10 Years Later: The Dark Knight Rises

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman
Running time: 165 minutes

Batman has fared the best out of Warner Bros’ crop of heroes, and The Dark Knight Rises perfectly captures why. The plot isn't over-encumbered, the villain is compelling instead of spouting generic bad guy dialogue, and the supporting characters feel unique throughout. 

While Robert Pattinson's performance as a less rigid Batman tops Bale's, it's portraying Bruce Wayne where Bale comes out on top. Christopher Nolan made sure that Bale played the two sides of the character as distinctly as possible, with his version of Bale feeling like an uncomfortable billionaire. Ben Affleck came across as an Iron Man and Tony Stark wannabe, and he even fails at that at times.

The opening to the film perfectly introduces Bane to the audience, in an action-centric way that reveals his strength and brains, in a similar way to The Dark Knight establishing the chaotic nature of the Joker. There are several memorable Bane quotes from this scene alone, though sometimes the mask obscures what is being said.

Bane's plan throughout the film still holds relevance today – perhaps more so – and his targets have political significance rather than just shock value. The film has a lot to say about capitalism and the corrupt nature of the police – issues that have only gotten worse since the film's debut.

Two things stand out when this film is put up against 2022's The Batman. The first is that the portrayal of Gotham in Matt Reeves' take has its own personality – there is crime dripping from every corner. Iconic locations like the Iceberg Lounge are a major part of the story. In The Dark Knight Rises and across Christopher Nolan's trilogy, Gotham doesn't have a unique identity. It looks just like New York. While Nolan pays a great deal of attention to character details, he forgot the most important one, outside of Batman: the city itself. 

The two films also share a similar plot point in which Gotham is severed from the outside world. The Dark Knight Rises uses this idea to aid its story, fully exploring what life is like under Bane's rule. In the most recent incarnation, this event comes largely out of nowhere, and doesn't improve the story, only serving as a third act climax. The TV show Gotham also attempts to tell a similar story, blowing up Gotham's bridges and shoving Bane onto the island, but it falls flat. The Dark Knight Rises by far shows the best look at what a crippled Gotham looks like. Hopefully any future Batman film will avoid this plot point for a while, as it's beginning to feel overdone. 

One area where this film does disappoint is through its limited use of Scarecrow. This is an area where the whole trilogy falls short, as nowhere in it is he the main antagonist. The villain hasn't had a true chance to shine since, and while The Batman ends on a perfect point to bring him in, it instead goes for the old reliable Joker. 

While Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight remains the ultimate villain portrayal, its sequel still rises above Ben Affleck’s DCEU films, reaching similar heights to The Batman. If audiences want a politically relevant Batman, then they shouldn't look any further than The Dark Knight Rises. 

Did you know? Christopher Nolan chose to film the Wayne Manor scenes at Wollaton Hall in Nottingham because it resembles Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, which was used as Bruce Wayne’s residence in Batman Begins. In Begins, the manor is burnt down, meaning its rebuilt appearance had to be slightly different.