Eight years after taking the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes, a disgraced Bruce Wayne lives in exile, and Batman has vanished. However, the peace of Gotham is shattered by the arrival of a cunning cat burglar and Bane, a ruthless terrorist who aims to tear the city apart from the inside out. Forced out of retirement, the Dark Knight must face an adversary who overwhelms him physically and mentally, leading to a final battle for the soul of the city that branded him an enemy.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States United Kingdom |
Premiere date |
July 20, 2012 |
Running time |
164 minutes |
Genre |
Action Crime Drama Thriller |
Budget |
$250,000,000 |
Box Office |
$1,081,142,612 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Christopher Nolan |
Produced by |
Emma Thomas Charles Roven Christopher Nolan |
Written by |
Jonathan Nolan Christopher Nolan |
Music by |
Hans Zimmer |
Cinematography |
Wally Pfister |
Edited by |
Lee Smith |
Production Co. |
Warner Bros. Pictures Legendary Pictures Syncopy |
Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #03 in The Dark Knight Collection
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The Plot
A High-Altitude Ambush in Uzbekistan
High above the rugged landscapes of Uzbekistan, a C.I.A. transport plane carries Dr. Leonid Pavel, a nuclear physicist of vital importance. The agents on board believe they have successfully extracted the doctor, along with a handful of hooded prisoners captured during the operation. However, a chilling sense of dread fills the cabin as one of the captives speaks with a muffled, metallic resonance. It is Bane, a hulking and enigmatic mercenary. Before the agents can react, a massive transport plane looms above them, dropping hooks that snag the smaller aircraft. In a terrifying display of precision and brutality, Bane’s men shred the fuselage. Amidst the chaos of the decompressing cabin, Bane abducts Dr. Pavel, leaving the C.I.A. plane to plummet into the mountains as a mangled wreck, effectively staging the physicist's death to the world.
The Fragile Peace of Gotham City
Eight years have passed since the chaotic night of Harvey Dent’s death. Gotham City has transformed into a beacon of order, thanks to the Dent Act, a rigorous set of laws that has allowed Commissioner Jim Gordon to dismantle organized crime and clear the streets of the mob. Yet, this peace is built upon a foundation of secrets. Bruce Wayne, the man who once fought as the Batman, has become a recluse, haunting the shadows of Wayne Manor as a broken man, both physically and emotionally. He has retired the cape and cowl, taking the blame for Dent’s crimes to preserve the image of the "White Knight." Commissioner Gordon, burdened by the weight of this lie, prepares a speech to reveal the truth during a ceremony honoring Dent, but at the last moment, he realizes the city is not yet ready for such a devastating revelation.
Shadows in the Sewers
While investigating the kidnapping of a congressman, Commissioner Gordon is lured into the city's labyrinthine sewer system. There, he discovers a hidden army led by Bane, who has established a subterranean base of operations. During a narrow escape, Gordon is shot and hospitalized. In his absence, he promotes a young, intuitive patrol officer named John Blake to detective. Blake, who grew up as an orphan and long ago deduced that Bruce Wayne is the Batman, confronts the billionaire. He implores Bruce to return, sensing that a storm is approaching that the police cannot handle. Bruce’s faithful butler, Alfred Pennyworth, fears for Bruce’s life and eventually resigns, hoping that his departure will prevent Bruce from embarking on a suicide mission against a foe as ruthless as Bane.
Financial Ruin and the Stock Exchange Heist
Bane executes a daring, daylight assault on the Gotham Stock Exchange. Using fingerprints stolen by the elusive cat burglar Selina Kyle, Bane places a series of catastrophic, high-risk trades in Bruce Wayne’s name. In a matter of minutes, the Wayne fortune is evaporated, leaving Bruce bankrupt and vulnerable. Suspecting that his business rival, John Daggett, is behind the attack to orchestrate a hostile takeover of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce turns to a trusted board member, Miranda Tate. He grants her control over his company’s secrets, including a massive fusion reactor project that Bruce had mothballed after discovering it could be weaponized into a nuclear device.
The Breaking of the Bat
Seeking to stop Bane, Batman emerges from the shadows, though his movements are slower and his body more fragile than before. Led by Selina Kyle into the heart of the sewers, Batman finds himself trapped in a cage with the mercenary. Bane reveals that he is the successor to Ra's al Ghul and the League of Shadows, intent on fulfilling the mission to destroy Gotham. The fight is brutal and one-sided; Bane systematically dismantles Batman’s defenses, mockingly noting that "victory has defeated" the hero. In a final, horrifying act of dominance, Bane lifts Batman and slams him across his knee, shattering Bruce’s spine. Instead of killing him, Bane sends Bruce to "The Pit," an ancient, inescapable prison located in a remote desert, forcing him to watch Gotham's destruction from a television screen.
Gotham’s Reckoning and the Nuclear Threat
With Batman out of the way, Bane triggers a series of explosions that collapse the city's bridges and trap the majority of the Gotham police force underground. During a packed football game, he detonates the field and executes Mayor Garcia. Bane presents the city with the hijacked fusion reactor, now a ticking five-megaton nuclear bomb. To ensure no one interferes, he executes Dr. Pavel in front of the crowd and threatens to detonate the device if any citizen attempts to leave. Bane then releases the prisoners of Blackgate Penitentiary and publicly reads Gordon's suppressed speech, exposing the "The Legend of Harvey Dent" as a lie. Gotham descends into a terrifying state of anarchy, where the wealthy are hunted and subjected to "show trials" presided over by the deranged Jonathan Crane.
The Leap of Faith and the Return of the Hero
Inside the Pit, Bruce Wayne is a shell of a man, haunted by visions of Ra's al Ghul. He learns the legend of the only person to ever escape the prison: a child who climbed the sheer stone walls without a rope. Driven by a renewed sense of purpose and the fear of death, Bruce undergoes a grueling physical and mental recovery. For five months, he trains his body and mind. Finally, he attempts the climb without the safety of a rope, finding the "force of will" necessary to make the impossible leap. He escapes the desert and makes his way back to a frozen, besieged Gotham City.
The Battle for Gotham’s Soul
On the final day before the bomb is set to detonate, Batman returns. He rallies Selina Kyle, John Blake, and the remnants of the police force. While the police engage Bane's mercenaries in the snow-covered streets, Batman confronts Bane once more. This time, Bruce fights with the ferocity of a man who has nothing to lose, damaging Bane's mask and weakening his resolve. However, just as victory seems certain, Miranda Tate stabs Batman in the side. She reveals her true identity: Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. She was the child who escaped the Pit, and Bane was her protector. She intends to complete her father's destiny by letting the bomb destroy the city.
The Last Flight of the Dark Knight
Talia escapes to the truck carrying the bomb, but Gordon successfully uses a jamming device to prevent her from detonating it remotely. Selina Kyle arrives on the Batpod and kills Bane, saving Batman's life. A high-speed chase ensues through the streets of Gotham. Batman uses his aerial vehicle, "The Bat," to fire upon the convoy. The truck crashes, and Talia dies in the wreckage, but not before she floods the fusion chamber, making it impossible to stabilize the core. With only minutes remaining, Batman realizes there is only one way to save millions of lives. He attaches the bomb to "The Bat" and says a silent farewell to Selina and Gordon. He flies the aircraft far out over the ocean, where the nuclear device detonates in a massive fireball, seemingly taking the Dark Knight with it.
A New Dawn and a Hidden Legacy
In the aftermath, the world mourns the loss of Bruce Wayne and the sacrifice of the Batman. A statue is erected in the hero's honor. Bruce’s estate is settled, and Wayne Manor is converted into an orphanage. Lucius Fox later discovers that the autopilot on "The Bat" had been repaired by Bruce six months prior, suggesting he survived the blast. John Blake, disillusioned with the legal system, resigns from the police force and discovers the coordinates to the Batcave, inheriting the mantle of the protector. In the final, poignant scene, Alfred travels to a café in Florence, Italy. Looking across the tables, he sees Bruce and Selina sitting together, living a peaceful life away from the shadows. They share a silent nod of recognition, and Alfred finally finds the peace he had always wanted for his surrogate son.
