Movie Analysis for The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises ~ A Poetic and Explosive End 

"A hero can be anyone"- Batman

The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion of The Dark Knight Trilogy and is the sequel to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Set eight years following the death of Harvey Dent, Gotham City is living in a time of peace and prosperity following the implementation of The Dent Act. Crime has disappeared from the streets of Gotham City and Batman has retired from fighting crime. However, their peace will be disrupted by a new enemy from the past, who is planning to overthrow the city's social order and ignite a revolution that will create economic instability. 

Today I will be reviewing The Dark Knight Rises in order to understand its flaws and its strengths. I believe that it is one of Christopher Nolan's greatest films ever made that features comic book characters in a realistic way. We understand that each installment in the trilogy always brings something fresh to the table without changing the characters for who we have come to know and love.

"Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now, so we'll hunt him. Because he can take it, because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight"

The Villain

"No one cared who I was until I put on the mask."

Batman: Knightfall

In the comics, Bane as a villain is not that interesting. He is somewhat just a hulking brute that has no personality and a one-dimensional recurring villain in the comics. He later received favourable attention in one of the comic storylines, Batman: Knightfall where he systematically cripples the Dark Knight physically and mentally before breaking his back. This is what enticed Christopher Nolan to making Bane as the main villain for The Dark Knight Rises because Batman has never been challenged physically in the previous installments. Bane is the perfect villain to challenge the Dark Knight with the brains of a master tactician and the brawn of a hulk, this is someone most men should be terrified of if they ever faced someone this powerful.

In this film, the character has more substance and a much more frightening stature compared to his comic book counterpart. This which is due to Tom Hardy's impressive performance with Nolan and his creative team. They managed to humanise this monster and I was convinced that Tom Hardy has disappeared into the role of Bane. If you look closely at Bane, he shares an exact similarities between him and Batman. Both were trained under the league of Shadows but in different times. Both are were highly trained and are considered by Ra's al Ghul to be his best students. However, Bane lacks compassion for his enemies and is willing to brutalize and torture them before delivering the killing blow, something which Batman will never do. Batman and Bane are also fighting for the same goal which is injustice. Batman believes he can set an example of how to defeat injustice in Gotham's citizens by giving them hope. Bane, however, believes that injustice must be exterminated by destroying Gotham causing conflict between the two. Bane also has a love interest which is revealed to be Miranda Tate, AKA Talia al Ghul but is unable to spend time with due to his mutilated condition from protecting Talia, hence causing him to rely on an analgesic mask to relieve his pain. 

The pit

Bane at the Gotham Stock Exchange

Bane is seen as Ra's al Ghul's successor whom will carry out his master's plan to destroy Gotham by slowly bringing out the worst in its people. The reason why Bane is an effective villain was his belief in fighting injustice. Just like his master, he believes Gotham is beyond saving and needs to be cleansed starting by toppling its social order, destroying the tunnels and bridges to prevent escapees and blowing up Gotham city to hell with a neutron bomb, completing his plan. Despite having an elaborate plan, he is less threatening than The Joker. While they share the same vision of how Gotham should be, The Joker will forever be the superior villain because The Joker has no principles and is unhinged.  The Joker is exceptionally good at attacking Batman's weakness and he does this by taking away everything he held so dearly. Bane, on the other hand, still has some compassion left within him and is not considered to as twisted as The Joker. Despite being a slight letdown for some fans, Bane is still a solid menace that could kick the shit out of Batman without much effort.

Story and Themes

"A hero can be anybody. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring by putting a coat

on a young boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hasn't ended"

-Batman to Gordon

"Come with me you don't need these people anymore. You've given them everything", urged Catwoman

"Not everything, not yet", Batman responds

The story for The Dark Knight Rises is very intricate and more complex compared to its predecessor. Instead of facing off a random thug with clown makeup and goons, Batman has to face an entire guerilla army that is trained to destroy whatever that stands in their way of destroying his city. With a superbrute as their leader, they are able to get through and respond with ease before Batman or the authorities could react to do anything to stand against this terrifying army. I have to give praise for Nolan in portraying a man who has made the ultimate sacrifice for the future of Gotham but at the same time, costs him his legacy and the guilt of being Batman. In reality, we cannot save everyone despite being a superhero. We are bound to be surrounded by our enemies who will be quick to learn our strengths and exploit our weaknesses to ensure that their goal is secured. Because of the choice to become Batman and to save his city, he loses the woman he loves Rachel Dawes. This is great storytelling because Nolan manages to make us care about the character more than in the previous films. This is a story about a man who feels as if his purpose has been achieved and feels like an empty shell, waiting for something to happen.

Certain key events escalate as Bruce soon realises that Gotham is no longer the utopia it was. Gotham has fallen into vanity and corruption because they took Batman for granted and has been living in a lie that Harvey Dent is Gotham's true hero. However, Bruce is in no shape to fight and has been living in repressed guilt and sadness. Physically and mentally, he is no match for Bane and is crippled after the brutal fight. In total despair, he watches as Bane picks apart the city he loves so much to pieces while he is stuck in The Pit. Bruce realises that he cannot just rest and watch but must regain that hope that was seemingly lost in him. Bruce is essentially finding himself in this film and has to take the leap of faith. He succeeds, beginning his new journey of becoming Batman again.

"Ah yes, I was wondering what would break first, your spirit or your body"

-Bane gloats as he cripples Batman

breaking the bat

The recurring theme in The Dark Knight Rises is escalation. Gotham's citizens are weak and are susceptible to vanity following the implementation of The Dent Act. In times of crisis, they will listen to anyone who is willing to help which will lead to their destruction. After conquering the city, Bane overthrows all figures of authority and allows the people to do as freely as they wish, he also damages the infrastructure with bombs. This causes social imbalance within the city as the wealthy and powerful have been dragged from their homes because Bane never had any respect for the rich and believes they are the reason why corruption still exists. Bane takes his plan to the extreme by allegedly revealing the truth behind Harvey Dent's legacy, tarnishing The Dent Act and freeing every convict from Arkham to take back their streets. I personally found this theme of escalation realistic because a scenario portrayed in a comic book film which made me tremble as I watch.

Another theme portrayed in the film is terrorism and social order. In times where the social order collapses and there is nothing we can do about it but to live in fear. Bane upsets the established order and forces everyone to eat each other in order to survive. This is a scenario that could happen in the future. That is why we have to be careful who we believe, we cannot simply believe in someone just because they are influential in terms of speaking. Their ACTIONS speak LOUDER than words just by creating anarchy and chaos.

Lastly, anyone can be a hero. Batman is not limited to one person because his legacy will continue to live on as long as the people will continue to believe in him and help each other once in a while. This theme shines when Batman sacrifices himself to prevent the neutron bomb from destroying Gotham. Nobody remembers who their saviour was, only the Batman, no name and no face. This will be a shining moment for everyone who aspires to be a hero to their loved ones.

Cast

Obviously, the acting performances are one of the film's strongest assets. Christian Bale is given the opportunity to be more expressive as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He feels much more like a real person undergoing a traumatic experience. He is sombre, sad, stoic and inspiring to watch as we see how he processes his guilt and eventually becomes a better man by the end of the film. Despite not having enough Batman in this film, the film is actually trying to show us what loss is for a man being the hero. Bruce Wayne feels like the Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2 that wants to stop being the hero and help himself once in a while. Micheal Caine was also fantastic as Alfred, he is given so much depth in this film despite having a limited amount of screen time. Tom Hardy was also incredible as Bane, his hulking, gigantic stature and impressive body language is what stole the show for me. Despite being unable to express himself due to being restrained by a mask, I genuinely believe that Tom Hardy has become Bane in this film. However, I disliked what they did for his voice. Sometimes I couldn't catch what he was trying to say which felt like Batman's fake, hammy voice for a prank call.

The remaining cast members was fantastic in their respective roles, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman all did their best to distinguish one another's personalities. Nevertheless, I felt Marion Cotillard was the weak link for me due to her character being useless for the first 2/3 of the movie, twist reveals she is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. While it is not a bad performance, I feel like Nolan did not properly flesh out her character which made the twist feel hollow and empty. 

Bane's chilling quote

the cast and crew

The Ending

I wanna talk about the ending of The Dark Knight Rises because it is an emotional moment for many fans who love the character so much, the ending is so satisfying because Batman has finally received the catharsis he needed to move on. Batman carries the bomb away from Gotham City and into the Pacific Ocean, making the ultimate promise he dedicated his life to keeping which was to prove to his enemies, The League of Shadows that Gotham can be redeemed that has its people who are ready to believe in good. However, Batman may be long gone but his legend and legacy will be held close to the citizens in their hearts for they know that Batman is a nobody who became a somebody. Anyone can put on a mask and be a hero. Even a man doing something as putting a coat on a little boy's shoulders to let him know that the world has not ended.

The cathartic moment when Alfred sees Bruce and Selina is so touching, but was left to the viewer's interpretation of how the film ended. Nolan's films tend to end with an ambigious case which will keep the film in our heads for how it ended. It is a very ingenious way of making an audience remember their experience with his films and I salute him for that. Thank You Christopher Nolan and the crew behind-the-scenes in making this film despite not living up to the hype after The Dark Knight.

when he gives you that look