More Dark Knight Rises (only for people who have seen it)

I can't keep quiet about The Dark Knight Rises it seems, so I've decided to post this that contains MAJOR spoilers for the movie. If you haven't seen it you, you really shouldn't read this.

Further Reading


First off, if you aren't a reader of the comics yet, and would like to read some of the story's that inspired the movie, you should definitely try 'Knightfall', which is the story arc that introduced Bane to the comic book world. Just as Bane releases all of the prisoners at Blackgate in the movie, he breaks all of the patients out of Arkham Asylum in this story. Unlike in the movie, this is his first step in his plan to take over Gotham, by waiting patiently as Batman exhausts himself trying to to round up all of the escaped patients and then confronting him at his lowest ebb. This results in the first time that Batman has been so utterly defeated, with Bane breaking his back in the exact same way he does it in the movie.



You should also read 'No Man's Land', in which a massive earthquake has leveled Gotham City, and instead of providing aid, the President cuts the city off from the rest of the world - it should be noted that at the time, the President was Lex Luthor. When the story starts, Batman has been missing for six months. The actual reasons for both the city being cut off, and Batman's absence are very different in the movie, but it's obvious where the inspiration came from.



The final obvious reference is to Frank Miller's infamous 'The Dark Knight Returns', which follows an aging Bruce Wayne returning to the role of Batman after a ten year absence. Thankfully, that premise and one piece of dialogue are all that the movie really takes from the story, because Frank Miller's Batman is a truly nasty and brutal piece of work with no redeeming characteristics.



By the end of the movie, there are a couple of other books that while their use as inspiration aren't as obvious as the first three, I still think they are vital to get a little background on who turns out to be the "Big Bad" of the piece. The earliest stories that feature Talia al Ghul are featured in the collection, 'Tales Of The Demon'. Possibly the most significant story until recent years to feature her is 'Son Of The Demon'. Both the 'Legacy' storyline and 'Bane Of The Demon' feature Bane working for Ra's al Ghul as his potential heir and husband of Talia. Finally, I think 'Death And The Maidens' should be read, as Talia in the movie feels betrayed by her father and is a lot more definitely evil, similar to her sister - Nyssa Rytkko - who launches a plan to murder her father in this story. It's relevant, because Talia in the comics is conflicted between her loyalty to her father and the League Of Assassins, and her genuine love for Batman, but in the movie is only sleeping with Bruce to gain his trust and actually despises him.

Talia al Ghul
 

Talking of Talia, there had been rumours since Marion Cotillard was cast in the role of Miranda Tate there had been rumours that she was actually going to be Talia. I was convinced that they were only rumours, and even with the whole "Child of Ra's al Ghul" storyline (that they carefully remained gender neutral whenever referring to her should have been a hint), it managed to take me by surprise when suddenly Miranda stabs Batman in a weak point in his armour and announces, "He's not the child of Ra's al Ghul. I am." Looking back on it, there were a few hints to Miranda's true identity. The viewer and Bruce were supposed to believe that when she asked him how he could justify spending so much money on a plan to save the world only to abandon it that she was talking about the energy project their characters had been working on together. In hindsight though, it seems obvious that she was talking about Batman. There were also a few subtle but knowing glances between her and Bane after she and Lucius Fox were taken hostage. And when Lucius refused to activate the core which would destroy the city, it was she who stepped up to activate it herself.

John Blake


One of the biggest surprises of the movie is how important Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character turned out to be. The trailers would have you believe that John Blake would just be another cop with only slightly more to do than Matthew Modine's Peter Foley. But John actually turns out to have one of the most important arcs of the entire film, going from beat cop, to Detective reporting directly to Commissioner Gordon, to what is essentially Batman's partner, to... well... the final shots of the film reveal that his legal name is Robin John Blake.

Despite what you may think, John Blake is not Robin. That was just a nod to the fans. Batman's advised him to wear a mask if he's going to work alone, and the climax of the film ends with him quitting the police force and entering the Batcave, so it looks like he's taken his advice. But that does not mean he's going to become Robin, because that's a stupid idea. Why would you wear a mask to protect your loved ones if you're then going to go by your real name?

It goes back to the first conversation between Blake and Bruce, in which the former tells the latter that he figured out that he was Batman when he visited an orphanage and noticed that his smile was fake, just like his own. A bit far-fetched, I think... any child whose had their parents murdered in front of them is going to still be emotionally affected by it as an adult. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to dress up like a bat and beat the crap out of criminals. But bear with us here, because in this conversation, Bruce tells Blake that "it was supposed to be a symbol. Batman can be anyone".

At first, I was a bit disappointed that Blake was an original character and not someone from the comics - though he shares Dick Grayson's idealism, Jason Todd's streetsmarts and bad temper, and Tim Drake's skills as a detective - but I've now come to the conclusion that it's very important that he was an original character. It reinforces the point that Bruce was making in that conversation... "Batman can be anyone". If Blake's name turned out to be Tim Drake like I had previously assumed (or Dick Grayson as other people had guessed), it would have been just one comic book character passing on the mantle to another comic book character. But with someone we've never seen until this movie becoming Batman - even if it is only implied - it drives the point home. Batman may have sacrificed his life to save Gotham, but that doesn't mean he's dead. Anyone can be Batman. All it takes is the will to do what is right.

EDIT: Bruce's Return
I thought I'd address one of the biggest criticisms being leveled against the movie. The fact that Bruce, after escaping the prison in what looks like it could be the Middle East (the exterior was actually shot in Jodhpur in India) he could so quickly get back to Gotham without any money, or a passport.

The brief answer is, he didn't. Just before the scene in which he makes his great escape - which is a brilliant reference to him falling down the well in Batman Begins, this time rising out of something of a similar shape - there was a scene in Gotham where they talk about how four months have passed since Bane took control of Gotham. Remember that the bomb was set to go off in five months. When Bruce finally arrived back in Gotham, they had less than a day to stop the bomb going off. It took him a month to get home. He must have hitchiked and stowed away all the way back.

It's amazing the amount of supposed plot holes in all fiction that you would realise aren't plot holes if you'd been paying attention...

The Ending

(this image isn't necessarily important to the ending... I just couldn't not put a Catwoman picture in here)

Like Inception, the ending of The Dark Knight Rises is pretty ambiguous to some people. Early into the movie, Alfred tells Bruce that when he was missing, every year he'd go on holiday in Italy and he'd eat at the same restaurant. Every time he hoped that he'd see Bruce there with a wife and possibly some children, and even though they wouldn't speak to each other, he'd know that Bruce was going to be okay.

So, after Batman has made the ultimate sacrifice to save Gotham City, and after the heartbreaking funeral of Bruce Wayne (in which Michael Caine gives one of the greatest performances I've ever seen), we cut to Alfred at that restaurant in Italy, where he notices that Bruce and Selina are sitting across from him. They share a smile, and Alfred leaves. Happy ending, right? Well, there has been some debate about that. Some people believe that it could have been a hallucination. Others that it was just a dream that Alfred had, etc.

Me? I believe that Bruce is alive and well, and sharing a new life with Selina thanks to the mysterious Fresh Start software that Selina was looking for. A lot of people point out that the Bat had no autopilot, so he would have had to have been piloting when it exploded, but Lucius told Bruce that he left the autopilot for him to fix himself earlier in the movie. So why did he say that it still had no autopilot before flying off with the bomb? Because he wanted everyone to believe he had died. Selina had asked him to leave with her a little while before, and while he dismissed the idea at first, I believe he realised that this is what he wanted, but he couldn't do it without "dying". Besides... he knew Gotham would be in safe hands. John Blake isn't going to let anything happen to his city. The world still needs Batman, but Rachel was wrong... he doesn't need Batman any more.

That's my thoughts for now... I may end up adding more later. What can I say? I haven't thought this much about a movie since... well, since Inception, actually.

The Dark Knight Rises

There will be a couple of spoilers from the movies first hour or so, but I'll try to be as vague as possible.

Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer

Cast
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman
Tom Hardy as Bane
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake
Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth
Gary Oldman as James Gordon
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox
Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate

It's pretty difficult to review a movie like The Dark Knight Rises after only one viewing. The movie is nearly 3 hours long, with every minute so eventful that it's hard to take it all in. But I'm going to do my best.

Picking up eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, a retired and reclusive Bruce Wayne spends all of his time in the East Wing of Wayne Manor living with the injuries to both his mind and body, still being served by loyal butler and father figure, Alfred who worries about Bruce's choice to shut himself off from the world. Meanwhile, Commissioner James Gordon is dealing with the aftermath of the lie he and Batman came up with eight years ago, framing Batman for the crimes committed by Harvey Dent. A lie which has finally wiped out organised crime in Gotham City with the introduction of the Harvey Dent act (which I interpreted as kind of like Gotham's version of the Patriot Act), but at a heavy cost to Gordon's soul.

The relative peace couldn't last for long, though, and after a gunfight leads Gordon down into the sewers, he is captured by an army living underground. He escapes, but is so injured that most of the police dismiss his warnings as delirious rambling. Except of course for the idealistic new recruit to the police force, John Blake. He has deduced Batman's true identity and it isn't long before he has convinced Bruce Wayne to return to his night job. Bruce for his part has already been investigating a burglar known by the media as "The Cat" who managed to crack his uncrackable safe and steal his pearls ("Oops... nobody told me it was uncrackable").

Surprisingly early into the film, Batman meets the leader of the sewer army, named Bane. It's at this point when all hell breaks loose. There had been people questioning how it was possible to top the anarchy caused by The Joker in the previous movie. Well this movie provides the answer... this is the greatest threat that Gotham has ever faced, with Bane setting out to break the city before he ultimately destroys it with Batman powerless to stop him (exactly how and why I won't say).

Needless to say, this is a huge movie in every sense of the word. Thousands of extras, mass destruction and massive action scenes are all present here. But this isn't just an action movie... it's a Christopher Nolan movie. Which means that as well as providing all of the thrills and spectacle of the usual summer blockbuster, you also get some of the greatest actors in the business giving the performances of their careeer. None more so than in the case of Anne Hathaway, an actress that like Heath Ledger before her drew skepticism of her ability to portray Selina Kyle, and like Heath Ledger before her, not only proves capable, but steals every single scene she appears in. Both one of Batman's most famous villains, and one of his greatest love interests, Selina has always been a complex character who plays by her own rules, and Hathaway nails every facet of the character seemingly effortlessly. Similarly, Christian Bale, who I've always said is the only person to be able to play all three characters that his part calls for - Batman, public Bruce and private Bruce all have very different personalities - actually manage to improve upon his previous two performances of the character to completely blow any memories of Michael Keaton still lingering in people's minds away. Michael Caine and Gary Oldman also manage to exceed themselves in some of the movies most emotional scenes, and Morgan Freeman is given more to do this time around.

Other than Hathaway, there are three more newcomers in The Dark Knight Rises in Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard. It might get boring if I just praise everyone in the entire movie, so let's just say that for the most part, everything I said in the last paragraph also applies to these three - with one minor but notable exception towards the end of the movie. Tom Hardy's Bane is no Joker (who, though less powerful than Batman managed to be genuinely terrifying), but he's still one of the best villains the franchise has ever had in any format. And despite being a remorseless terrorist and brutal murderer (why shoot someone in the head, when you can snap their neck?), when we begin to delve into his backstory, you'll find it quite tragic... even moreso during the big reveal.

Seriously... see this movie. It's dark, brooding and builds slowly to one of the worthiest endings a movie series has ever had. People are obviously going to be comparing it to The Avengers, but it honestly doesn't have enough in common with that movie for any comparison to really be taken seriously. I believe they are both equally good, but in totally different ways. Christopher Nolan has delivered again... not just a great Batman movie, or even just a great comic book movie, but one of the greatest movies of any kind. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel an immense feeling of dread when you see how far Gotham has fallen and remember all the times you've been reminded that this is end... Batman might not survive!

PS: There's been a lot of talk about this being a Capitalist movie that demonises the "Occupy movement". The script was finished in February 2010... about 18 months before Occupy Wall Street began. Whilst there is an element of the villain causing ordinary citizens to rise up and punish the wealthy ("There's a storm coming, Mr. Wayne") the "resemblance" to Occupy ends there. In fact, it's played pretty ambiguously, as out of all of the richest characters in the movie, only one or two aren't shown as corrupt in some way... and one of those is the title character.