batman returns to Gotham to the beginning of the end credits, Nolan delivers a true spectacle. What remains of the GPD marches out against Bane, with Batman by their side - or rather, delivering air support via The Bat. This moment, this return of our hero, can only be described as sheer joy. I was nearly jumping out of my seat, so thrilled to see that my hero had returned. After everything Batman has been through, after all of his sacrifices, after all of his failures, Batman knows exactly what he has to do. He is not the hero Gotham deserves, he is the hero that Gotham needs.
And just when I'm starting to feel hope, Nolan throws a curveball. A physically defeated Bane sits hunched over, his mask nearly torn to pieces at the hands of Batman. And then it happens - Talia al Ghul.
We are introduced to Miranda Tate early on, as a clean energy activist and member of the board at Wayne Enterprises. Her pet project is a clean energy reactor, a device that would provide the entire city with free, clean energy through fusion power. Miranda is charming, smart, and seemingly trustworthy. When it is revealed that Bane plots to hijack the reactor and use it as a nuclear bomb, Miranda suggests shutting down its core to prevent the reactor from being converted into an A-bomb. This obviously doesn't happen.
When Bane gets his hands on the reactor, he tells Batman that he's given the detonator to a citizen of Gotham. (This is a sort of nod to "The Dark Knight," wherein The Joker threatens to blow up two boats fo citizens if one boat does not detonate the bomb on the other). Upon Batman's apparent defeat of Bane, Miranda Tate enters the room, knife in-hand, stabbing Batman just as he is interrogating Bane about the detonator to the bomb. She reveals that she is Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. She also reveals that she was the child who escaped The Pit - we were previously led to believe that Bane was the child. But no - Bane was Talia's protector, and he has been all along. This huge reveal shakes the very foundation on which the story - up until this point - was built. I perceived that Bane was the threat, that Bane was the mastermind, that Bane was the villain. But the true villain was there all along, right in front of my eyes. My heart completely sank, not just for myself but for Batman. He trusted her, he shared a log-fire sexual escapade with her, he gave her the means to create this bomb. Talia reveals to Batman that she intends on finishing the work which her father started: destroying Gotham.
What I love about Nolan's inclusion of Talia is the parallel she provides to Bruce Wayne in "Batman Begins." Filled with anger and resentment for the death of her father, Talia seeks to destroy the man who destroyed her life. Batman is Talia's Joe Chill. Although she seeks to carry out her father's mission, in the end she is in it for the revenge. But, as demonstrated in "Batman Begins," Bruce Wayne learns an important lesson that Talia never gets the chance to:
BRUCE WAYNE: "Justice is about more than revenge."
With Talia out of the picture, Batman still has to figure out a way to save Gotham from the bomb. And he figures it out quickly. Again, we have another moment from "Batman Begins" that seems to work its way into the sweeping character arc of Batman. Before Ra's al Ghul meets his doom on the Gotham train that is about to derail, he acknowledges how far Bruce has come:
RA'S AL GHUL: "You finally learned to do what is necessary."
And so, Batman understands what he must do. We see The Bat flying out of the city, over the ocean, bomb attached. And then, a flash of white. At this moment, I was completely on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Not because I thought that Batman was dead, but because everything has led to this pinnacle moment, this last act, this ultimate sacrifice. It was tragic and beautiful. At this point, I'm crying like a baby and shaking like a leaf.
The final moments of the film felt like a blur. We see Batman's sacrifice, we see Bruce Wayne's funeral, we see a statue of Batman taking its rightful place in Gotham - so much sadness yet so much hope is squeezed into these final moments. I'm at my lowest point, but I also feel a sense of hope.
And Nolan delivers on my hope with John Blake. As the young, hot-headed cop who was working alongside Gordon, Blake was an interesting character throughout the film. His introduction with Bruce earlier in the film - about them both being orphans and about how much he and the other boys looked up to Bruce, the billionaire orphan - it wasn't a conversation that I thought would hold much weight. But I soon realized that it was in that moment that John realized who Bruce really was. (Many people are annoyed by John's sudden discovery, but to me it makes perfect sense). As John becomes disillusioned by the lack of justice and compassion in Gotham, he begins to understand why Batman must exist, why Gotham needs him.
Without me realizing it, Nolan had been setting up John Blake to carry on Batman's legacy throughout the entire movie. I didn't think he was anyone except a helpful young cop. But it made perfect sense, in the end. Blake has known the same tragedies as Bruce Wayne, but he does not share Bruce's faith in Gotham. Blake has seen the city in its worst moments. When the kids on the bus are not allowed to leave Gotham per the commands of its own police department, it is the ultimately betrayal of justice for Blake. As he steps up in Batman's place, Blake will become a new breed of hero: rather than putting his faith into the GPD or the district attorney, Blake will claim sole responsibility for Gotham's fate. He will understand that the city cannot be trusted to take care of itself. Despite Nolan's nod, I do not believe that John Blake will become Robin - he will take Bruce's place and become Batman. Batman is not a man, Batman is a symbol - which means that anybody could be Batman. And so we see Blake arriving at the Batcave, stepping onto a platform that begins to rise - "The Dark Knight Rises" indeed.
I know this review started to stray away from the traditional format of movie reviews, but I had a lot to say. I have yet to see "The Dark Knight Rises" for a second time. But something tells me that my feelings won't change much from the first viewing. For me, everything came together and the trilogy was brought to a graceful close. Batman's story has been complete - we've watched him from birth, to rebirth, to death, and finally to immortality. It's been a joyous ride, and I wish I could fully and more adequately express my admiration for what Christopher Nolan has done for my favorite childhood superhero. As I stated before, "The Dark Knight Rises" defeated me; it broke me down, it made it past my skepticism and dug itself deep into my emotional lockbox; it was so huge in scope and so grand in scale that at one point, I didn't think I could take anymore. But isn't that what a movie is supposed to do?
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, but no, really, top performance, and I think it's her performance that adds weight to the character as I suspect a lesser actor would have resulted in a weaker Kyle.