The Dark Knighttrilogy houses several fantastic moments, but one specific four-minute sequence is the best of Christian Bale’s entire Batman career. Oftentimes, when concerning thebest superhero movies ever made, the stories crafted by Christopher Nolan inTheDark Knighttrilogy are raised. It tends to be 2008’sThe Dark Knightthat ranks on these lists, with the middle installment of the trilogy widely considered thebestBatmanmovie, not only from Nolan’s series but in the entire history of the Caped Crusader’s cinematic journey.
Over the course of the three films, Nolan and Christian Bale created some of the best Batman scenes in superhero cinema history. Manyscenes inThe Dark Knighttrilogy improve with age, proving the movies to stand the test of time. Although the criticisms thatThe Dark Knighttrilogy is too grounded in reality are valid and many are hopingJames Gunn’s upcoming DCU moviewill return the character to a more fantastical version of Gotham, they remain unparalleled as well-crafted, exciting movies. One four-minute scene proves this above all by remaining the best of Bale’s entire Batman career.
Why The Dark Knight Rise’s Prison Escape Scene Is The Best
The Symbolic Culmination Of Batman’s Journey
The scene in question comes in 2012’sThe Dark Knight Riseswhen Bruce Wayne climbs out of the prison in which Bane places him. The scene is the best inThe Dark Knighttrilogy for a variety of reasons that can be summed up by its thematic meaning, for one, but also how well-crafted it is to make it an exciting, chill-inducing scene. Starting with the former, Bruce’s climb typifies his character arc across the whole trilogy that started inBatman Begins.
Bruce’s climb also perfectly links to one of the film’s most iconic quotes:“Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”
In climbing out of the prison, Bruce has to embrace his fearby doing so without a safety rope. This is exactly what Bruce does as Batman: takes fear, embraces it, and utilizes it. To make this symbolic culmination of Bruce’s arc even more powerful, it harkens back to his origins as Batman; Bruce fell down a well as a child and had to live with his fears before escaping. The same happens as he climbs out of the prison, complete with bats flying around him as he does so, overcoming his setbacks and rising above his failures.
On top of this deeper meaning, the scene is simply incredibly well made from a filmmaking perspective. The editing is brilliant, intercutting Bruce’s climb with the chanting inmates at the bottom of the well and those who aided his time in prison. This all comes after showcasing Bane’s terrorism in Gotham, making the climb moment that much more powerful. This editing combines with the fantastic direction, amazing performances, and Hans Zimmer’s epic score - titled “Why Do We Fall?” - to make for the best scene in Bale’s Batman career.
Why The Dark Knight Trilogy Is So Important To Christian Bale’s Career
Bale’s Batman Casting Reignited His Career
On perhaps an even deeper level than the reasoning mentioned above,The Dark Knight Rises' climb scene is about overcoming adversity and rising above darker times. In a way, this somewhat links to Christian Bale’s casting as Batman, highlighting how important the overall trilogy was to the actor’s career, specifically how he overcame a negative stretch. BeforeBatman Begins, Bale was best known for roles in movies likeEmpire of the Sun -as a child actor -American Psycho, Shaft,andThe Machinist,to name a few. While Bale’s performances in these movies were widely praised, they were not commercial successes.
Empire of the Sun
$22,238,696
$15,070,285
$34,270,285
$70,327,868
$107,190,108
$1,082,044
$8,655,397
$205,343,774
$356,770,593
$53,089,891
$104,407,366
$534,235,491
$1,007,695,772
$93,617,009
$129,262,388
$448,139,099
$1,082,228,107
This led him intoThe Dark Knighttrilogy, which performed incredibly well at the box office. The latter two movies in the trilogy grossed over $1 billion worldwide, leading Bale into more mainstream roles that allowed his typically brilliant performances to be met with the commercial recognition they deserved. Thanks toThe Dark Knighttrilogy, Bale is now recognized not solely as an excellent actor in indie films, but also as a household name who can turn what would have been smaller films into commercially successful projects thanks to his name alone.
The Dark Knight Rises
Cast
The Dark Knight Rises follows Batman as he returns to Gotham City eight years after the death of Harvey Dent. Now pursued by law enforcement, he faces new challenges from Selina Kyle and Bane, a formidable terrorist leader who threatens the city’s safety, compelling Batman to defend a city that sees him as a foe.
