What Did You Think Of The Dark Knight Rises?


The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s three-part Batman saga. There’s a new bad guy, a swathe of new gadgets and a whole new Batman. So what did you think of it?

The Plot:

Sound the spoiler alarm!

The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. Batman hasn’t been seen in almost a decade after he was framed for the “murder” of Harvey Dent. Dent is still being held up as a hero in the city of Gotham and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) feels pretty average about lying to the city all this time.

Billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) isn’t the man he used to be. He’s weak from being Batman and half-broke from a bad energy project he built and keeps hidden, fearing that it may be used as a bomb. Wayne hides in his mansion while benefits and parties are thrown downstairs, and on Harvey Dent Day, Wayne is robbed by a woman posing as a member of the staff for the party. Her name is Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman.

In the meantime, a hulking, masked man known as Bane is captured by the CIA and questioned in connection with the scientist who developed Wayne Enterprises’ energy device. Bane breaks out of custody in the coolest plane sequence ever made for film and takes his operation down into the sewers of Gotham.

When Bane strikes the Gotham City Stock Exchange in a bid to bankrupt Bruce Wayne, Batman dusts off his cape and goes after the bad guys, only to be chased down by the entire GCPD. Gordon pursues Bane and is shot in the process, only to be saved by officer everyman, John Blake, who Gordon promotes to detective. Our caped hero meanwhile escapes and regroups back at Wayne Manor, before a teary Alfred begs Bruce to give up being the bat. Bruce throws Alfred out and he begins his hunt for Bane again.

Batman falls into Bane’s trap after Catwoman led him there and we’re forced to watch our favourite hero get the living bat kicked out of him. Bane imprisons Batman — who he now knows to be Bruce Wayne — in an underground prison.

As every single cop in Gotham conveniently converges on the sewer system looking for Bane, the madman’s evil plan is revealed by Blake. Bane triggers a series of explosions around the city, destroying a stadium (which looks amazing) while sealing the cops in the sewer system. How convenient.

Wayne heals himself over time and climbs out of the pit, all the while learning about Bane’s origin. He travels back to Gotham to rescue the city now under siege by Bane who says he’s handing the city back to the people who are all too terrified to leave their homes. Batman gathers his crew to devise a plan that will prevent the energy reactor-become-bomb from blowing up the city.

I won’t spoil anything past here because it’s actually a really great ending that I don’t think my words can do justice to.

There’s so many great little things going on in the Batman universe that it’s almost sad to see it over

It’s interesting to note, however, that the tone of each film is set by the nature of the villain. Ra’s al Ghul was a quiet, mysterious villain with a plan to destroy Gotham with the League of Shadows, meaning that Batman Begins was similarly mysterious yet with a touch of nobility to it, because we learnt about the man who lifted himself out of adverse circumstances to fight crime. The Joker was clever as a fox and his plans were incredibly detailed, as a result, the second film reflected that intelligence. Bane, however, is an agile, violent villain with a plan that moves at breakneck speed with many players involved. As a result, the film travels at such a quick pace you can really feel the gear changes between scenes sometimes.

Enough of what I think, what do you think? Was Bane a good villain? How was Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle? Were there any cool gadgets you like? Did you see the ending coming? Let us know in the comments.

Images: Warner Bros.