100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.
#76. The Dark Knight Rises
Medium
Live-Action Feature Film
Release Dates
July 16, 2012 (New York City)
July 20, 2012 (United Kingdom)
July 20, 2012 (United States)
Credits
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer
Cast: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate / Talia al Ghul, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Matthew Modine as Deputy Commissioner Peter Foley, Ben Mendelsohn as John Daggett, Burn Gorman as Philip Stryver, Alon Abutbul as Dr. Leonid Pabel, Juno Temple as Jen, Daniel Sunjata as Captain Mark Jones, Chris Ellis as Father Reilly, Nestor Carbonell as Mayor Anthony Garcia, Brett Cullen as Byron Gilley, Liam Neeson as Ra’s al Ghul
The Reason It’s Great
The Dark Knight Rises closes out an amazing trilogy from auteur Christopher Nolan—the man who revived the overall Batman franchise on the silver screen. The finale of the three-film arc sees Batman coming out of a self-imposed exile many years after the events of The Dark Knight. He’s physically broken, but still has a will to bring justice to Gotham City.
What made this film especially great were the deep interactions of the characters made possible by the Oscar-winning cast. All the pain and conflict from years of battling crime is brought to the surface. The film’s main antagonist—Bane—also brought an equal amount of gravitas to the table. As cerebral as he was violent and strong, Bane’s presence helped to close the narrative loop on Batman’s story.
The overall film was also poignant due to a falling out between Bruce Wayne and his faithful father-like butler, Alfred. Bruce’s most trusted family member, who was with him since the beginning, only wanted the best for someone he vowed to look after.
In the end, Batman is seen making the ultimate sacrifice, but his inspiration lives on, and Gotham sees that in the darkness there is light. Alfred later discovers that his dream has actually come true—Bruce faked his own death and is now happy, living a quiet normal life. An open ending shows a stoic former cop inheriting Bruce’s heroic Batman legacy.