Life is defined by moments. Birth. Death. Love. Joy. Pain. You name it, the common denominator of all of life's moments can be defined by one word.
Emotion.
When a person looks back on their life and reflects on the moments that define the life they have lived, an emotion is connected to each of those memories. Good or bad. Happy or sad. Not to sound like a Jedi here, but....emotion is life.
Emotion is the first word that came to mind when I think about how I felt after seeing The Dark Knight Rises for the first time. When the movie faded to black and the credits began, accompanied by the other worldly musical score of Hans Zimmer, I literally needed a minute to collect my thoughts.
In that moment I asked myself, if any movie, The Dark Knight included, had ever breached my emotional core the way "Rises" had.
The answer was no.
At that moment I realized I was feeling something that I'd never felt before after seeing a movie.
The Dark Knight Rises, all 2 hours and 44 minutes of it, was the greatest movie I'd ever seen. And I honestly don't think I'll ever see anything better for the rest of my movie viewing days.
It's the greatest Batman movie of all time and the greatest comic book movie of all time (yes way better than The Avengers and I loved The Avengers).
Batman must rise once again to save Gotham. |
You're saying to yourself: Hey wait a minute? No way is "Rises" better than The Dark Knight.
And to that I say, no individual performance will ever top what Heath Ledger did when he took complete ownership of the role of the Joker. Ledger didn't win a posthumous Academy Award because people were sad that he died before TDK came out. He won the award because there was no better performance by a supporting actor that year.
That performance is what anyone who says TDK is better than TDKR is thinking about. Not the movie as a whole, just that performance. Nothing in TDKR can top that. But that's just an individual performance, not an entire movie. I'm talking about an entire movie and I'm saying that "Rises" overall, is the best movie out of the three (Batman Begins, TDK). Let's see if a movie trilogy is ever made where the third movie gets that kind of praise. I don't see that ever happening.
TDKR is a well put together collaboration of three major Batman stories from the comic books. Knightfall (which introduces Bane, the man who literally broke Batman over his knee while taking over Gotham in the process), No Man's Land (which shows a Gotham overrun by evil and so dangerous it's cut off from the rest of the world, leaving only Batman and his allies to save the day) and The Dark Knight Returns (which shows a much older Batman who has to come out of retirement after many years of inactivity to save Gotham once again, faking his death in the process, so that he may finally have closure in his life).
Of all these elements from the pages of the comic books that appear in TDKR, nothing stood out more than the presence of Bane, played brilliantly by Tom Hardy. Hardy's Bane is ruthless, cunning, cold and cut throat. Ledger's performance as the Joker was so legendary that you found yourself rooting for him as he always remained two steps ahead of everyone. With Bane, his mere name will give you the shivers, and he's very hard to root for.
This isn't an apple tablet. What kind of sick people are these? |
There's a moment in TDKR when Selina Kyle (more on her later) says to Detective John Blake (a LOT more on him later) in regards to Bane, "you should be as afraid of him as I am."
Born in darkness. |
That is no understatement. That moment where Batman is lead into a trap, a steel door shutting behind him (and in a sheer moment of camera work brilliance by director Christopher Nolan) his head turns to reveal Bane, arms hanging from his chest, oozing with confidence, I think it's safe to say that's the first time in the history of watching a Batman movie where you generally were scared for Batman. |
Pending doom. |
Anyone who's read Knightfall knew what was coming in that instant, and Nolan did not disappoint. The only thing better than watching one of the most iconic moments in the history of Batman comics being reenacted in live living color (Bane's back breaker), was listening to the words spoken from Bane's masked mouth as it happened.
As Batman fearfully realizes for the first time in his life that he is physically outmatched by Bane's sheer strength, he begins to revert to his utility belt, throwing smoke pellets at Bane, and that ushers one of TDKR's best lines.
"Theatricality and deception. Powerful agents to the uninitiated," Bane says. "But we are initiated Bruce."
The exact words Ras Al Ghul taught Bruce in his training. Bane is letting Bruce know he knows everything.
There are few moments more intense after Bane utters those words letting Batman know that he knows everything he's going to do before he does it. He's in his head.
A last ditch effort by Batman, using a device to turn out all the lights, hoping to use the darkness as an advantage, just reveals that he is about to suffer his first defeat.
"You think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark," Bane says. "I was born in it."
At that point you realize Batman is doomed and Nolan gives us the moment every comic book fan was waiting for from the moment it was first revealed that Bane would be a villain, the breaking of the bat. Right before it happens Batman gives one more defensive stand. Back peddling, with barely enough strength to keep a defensive position, he lets out a scream, very uncharacteristic of him. All to let you know he's lost control of his emotions.
Just like in the comics, Bane shows Batman that he is his superior in every way. |
Before we get to the last arc of the movie, let's go ahead and get the cat out of the bag (pardon the pun). Anne Hathaway was absolutely fantastic as Selina Kyle (who is never called Catwoman in the movie, never purrs, doesn't drink milk-which is an ode to Nolan's constant realism of his Bat-films). She added a sexuality to the film that wasn't needed, but was sure appreciated. She truly plays both sides in TDKR going form burglar to ally to traitor to redeemer. She's good. She's bad. She's funny. Everything you would have wanted out of Catwoman she brought to the table. She knocked it out of the park, even going so far as to have so-so chemistry with Bale's Bruce Wayne, but off the chart sparks when Bale is wearing the cape and cowl. Her eventual team up with Batman in the end is great to watch. I mean who revs up a Bat-pod when Batman is trying to give you instructions? Catwoman does, that's who. Despite being betrayed by her earlier in the film, Batman let's Catwoman know he still has faith in her and believes she's still a good person underneath her mask, goggles and perfectly fitting black leather outfit.
Good or bad? A little of both. |
So back to the story. Batman is broken. Dumped into a prison that's impossible to escape. Bane makes him suffer mentally by making Bruce watch him take over Gotham on tv. Selina is on the run. Bane blows up a football field and half the city, trapping almost all of Gotham's cops underground. Hope is lost. But we know that's not really the case. Batman builds himself back up, but he can't make the jump necessary to escape the prison. He's told a child has done it and he doesn't understand why he can't. He's told he must make the jump the same way the child did. Without a rope. This leads to one of the most exciting moments, when being cheered on by fellow prisoners, Bruce makes the jump, frees himself, and sets the stage for one final showdown with Bane.
In leading up to the final battle Batman reconnects with (after saving his life) Detective John Blake (played perfectly by Jospeh Gordon-Levitt). Blake has on his own, come up with a plan to save many of his officer comrades stranded below, but in the moment he helps them hatch an escape, he is discovered by Bane's men. As they are about to kill him, Batman swoops in, saves the day, and tells Blake that if he's going to be working alone taking on evil, then he should put on a mask to protect those he cares about.
Detective John Blake is more than he seems. |
In this moment, this very quick moment where Batman is telling Blake to put on a mask, I was overcome with excitement. Young man fighting alongside Batman? Batman telling him to put on a mask? Could it be? We wouldn't know until the end.
And what an end. Batman and Catwoman (Batman by air in the "bat" and Catwoman by street on a batpod) leading the newly freed police into battle against Bane and his mercenaries with the soul of Gotham on the line, and in broad daylight no less. Everything is going Batman's way in the battle until he's literally stabbed in the back (again, but this time literally) by Wayne Enterprises board member Miranda Tate who reveals herself to be none other than Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ras Al Ghul (she's also the child who escapes the prison years ago. You think it's Bane, but it's her.)
Hope. |
I wish I can say I was shocked by this, but when Nolan revealed that TDKR would bring the movies full circle and that Marion Cotillard was involved, I knew she was Talia.
Talia had come to lay waste to Gotham, after previously laying down with Bruce Wayne, and I knew it all along. Just like I knew the true identity of Gordon-Levitt's John Blake (but more on that later).
Batman manages to retrieve a nuclear bomb that Bane and Talia were set to detonate. Batman gets the bomb with about a minute left on the clock, and realizes there's only one thing he can do. Fly the bomb over the ocean and let it go off. This is what he does. Zooming along in the "bat" until a loud BOOM is heard and you see a large mushroom cloud over the sea. Batman has sacrificed his life for the lives of Gotham's citizens. Or so it seems. A small funeral is held for Bruce Wayne (who reveals to Commish Gordon before he "dies" that he is indeed Batman. Blake quits the police force, disgusted at times by how they can be crippled by their laws and rules, and Alfred cries horribly thinking everything was his fault for enabling Bruce for so long.
I'm running Wayne Enterprises now so let's have an emergency meeting...hey what's Bane doing here? |
But in truth, Bruce installs an autopilot in the "bat," saves himself runs off with Selina Kyle and leaves the Bat-cave for someone who he feels can carry on his legacy. And who is this person? None other than Blake, who when picking up his inheritance from Bruce (Bruce leaves the rest of his money to Alfred, his mansion to orphaned boys), has to give his real name to the person holding the items.
Blake is surprised to see that there is nothing for him. He then realizes that the items are probably under his legal name. You see Blake himself was an orphan, just like Bruce. The first clue to who he really was. He lost his parents tragically just like Bruce as well. So more than likely "John Blake" was a name given to him by a foster family. He reaches into his jacket and grabs his identification, which has his legal name. The woman takes his card, says that she indeed has something for him, and hands him a small bag.
"You should go by your real name. It's a nice name," she says. "Robin."
When she says Robin, Blake looks at her and smiles, but he's really smiling at the audience. Yet another big reveal in this movie. John Blake, Gotham City cop, is really Robin the Boy Wonder. This revelation leads to the most dramatic and heartfelt scene in TDKR.
Alfred, still very sad over the death of Bruce Wayne, goes to a frequent vacation spot. A place where he said he always visited in his past, when Bruce had gone missing for seven years to do his training with the League of Shadows. Alfred tells Bruce earlier in the movie that he had always hoped that Bruce would never come back to Gotham where he would only find pain and misery. He always wanted Bruce to start a new life and had hoped that one day he would see Bruce sitting at a table, with a pretty girl at that very vacation spot. He says in that fantasy of his he would see Bruce happy, Bruce would see him, they would never acknowledge each other, but they'd both know that Bruce was ok.
The beauty of this scene is that when it happens at the beginning of the movie, you don't realize that Nolan is setting up the end. So after Bruce's funeral when Alfred goes back to that vacation spot, you know what's coming. And with the final strong percussions of Hans Zimmer's score, we see Bruce, sitting at a table, with Selena Kyle, relaxed, happy, and at peace. Bruce and Alfred look at each other. But that is all, Alfred tips his head to him as to say "I know you're alright," and he gets up and happily leaves Bruce to his new life.
At the same time, back in Gotham, Commissioner Gordon notices a brand new Bat signal has been put in the city and Blake is following directions that are left to him from Bruce Wayne. He comes to a waterfall. A waterfall that conceals an entrance to a cave. The cave. The Bat-cave. Blake swings on a rope through the waterfall and when he lands on the ground, he looks up in amazement. Bruce has left him his legacy. The mantle of the bat to continue fighting crime in whatever way he chooses. Looking on in amazement at the grandness of the cave, Blake doesn't realize the ground is moving beneath him. He is rising to his destiny. Batman has saved the city for the last time, but with Robin now positioned to take his place, the Dark Knight will rise once again.