Bane Breaks The Bat

Ever since Bane was announced as the villain for this film, there was no one moment from the comics that fans wanted to see more than Bane breaking Batman’s back. And Nolan did it, in spectacular fashion. In both of the movie, the friend sitting to my right let out a noticeable gasp of excitement just as this was happening. Sure, it signifies the beginning of the muddling of the movies timing, but in many ways it was worth it. For a trilogy that seemed disinterested in iconic “comic book moments,” we can be glad that Nolan chose to keep this one in Bane’s story.

The Production Design

Production Designer Nathan Crowley has been with this franchise from the beginning, and with Chris Nolan since Insomnia. He’s responsible for creating some great sets — not the least of which was Bruce Wayne’s penthouse apartment in The Dark Knight or R’as Al Ghul’s lair in Batman Begins. In this one, he shines with the design and detail in two particular areas: the Bat Cave, with its rising platforms and the prison from which Bruce must rise to freedom. No one will ever accuse this movie of being subtle, but those sets were very cool.

The Talia Twist

Even though it severely softens Bane as a villain, the twist of having Miranda Tate secretly being Talia Al Ghul the entire time was pulled off with a certain amount of bravado to the point of being a fun surprise. The fact that she only lasts about another 5 minutes in the movie is a letdown, but it’s important to remember the game she’s playing throughout the entire movie. In the scene where Bruce comes back to Gotham under siege to get Lucius, she tells him to “do what is necessary.” I didn’t notice it the first time, but it’s delivered exactly as R’as did in Batman Begins, and it’s pretty clever.

Bane’s Big Boom

The football stadium. A city-wide series of explosions. All but one bridge out of the city demolished. To accomplish this in one sequence, with such wide shots, is nothing short of impressive. It is a massive display of firepower that will be a favorite of the franchise for years to come. This is what Christopher Nolan meant when he said that he was going back to silent era scale.