Summary
More than a decade after Christopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knight trilogyended, there still hasn’t been a solo Batman movie. TheDCEUgave us another version, played by Ben Affleck, but his solo project was, of course, canceled. In that time, appreciation forThe Dark Knight Riseshas only grown. Somewhat divisive on release - mostly because it wasn’t as good as its predecessor - it remains hugely entertaining.
The Dark Knight Risesdoesn’t get enough credit for being one of the most quotable Batman movies ever made. And that’s saying a lot. It may not have been perfect, but it presented huge ideas, wrapping up Nolan’s trilogy in a satisfying and memorable way. And inTom Hardy’s Banein particular, and Michael Caine’s broken, emotionally battered Alfred, it had two quote machines. These areThe Dark Knight Risesquotes that have stuck with us for more than a decade since its release.
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15"Save Yourself. You Don’t Owe These People Anymore. You’ve Given Them Everything"
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle
Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle obviously ends up as Bruce Wayne’s happy ending, rebuilding his heart after Rachel’s death broke it into pieces. After their initial friction,she sees Batman for who and what he is, which is exactly why their relationship develops so quickly. She’s also the reason he quits, and this line underlines exactly why he makes the decision. Ironically, it’s best considered as the full-stop to Alfred’s entire arc of pleading with Bruce.
14"You Do Not Fear Death. You Think This Makes You Strong. It Makes You Weak"
Uri Gavriel as Blind Prisoner
One of the best things aboutThe Dark Knight Risesis the way it challenges the idea of Batman. This is not a reinforcement of the concept of the Dark Knight as a God, and his weakness is a rich vein running through the threequel. And while it’s Bane who breaks the Bat physically, it’s Bruce Wayne who has to break hsi alter-ego down properly to win. And it all starts with a blind prisoner.
Blind Prisoner:You do not fear death. You think this makes you strong. It makes you weak.
Bruce Wayne:Why?
Blind Prisoner:How can you move faster than possible, fight longer than possible without the most powerful impulse of the spirit: the fear of death.
Bruce Wayne:I do fear death. I fear dying in here, while my city burns, and there’s no one there to save it.
Blind Prisoner:Then make the climb.
Bruce Wayne:How?
Blind Prisoner:As the child did. Without the rope. Then fear will find you again.
13"A Hero Can Be Anyone, Even A Man Doing Something As Simple And Reassuring As Putting A Coat Around A Young Boy’s Shoulders To Let Him Know The World Hadn’t Ended"
Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne
WhileThe Dark Knight Trilogyis Batman’s story, it simply wouldn’t work without Jim Gordon. He is arguably a bigger hero than Batman, because he operates alongside the corruption unprotected.He makes a stand when it could endanger him, and it’s very simply because he is a good man.And in Bruce’s reminder of that, when he reveals who he is, we get a beautiful reminder of everything Gordon made a stand for.
12"Innocent Is A Strong Word To Throw Around Gotham"
Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate
The contradiction of Batman’s desire to save Gotham City has never been lost in Batman movies. Hisability to see any good in arguably the worst city ever written in DC lore is not so much a superpower as a blind-spot. And Talia al Ghul presents that painful truth to Batman when her true identity is revealed. And frankly, it’s hard to argue with her, but that’s what makes Bruce’s commitment all the more admirable.
Batman:He was trying to kill millions of innocent people
Talia al Ghul:‘Innocent’ is a strong word to throw around Gotham, Bruce. I honor my father by finishing his work. Vengeance against the man who killed him is simply a reward for my patience…
[Talia twists the knife in Batman’s side]
Talia al Ghul:You see, it’s the slow knife… the knife that takes its time, the knife that waits years without forgetting, then slips quietly between the bones… that’s the knife that cuts deepest.
11"There’s A Storm Coming, Mr. Wayne…"
The most compelling villains are the ones whose evil plans are rooted in truth. InThe Dark Knight Rises, it’s Selina Kyle who sets up Bane as that type of villain (before the twist undoes the image of him saving Gotham from itself).This quote is the perfect summary of what Gotham has become: a cesspit of self-serving corruption and capitalism where the rich get fat and the poor get screwed. It’s also a reminder of just how successful Bruce Wayne’s disguise is.
“There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
10"I Never Wanted You To Come Back To Gotham…"
Michael Caine as Alfred
Long before the ending showed Alfred discovering Bruce had faked his death,Batman’s happy ending was set up perfectly by Alfred’s heartbreaking revelationthat he knew his surrogate son was always better off staying away. It’s as if Alfred knew the substance of Bruce, and that he’d never be able to escape his trauma.
“Remember when you left Gotham? Before all this, before Batman? You were gone seven years. Seven years I waited, hoping that you wouldn’t come back. Every year, I took a holiday. I went to Florence, there’s this cafe, on the banks of the Arno. Every fine evening, I’d sit there and order a Fernet Branca. I had this fantasy, that I would look across the tables and I’d see you there, with a wife and maybe a couple of kids.
You wouldn’t say anything to me, nor me to you. But we’d both know that you’d made it, that you were happy. I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I always knew there was nothing here for you, except pain and tragedy. And I wanted something more for you than that. I still do.”
9"The Idea Was To Be A Symbol. Batman Could Be Anybody, That Was The Point"
The Dark Knight Rises' endingcontroversially introduced the idea that Batman was never limited to Bruce Wayne as an idea. This was, initially, difficult to take, because Wayne’s trauma was exactly why he’d taken up the cowl and cape as Gotham’s protector.
He was a symbol precisely because he was extraordinary, unconventional next to the city’s criminal filth, but just a Superman was a symbol of hope,Batman being a symbol of guardianship was a compelling new take. It’s also a reminder of Bale’s origin speech fromBatman Begins:
“People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy, and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man, I’m flesh and blood. I can be ignored. I can be destroyed. But as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.”
8"I Won’t Bury You. I’ve Buried Enough Members Of The Wayne Family"
Alfred’s arc inThe Dark Knight Risesis one of pain - a theme Nolan embraced wholeheartedly. He is, essentially, a reminder of the cost of heroism, and the reason why Batman only works if he doesn’t have personal connections.Alfred is Batman’s tragic collateral damage, and by this point, he’s bene through so much that he defies his sense of duty to tell Master Bruce straight.
7"No One Cared Who I Was Until I Put On The Mask"
Tom Hardy as Bane
Disguise has always been an important part of Batman’s mythology, and something the movies have explored head on. In this line from Bane,he’s reinforcing their similarity in the same perverse way the Joker didinThe Dark Knight. He’s discussing the power of symbolism and conviction, which is ultimately what helps Batman have his epiphany that leads to his retirement. Even without saying it to Batman, he sets the tone perfectly.
6"I’m Still A Believer In The Batman. Even If You’re Not"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake
JGL’s John Blake is the wholesome moral heart ofThe Dark Knight Rises: an incorruptible force who faces the greatest challenge to his faith when he learns that Jim Gordon covered up Harvey Dent’s crimes for the greater good. In one lengthy speech to Bruce Wayne,Blake confirms himself as everything Batman believes he needs to save in Gotham.
And Blake’s confrontation of Wayne is also a huge step in the latter’s decision to choose the cop as his replacement. He recognizes himself in Blake, and someone who can finally take over his duty.
“Uh, he doesn’t know or care who you are; but we’ve met before. It was a long time ago, I was a kid, uh, Saint Swithin’s used to be funded by the Wayne foundation; it was an orphanage. My mom died when I was small; it was a car accident, I don’t really remember it. But, uh, my dad got shot a couple years later over a gambling debt. And I remember that one just fine.
Not a lot people know what if feels like to, uh, be angry… in your bones. I mean, they understand, your foster parents, everybody else understands… for a while. But then they want the angry little kid to do something he knows he can’t do. Move on.
So, after a while, they stop understanding. They send the angry kid to a boys' home. I figured it out too late. You got to learn to hide the anger. Practice smiling in the mirror. It’s like putting on a mask.
So, you showed up this one day in a cool car, pretty girl on your arm. We were so excited! Bruce Wayne; billionaire orphan! I mean, we used to make up stories about you, man. Legends. And, you know, with the other kids, that’s all it was, just stories, but… right when I saw you, I knew who you really were. I’d seen that look on your face before. It was the same one I taught myself. I don’t know why you took the fall for Dent’s murder, but I’m still a believer in the Batman. Even if you’re not.”
