The Dark Knight Rises (2012): Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

The Dark Knight Rises is about a Gotham that believes it has beaten organized crime, a Batman who has vanished, and a masked mercenary who is ready to tear the peace apart. The story opens eight years after Harvey Dent's death. Gotham celebrates his memory and has nearly wiped out organized crime under a law named for him, which sounds like a victory until you remember what it is built on.

Commissioner Gordon privately carries the secret of Dent's crimes, and Batman has disappeared while taking the blame for them. Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale, lives as a recluse in his manor, physically worn down and cut off from the city he once defended. That changes when a cat burglar, Selina Kyle, steals from him and pulls him back toward his old life.

At the same time, a masked mercenary called Bane begins a scheme aimed at Gotham and Wayne Enterprises. Bane once belonged to the League of Shadows, the group Bruce met in Batman Begins, so the threat has a history the hero cannot ignore. If you are new to the trilogy, the best route is the one laid out in our guide to batman movies in order, and the dark knight is the film to watch immediately before this one.

The full plot runs from a midair kidnapping to a bomb carried out over the bay, and it turns on a reveal about who has been running the plan. Bane, a former League of Shadows member, kidnaps a nuclear physicist in a midair raid. Gotham seems peaceful, but it rests on the hidden lie about Harvey Dent.

Bruce Wayne, withdrawn and physically worn down, is drawn out by Selina Kyle's theft of his fingerprints. Bane works with the businessman John Daggett to take over Wayne Enterprises, and he uses the stolen prints to wipe out Bruce's fortune. Selina then lures Batman into a trap, and Bane breaks him and drops him into a remote underground prison.

With Batman out of the way, Bane cuts Gotham off from the world. He traps most of the police underground and turns a Wayne fusion reactor into a bomb. The wealthy are put before mock courts, and prisoners are released from Blackgate, so the city is run by fear rather than by law.

Months later Bruce heals, climbs out of the prison, and returns to Gotham as Batman to free the police. Miranda Tate is revealed to be Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, and she is the true mastermind. Bane is killed with Selina's help, and Talia tries to make sure the reactor cannot be stopped.

Batman uses his aircraft to carry the bomb out over the bay, where it detonates far from the city. Bruce is believed dead and Gotham honors Batman as a hero. His will turns the manor into an orphanage and leaves his legacy to others, while Alfred glimpses Bruce alive abroad with Selina. Young officer John Blake, whose legal first name is Robin, is led to the Batcave.

The Dark Knight Rises premiered on Monday, July 16, 2012, at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater in New York, with the main cast attending, according to CBS News and DNAinfo.

The general release followed within days. The film opened in Australia on July 19, 2012, and in the US and the UK on July 20, 2012.

The film's launch period also had a darker side. After the shooting at an Aurora, Colorado screening, Warner Bros. canceled its international premiere events.

The Dark Knight Rises ends with Batman flying the bomb out over the water, where it explodes safely at sea, and the city believes he died in the blast. A public memorial honors him, and Wayne Manor is given over to be an orphanage. Alfred, sitting in a cafe in Florence, sees Bruce alive and with Selina. Blake, who has left the police, is directed to the Batcave, which sets up a new hero carrying on the mission.

Who was the real villain? Bane is the one who breaks Batman, but Talia al Ghul, the woman Gotham knew as Miranda Tate, is the true mastermind. In my opinion, that reveal is what ties the film back to Ra's al Ghul and the League of Shadows from Batman Begins, and it turns a story about one masked brute into the finale of a three film argument about what Gotham deserves.

Who ultimately killed Bane? Bane is killed with Selina's help during the fight to save the city, so the burglar who helped trap Batman ends up helping to end the threat. It is a tidy bit of redemption, and it gives Anne Hathaway's character a real arc.

What does the ending mean for Bruce? In my opinion, the Florence moment is the most important beat. Bruce starts the film vanished and carrying the blame for Dent's crimes, and this story lets him walk away alive rather than die as a martyr. It could be argued that he earns a life because he finally trusts others to carry the symbol, and the will that turns the manor into an orphanage and leaves his legacy to others backs that up, while Blake is the one led to the Batcave.

The name Robin is the final aside. Blake's legal first name is Robin, a name that ties him to the sidekick seen in Batman and Robin and on the robin batman page. Where the trilogy sits among the other films is covered in batman movies ranked.

The Dark Knight Rises was filmed across the US, the UK and India, with principal photography running from mid May to mid November 2011.

Pittsburgh and Los Angeles stood in for Gotham, and New York City and Newark supplied more city scenes. Interiors for the airship hangar were shot in London and Cardington in the UK. Wollaton Hall in Nottingham served as the exterior of Wayne Manor, and there was location shooting in Scotland. Jodhpur in India provided a prison exterior.

If you want to compare with the earlier films, The Dark Knight and Batman Begins have their own location notes.

The best trivia about The Dark Knight Rises is about how it was made: the scale of the IMAX footage, the shoot length and a few surprise names.

• Principal photography ran from mid May to mid November 2011.
• Nolan shot nearly half of the film with IMAX cameras, and the opening sequence was shown in IMAX theaters months before release.
• The film was shot and finished on film, as an onscreen statement in the end credits notes.
• Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures reportedly had a dispute over the terms of their partnership before production began.
• Senator Patrick Leahy appears in a cameo as a board member.
• After the shooting at an Aurora, Colorado screening, Warner Bros. canceled its international premiere events.
• Wollaton Hall in Nottingham was used for the exterior of Wayne Manor.