Retrospective Look At 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Mar 29

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) was the third and final film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. It follows The Dark Knight (2008), the highest-ranked film of the trilogy and the highest earner of all Batman-themed films. Those were some rather large boots to fill, and the film did so in its own way, having Bruce, played by Christian Bale, directly deal with his legacy and impact on top of the villain. To kick things off, let’s start with some of its highlights.

The film picks up about eight years after Harvey Dent’s death, finding Gotham City in a state of relative peace without the presence of Batman. Dent’s stint as Two-Face and subsequent death were covered up, and the Dent Act was enacted to clean up the streets more strictly. Exploring a world where Batman was heavily present and suddenly gone, how the Gotham P.D. filled his place, and the ensuing consequences is a fascinating storyline to spin.

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Bane and Batman fight — Image Source: *IMDb*

One of the highlights of The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is its portrayal of a specific Rogues Gallery villain. The primary antagonist of the film is Bane. While this isn’t the first time Bane has appeared in a Batman movie, his intelligence was more thoroughly highlighted in this iteration. This version of the character was raised in a fighting Pit and later rescued, kicked out, and then re-welcomed by the League of Shadows. The character takes over Gotham, interpreting the ‘breaking the Bat’ storyline by making Bane slip a disc in Bruce’s back and shipping him off to the Pit, where he has to rebuild himself.

Not everything was perfect. Bane wasn’t the only classic character featured; Selina Kyle, Jonathan Crane, Talia al Ghul, and Ra’s al Ghul were particularly notable. Selina had fit in, especially during the end of the film, and Ra’s had been a recurring character in the trilogy, but there was a bit of a crowding sensation with the others. Robin John Blake was a unique character in the film. While there were heaps of implications as to where his character would go off-screen, his own mantle was never revealed (Robin is his legal name) and his vigilante future wasn’t confirmed. The sheer number of side characters overall led to missed opportunities for development, especially considering that this was the last installment.

It’s hard to make a convincing death scene. This film had some good and some not-so-good efforts in that department. The structure of John Dagget’s death was a particularly good one. Dagget funded Bane in an effort to absorb Wayne Enterprises into his own company, and when this didn’t work out he took his grievances up with Bane. Bane reveals how little he cares for the business owner’s opinion, and that he only needs the man’s resources; the camera cuts away as Bane grabs Dagget’s face, and a tearing sound and brief screams can be heard. This is when Bane’s character is fully realized even by those who lean toward the antagonist side.

Both Bane and Talia die in this film. Bane’s death highlights how his desire to kill the Bat superseded his devotion to Talia; he had Bruce pinned and was ready to kill him after being explicitly told not to, and Selina busts through with the Batpod and shoots Bane point-blank. Bane was so absorbed with his own desires that he lost sight of his surroundings; this is a scene of mixed results, the set-up was fantastic but the actual moment feels mildly abrupt and jarring. Talia’s death was drawn out to an awkward degree, the timing of it nearly comical in what should be a serious moment. It’s hard to die convincingly, but it’s hard to tell what actually killed the character when she looked unaffected by the truck crash beyond the slightly hunched positioning.

While The Dark Knight Rises (2012) did not have the same impact as its predecessor, the film was influential in its own way. The film tied off the trilogy’s story in a way that didn’t cut off speculation for what followed beyond, explored Batman’s impact and what a world without the Caped Crusader could look like, and portrayed a version of Bane on-screen that hadn’t been seen before. At times the broad character lineup overloaded the story, leading to missed opportunities for side stories and character development. Overall, it was a good film that showed a version of Gotham with hope restored by the Bat in the end and a chance for Bruce to properly rest. Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is available to stream on Max.

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