As inspiring as a rags-to-riches story may be, it does not sell in Hollywood. Instead, superheroes like Batman and Ironman are born into wealth and use it in noble ways. Nobility has always been and always will be respected. That is because as moving as a turnaround story is, it is simply much more enviable to have always been successful.
This is particularly relevant in a politically charged film as Batman. There perhaps is no other trilogy that is as current (http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/film-franchises). Bane stages a revolution more like a beer hall putsch than a barricaded Paris. The 1% are put on summary trial then executed. Bane’s allies are the victims of the disgraced Dent act. Why Bane, who must mask his injuries sustained from other thuggish inmates with a constant supply of pain killers, would free such criminals is mind boggling. He also has a pretentious accent and a rather intellectual syntax unbefitting of his burly character.
Gotham City is clearly New York City and any movie with such setting would not be complete without poking fun at financiers. “There's no money for you to steal [in the stock exchange]!” exclaims a trader, to which Bane replies, “Then why are you here?” The nice thing about Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings is they espouse love and courage in a world different than our own. It is then more universal. Minds are allowed to wonder and imagine. Unfortunately, Batman has no similar effect. It is inseparable from real world, and in particular, New York City.
The climax of the film is when Batman makes a leap of faith to escape the cylindrical water-hole he is imprisoned in. Christopher Nolan does well to overlay scenes from the Batman Begins, for young Bruce Wayne’s journey began much the same way, trapped in a well full of bats. The first time, young Wayne was presumably helped out. The second time, Alfred leaves out of love (though ‘atonement with the father’ is in the penultimate scene), forcing Batman to fend for himself. This closes a nice circle with the three films as Batman returns to the ‘real world’ in Hero’s Journey fashion.
Failure after failure, Batman trains harder to escape from his prison. He is only able to after giving up his safety rope. When failure is not an acceptable possibility, determination takes over and wins the day. And with both the mental and physical boot camp under his belt, he is able to best Bane in the final battle. Unfortunately, Bane only loses because of his disability so we aren’t so sure about giving Batman full credit.
The final twist is another archetype, the seductress, who is revealed to be more connected than anyone else. But this third film on its own does not establish her as particularly trust-worthy (though she was described twice to be “lovely”) so her backstabbing is really not much of a value-add.
And while the visual spectacle is as good as any, the IMAX experience was unfortunately unwound by the many scenes that were not filmed in IMAX. The incessantly change in aspect ratios was annoying.
This overly lengthy film hides Batman too much and Bane is no Joker. But it certainly is worth watching to finish off the triology.