Revisited - The Dark Knight Rises

In this week of Revisited, I am not going to talk about Michael Keaton's Batman nor the more popular The Dark Knight. The one I am going to talk about is the one that has been shoved to the back of the great Christopher Nolan trilogy. The Dark Knight Rises is kind of the black sheep of the trilogy. Most people regarded it has not good nor really bad either. Having it be the last in the trilogy and the follow up to such a great film divided a lot of people. In my opinion, Batman Begins is a great movie with it's relatable origin story to great character development and in the building of the the character of Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight of course continues this trend and goes on another level and on top of it all, is also gives one of the best movie performances in Heath Ledger's Joker.

I cant stress it enough that both these films are stand alone greats in cinematic history so where does that leave The Dark Knight Rises. The movie does a lot of things right in a very old fashioned way. It's straight forward and gives a satisfying conclusion to a hero that doesn't really get any. it ties up loose ends that need to be answered and above all us, closes the arc to the titular character of Bruce Wayne not Batman. This movie needs to be recognize for finishing an arc of a character so well and in a way that has not been done before in Batman's history.

Not many times does the bat live happily ever after knowing someone will take his place to save gotham. It helps tie both of the previous films together in one beautiful trilogy. Batman begins is the raw origin of Batman and the build up to his legacy. The Dark Knight is the peak of his legacy and the question of his morales and finally, The Dark Knight Rises is about picking yourself back up and learning to let go and live your life. This Trilogy gave a perfect arc to the character I hold dear. He fails, he stumbles, and gets dragged through the mud, but he gets back up and keeps going.

The Dark Knight Rises was 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan. Christopher Nolan was hesitant about returning to the series for a third film, but agreed after developing a story with his brother that he felt would conclude the series on a satisfactory note. Nolan drew inspiration from Bane's comic book debut in the 1993 "Knightfall" storyline, the 1986 series The Dark Knight Returns, and the 1999 storyline "No Man's Land".

The Dark Knight Rises premiered in New York City on July 16, 2012. The film received positive reviews, with praise being directed toward the performances, action sequences, screenplay, direction, musical score, and emotional depth, with many critics deeming it a solid conclusion to the trilogy. The consensus at Rotten Tomatoes calls it "ambitious, thoughtful, and potent". The film grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it the second film in the Batman film series to earn $1 billion. In addition to being Nolan's highest-grossing film, it is the 29th-highest-grossing film of all time (7th at the time of release).

In Uzbekistan, Bane, a mysterious terrorist and former member of the League of Shadows, abducts nuclear physicist Dr. Leonid Pavel from a CIA aircraft. Eight years after the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman has disappeared. Organized crime has been eradicated in Gotham City thanks to the Dent Act giving expanded powers to the police. Commissioner James Gordon has kept Dent's murderous rampage as the vigilante Two-Face a secret and allowed blame for his crimes to fall on Batman. He has prepared a speech to read revealing the truth, but decides not to read it.

Bruce Wayne has become a recluse, and Wayne Enterprises is losing money after Wayne discontinued his fusion reactor project when he learned that it could be weaponized. Bane sets up his base in the city sewers, and prompts Wayne's corporate rival John Daggett to buy Wayne's fingerprints. Cat burglar Selina Kyle obtains Wayne's prints from Wayne Manor for Daggett, but she is double-crossed at the exchange and alerts the police. Gordon and the police arrive and pursue Bane and Daggett's henchmen into the sewers while Kyle flees. The henchmen capture Gordon and take him to Bane. Gordon escapes and is found by rookie officer John Blake. Blake, a fellow orphan who deduced Wayne's secret identity, confronts him and convinces him to return as Batman.

Bane attacks the Gotham Stock Exchange by using Wayne's fingerprints in a series of transactions that leaves Wayne bankrupt. Batman resurfaces for the first time in eight years while intercepting Bane and his subordinates. Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, is convinced that Wayne is not strong enough to fight Bane, and resigns in an attempt to save him. Wayne finds an ally in new Wayne Enterprises CEO Miranda Tate, who becomes his lover. Using the stolen transactions, Bane expands his operations and kills Daggett. Kyle agrees to take Batman to Bane but instead leads him into Bane's trap. Bane reveals that he intends to fulfill Ra's al Ghul's mission to destroy Gotham. Batman fights Bane, but Bane breaks his back and takes him abroad to an underground prison.

The inmates tell Wayne the story of Ra's al Ghul's child, who was born and raised in the prison before escaping — the only prisoner to have done so. Bane lures Gotham's police into the sewers and uses explosives, trapping them and destroying bridges surrounding the city. He kills Mayor Anthony Garcia during a football game and forces Pavel to convert the reactor core into a decaying neutron bomb. Bane reads Gordon's speech to the crowd, and releases the prisoners of Blackgate Penitentiary while exiling and killing Gotham's elite in kangaroo courts presided over by Jonathan Crane. Months later, Wayne escapes from the prison and returns to Gotham. Batman frees the police and they clash with Bane's army in the streets; during the battle, Batman overpowers Bane. Tate intervenes and stabs Batman, revealing herself as Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul's daughter.

She activates the bomb's detonator, but Gordon blocks her signal. Talia leaves to find the bomb while Bane prepares to kill Batman, but Kyle arrives and kills Bane. Batman and Kyle pursue Talia, hoping to bring the bomb back to the reactor chamber where it can be stabilized. Talia's truck crashes, but she remotely floods and destroys the reactor chamber before dying. With no way to stop the detonation, Batman uses his aerial craft, the Bat, to haul the bomb far over the bay, where it safely explodes. Before takeoff, Batman indirectly reveals his identity to Gordon.

In the aftermath, Batman is presumed dead and honored as a hero. Wayne Manor becomes an orphanage and Wayne's estate is left to Alfred. Gordon finds the Bat Signal repaired, while Lucius Fox discovers that Wayne fixed the malfunctioning auto-pilot on the Bat. While vacationing in Florence, Alfred discovers that Bruce is alive and in a relationship with Kyle. Blake resigns from the GCPD and receives a parcel from Wayne leaving him the Batcave, his legal name is also revealed to be Robin.

So The Dark Knight Rises was all in all a great film. It was a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy, brought satisfying conclusions to multiple plot threads, and completed Bruce Wayne's arc beautifully. Not many films can say they accomplished that by the third film in the series. Hell, most films die out on the third installment or even make more sequels which just ruin the franchise as a whole. However, what this film did was rare and fantastic so to say it plainly, go watch it again. This has been Revisited, thanks for reading. Ricardo signing off.