Inside the Hollywood Chinese Theatre, the film had already begun. The opening battle took place between two airplanes. Bane's first appearance immediately showcased his formidable strength and sharp intellect—especially with Dwayne Johnson's explosively built physique, it was easy to imagine just how powerful Bane must be. And then he kidnapped a nuclear scientist—what was he planning to do with him?
The camera shifted back to Gotham City, where an event was being held to commemorate Harvey Dent. Selina Kyle infiltrated Bruce Wayne's bedroom.
After this scene, the screen showed a somewhat eerie-looking building—the Arkham Asylum, the place where the Joker was imprisoned.
A young female psychiatrist entered Arkham Asylum. Deeply fascinated by the Joker, she strongly requested the administration to allow her to study him.
Unlike Christopher Nolan, Duke was a far more commercialized director. Although the Joker himself would not appear in this film, the character would still be mentioned and would continue to influence Gotham City.
Indeed, Duke and Warner Bros. were squeezing out the very last bit of Heath Ledger's residual value.
Harleen Quinzel's request was rejected, but she did not give up. After obtaining the Joker's files, she decided to conduct private research on him.
Then, the film began to weave together its many intertwined relationships—for example, why Miranda Tate appeared in Gotham and at the party in Wayne Manor. Returning home with the Joker's files, Harleen Quinzel encountered Selina Kyle, as the two lived together as roommates.
Compared to the previous installment, this version of The Dark Knight Rises had a total runtime of only 135 minutes, making the pacing undeniably tighter.
Outside the theater, James Holmes was still sitting in his car. As a highly educated man, his intelligence was unquestionable. After observing for a while, he discovered that the area around the theater was swarming with security personnel, and entry into the cinema seemed to require security checks.
In that case, it was basically impossible for him to bring any weapons inside.
James Holmes couldn't help but frown slightly. This wasn't part of his plan—why had the theater's security suddenly been tightened?
For the past few days, James Holmes had been maintaining his weapons and fine-tuning his plan, paying no attention whatsoever to the news.
Though his mind was deeply deranged, he wasn't a fool. It was now impossible to enter the Hollywood Chinese Theatre. What could he possibly do inside without weapons? But if he tried to carry them in…
Plans never keep up with change. After thinking for only a few minutes, James Holmes decided to alter his original plan and choose a new, more suitable target.
Without a doubt, if he wanted to create maximum shock, opening fire at the premiere inside the Chinese Theatre would have been the best option. If he could take out Batman—Bruce Wayne—it would be even better!
However, James Holmes was no moth drawn to a flame. He decided to change locations instead. Even if he acted during the upcoming midnight screening, he could still cause massive chaos.
But where would be the right place?
First, it had to be crowded—meaning the theater must be large enough. Second, it needed to be easy to escape from—so the area had to have multiple exits. Lastly, it should be in a busy city center; after all, who would pay attention to an incident in a remote place?
Sitting in his car, James Holmes took out a map of the Greater Los Angeles area. The spot where Hollywood was located had already been marked with a red X. Now, he needed to pick a new site.
Scanning from top to bottom, from left to right, James Holmes examined the map while recalling the actual situations of various locations. Time passed unknowingly, until finally his eyes stopped on Duke Rosenberg's hometown—Santa Monica!
There, in the greater Los Angeles area, lay the famous Santa Monica Commercial Plaza—a bustling shopping center filled with many large theaters. It was undoubtedly the best place for killing and arson. Moreover, the plaza was crisscrossed with passageways, making escape extremely easy once chaos broke out.
James Holmes finally finalized his target. He would launch his midnight attack on the Santa Monica Commercial Plaza during The Dark Knight Rises screening.
Starting the car, he slowly accelerated away from the Hollywood Chinese Theatre. To passersby, it simply looked like a Joker driving away.
Inside the Hollywood Chinese Theatre, the screening continued. Batman had already had his legs broken by Bane and been sent into an underground prison. Harleen Quinzel, driven by her obsession and madness, began to think more and more like another Joker. She renamed herself Harley Quinn, painted her face for the first time, picked up a baseball bat, and rescued Selina Kyle from the police swarming toward them.
Gotham fell into chaos. Bane launched a rebellion under the banner of revolution. Large numbers of criminals were released, law and order completely collapsed, and Gotham was thrown into utter anarchy.
However, no one was willing to be ruled by violent mobs. Many citizens united under John Blake and Jim Gordon, preparing to reclaim control of Gotham.
The citizens' resistance, the mobs' insanity—all of it was vividly displayed on Duke's big screen.
Then there was the nuclear bomb that had been built. Bane hid it among a number of trucks and assigned trusted subordinates to guard it. The bomb's detonator had already been handed over to Miranda Tate, who had infiltrated Wayne Enterprises.
What is faith? It's something that cannot be clearly defined, yet it truly exists.
The citizens of Gotham were not lacking in faith, nor were its police and ordinary people. That was why they united to resist Bane's tyrannical rule.
Harley Quinn also had her own kind of faith.
"Do you think a monster like Bane deserves a city like Gotham?"
Facing Selina Kyle, Harley Quinn said almost fanatically, "Someone once said this city deserves a more refined kind of criminal—and Bane is definitely not one of them!"
Compared to these people, Selina Kyle's faith was undoubtedly weaker. She had cooperated with Bane, yet sympathized with Batman—she was more of a wavering soul.
Seeing his city on the brink of destruction, Bruce Wayne's faith grew stronger. He had his broken legs treated by those in the prison, and with six months left before the nuclear explosion, he trained his body rigorously and resumed his combat training. He was determined to climb out of the underground pit and free his city from Bane's tyranny.
Faith cannot heal a broken spine, but it can inspire tremendous strength in a man with fractured legs. Bruce Wayne climbed out of the pit, returned to Gotham City, and convinced Catwoman to join his side.
Most of Gotham's police officers were sealed off in the sewers. Duke directly allowed the majority of them to perish, and even the few who were rescued—after half a year of starvation and endless darkness—were completely incapable of fighting.
This was not a science fiction film full of superpowers, but a superhero movie shot in a realistic style.
Those able to confront Bane's group were only the few police officers who had survived in the city. Batman could not possibly fight so many criminals alone, so the citizens, brutally oppressed by tyranny, stood up. They joined the revolution, overthrew Bane's rule, and saved their own city.
A home saved by its own people—this undoubtedly elevated the film's tone.
Moreover, Duke was a master-level director of action sequences and a pioneer who had created an era of Hollywood action films. Naturally, he would not repeat the mistake of the previous film—sacrificing basic human logic just to achieve a certain effect.
Think about it—criminals armed with automatic weapons charging into hand-to-hand combat against a crowd of unarmed men, instead of staying behind cover and firing? One could only say those thugs must have lost their minds during their years in prison.
Therefore, finding suitable weapons and equipment became one of the most urgent tasks before the final battle.
Harley Quinn hated Batman but equally despised the tasteless criminal Bane. Growing up in this city, before losing her sanity completely, she still had feelings for Gotham. Having some friendship with Selina Kyle, she revealed to everyone the location where the Joker had hidden his weapons at a critical moment. Though the weapons weren't many, they were enough to arm the remaining police.
A war thus broke out. The surviving Gotham police launched an assault on Bane's forces, while the citizens who wanted to save their home followed closely behind. Under the cover of gunfire, the team fighting to save the city and the army of criminals finally drew near each other, and an inevitable street brawl erupted.
Batman once again faced the Destroyer—Bane—and discovered his weakness: the mask.
However, at the critical moment, Miranda Tate revealed her true identity and stabbed Batman in the back. Just as she left and Bane was struggling to rise again, Catwoman arrived, knocking Bane down with the Batpod, while Harley Quinn smashed Bane's head with her bat, ending the life of the criminal she deemed unworthy of this city.
Harley Quinn disappeared. Batman went to stop the nuclear bomb. In the end, the Bat aircraft carried the bomb out to sea, where it exploded. The now-peaceful Gotham City erected a statue in Batman's honor.
Was Bruce Wayne dead? This was the biggest question for audiences at that moment. Many people remembered Duke once saying he would give Bruce Wayne a bright ending.
Death, for Bruce Wayne, would certainly be a form of release. It would free him from the heavy burdens of his heart. But that was absolutely not a bright ending.
Without a doubt, Bruce Wayne was still alive. Even in the previous version of the film, though many interpreted that Bruce Wayne had surely died, the truth was that he had indeed survived.
The reasoning was simple—Warner Bros. would never allow a director to kill off Batman and Bruce Wayne in a film. Comic books might get away with such things, but movies had far greater influence. Killing Batman would bring extremely serious consequences and could even affect the future development of the entire film series.
Would Warner Bros. ever allow The Dark Knight Rises to completely end the Batman franchise?
That was absolutely impossible.
At the end of the film, Alfred confirmed that Bruce Wayne was still alive. He had reunited with Catwoman, Selina Kyle, and had completely given up being Batman. This was the life Alfred had always hoped Wayne could have, and for him, it was a perfectly satisfying ending.
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