The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Film and Plot Synopsis

“The Dark Knight Rises” is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, serving as the final installment in Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Set eight years after the events of “The Dark Knight,” the film follows Bruce Wayne as he comes out of retirement to face a new threat to Gotham City in the form of the masked terrorist Bane. The film explores themes of redemption, sacrifice, and the enduring legacy of Batman as Gotham faces its darkest hour.

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Movie Summary

The story begins with Bane (Tom Hardy), a former member of the League of Shadows, allowing himself to be captured by members of the Central Intelligence Agency. Once onboard the CIA plane, he leads an attack over Uzbekistan to abduct nuclear physicist Dr. Leonid Pavel (Alon Aboutboul). Once he has the scientist, Bane crashes the plane so that everyone in the intelligence community believes Dr. Pavel is dead.

Meanwhile in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is living as a recluse in Wayne Manor, still haunted by the death of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and burdened by the physical and emotional scars of his years as Batman. As a result, Batman has not been seen in eight years and Wayne Enterprises has stagnated. In contrast, Gotham City enjoys a period of relative peace and prosperity thanks to the Dent Act, which was passed in the wake of Harvey Dent’s (Aaron Eckhart) death and allowed for the imprisonment of organized crime figures. However, Police Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman) is troubled by the peace since it is built on the lie that Dent was a good man and Batman is responsible for his murder.

Once in Gotham City, Bane enlists the services of ruthless businessman John Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn) to acquire information about Bruce Wayne. Daggett dispatches cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) to acquire Bruce’s fingerprints from his safe. Daggett double-crosses Selina, and she alerts the police, who pursue Bane and Daggett’s henchmen into the sewers under Gotham City. The henchmen capture Gordon and take him to Bane. Gordon manages to escape, but he is shot in the process. Young police officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds a nearly dead Gordon near one of the sewers exits and takes him to the hospital. Blake, an orphan himself, deduces that Bruce is Batman and encourages him to return to combat the new threat of Bane.

Not long after, Bane leads an attack on the Gotham Stock Exchange and uses Bruce’s fingerprints to verify a series of transactions that leaves Bruce and Wayne Enterprises bankrupt. Batman returns to pursue the escaping thieves but finds that apprehending Bane is impossible as the legitimate police, led by Peter Foley (Matthew Modine), are more concerned with arresting Batman then stopping Bane’s men. Batman escapes, but when he returns to Wayne Manor, Bruce’s butler and confidante, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), resigns in fear that Bruce will get himself killed fighting Bane. Alfred finally tells Bruce that Rachel sent him a note prior to her death indicating that she planned on marrying Harvey and not Bruce. At the same time, Bane expands his operations and kills Daggett. Wayne Enterprises appoints a new CEO, Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard), who begins a relationship with Bruce.

Batman contacts Selina and asks for her assistance in finding Bane. She leads him into the sewers and subway systems, and ultimately to a room underneath Wayne Tower’s advanced products warehouse. However, it is a trap as Bane is waiting for Batman. Bane reveals that he knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne and that he intends on fulfilling Ra’s al Ghul’s (Liam Neeson) final mission to destroy Gotham City. Bane and Batman fight, but Batman is hopelessly outmatched, and Bane breaks the Dark Knight’s back.

Peace has cost you your strength! Victory has defeated you! Bane (Tom Hardy)

Bruce awakens in an underground prison in the Middle East. Bane informs him that Ra’s al Ghul’s child was born and raised in the prison, but the child had a protector that aided the child in escaping the prison, a feat that many deemed impossible. Bane informs Bruce that he plans on destroying Gotham City before killing him. Back in Gotham City, Selina is arrested by Blake as she attempts to leave the country. Foley orders almost the entirety of the police department to find and arrest Bane and his men. However, Bane blows up all entry points into the sewers and seals all the police underground. Bane also destroys all bridges into Gotham City, except one, and Mayor Anthony Garcia’s (Nestor Carbonell) luxury box at a Gotham City football game. He announces to all the citizens of Gotham that he has had Dr. Pavel convert a fusion reactor, acquired from Wayne Enterprises, into a decaying neutron bomb. Bane then kills Dr. Pavel and informs the citizens of Gotham that one of their members holds the trigger to the constantly moving bomb that will detonate if anyone tries to leave or enter Gotham City. In the days that follow, Bane exposes the truth about Dent’s crimes; releases all prisoners, including Selina, from Blackgate Penitentiary; and institutes a kangaroo court presided over by Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) which begins executing wealthy and powerful citizens.

Five months later, Bruce has completed his convalescence in the prison and is once again strong. He makes several attempts to escape the prison before finally succeeding. Bruce returns to Gotham City and seeks out the assistance of Selina to help him free the police. Batman also frees Gordon and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) from Crane’s court process and saves Blake from being killed by Bane’s men. The group works to lead an offensive against Bane’s men and to locate and deactivate the bomb. Batman confronts Bane directly, as the villain has taken Tate hostage. The two men fight for a second time with Batman winning the rematch. However, Tate stabs Batman in the stomach and reveals herself as Talia al Guhl, the child that was left in the prison. Talia informs Batman that Bane was the man who helped her escape although he was severely injured as the result of his assistance.

Talia attempts to detonate the bomb which will destroy all of Gotham City. However, Gordon successfully plants a signal blocker on the device. Talia leaves to find and detonate the bomb. She leaves Bane to kill Batman. Selina appears and kills Bane with the Batcycle. Batman’s group works to try to bring the bomb back to the Wayne Enterprises reactor chamber where it can be stabilized by Lucius. Talia takes control of truck, but Batman forces it to crash with the Bat-plane, or the Bat. Talia is mortally injured, but before dying, she floods and destroys the reactor chamber. With no way to stop the detonation, Batman, lifts the bomb with the Bat and flies it out to sea. Before leaving, Batman reveals his identity to Gordon. Batman successfully flies the bomb over the bay where it explodes without any effects on Gotham City.

In the aftermath, Batman is presumed dead and is hailed as the hero who saved Gotham. Bruce’s identity as Batman remains largely a secret, with only Alfred, Lucius, Selina, Blake, and Gordon knowing who the true hero was. After Bruce’s funeral, Gordon mysteriously finds the Bat Signal repaired on the top of police headquarters, and Lucius discovers that Bruce had fixed the Bat’s malfunctioning auto-pilot issues, which would have allowed Batman to escape his fate. Alfred travels to Florence, Italy where he sees Bruce alive and in an apparent relationship with Selina. The two men silently acknowledge each other and go their separate ways. Blake, whose legal first name is Robin, resigns from the police department, having become disillusioned as to its effectiveness. Blake discovers that he is a named beneficiary of Bruce’s will. He receives a package which leads him to the Batcave where he can continue the legacy of Batman if he chooses.