The Dark Knight Rises (2012): Does It Deserve More Love?

The Dark Knight Rises movie discussion begins at 1:05:00 Episode 202 (July 24, 2026) Listen to this episode: Spotify - https://bit.ly/4w6FP5L Apple - https://bit.ly/4b5Tfau Get more 1-Week Rental on Patreon —   / 1weekrental   When The Dark Knight Rises came out in 2012, expectations were sky high. After all, Christopher Nolan had shattered all box office records and blown critics away with The Dark Knight… what would he be doing now to dazzle audiences everywhere?  Maybe it’s inevitable that the reception would be mixed. For the first time in his career, a Nolan movie was given generally negative reviews. And while it ultimately made more money worldwide than The Dark Knight did, it didn’t become the biggest movie of all time. Earlier that year, in fact, The Avengers had pulled that off, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s reign had officially begun. Nolan said the only reason he would ever consider making a sequel to The Dark Knight was if he came up with a story that was so good it justified its own existence. So… does The Dark Knight Rises do that? Laci thinks so; Matt doesn’t. Time stamps: 0:00 — Introduction 3:05 — Opening thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises 11:29 — Connecting this film to The Odyssey 14:27 — The Avengers vs. Dark Knight Rises 20:55 — In 2008, Nolan says he’s not making a Dark Knight sequel 23:07 — This is more of a sequel to Batman Begins than to The Dark Knight 26:00 — The politics of The Dark Knight trilogy 29:37 — Could the Joker have been in this movie? 33:15 — Nolan says third movies usually stink 37:08 — They come up with the last shot first 40:17 — Nolan wants to go bigger 42:40 — Selecting Bane as the villain 45:47 — A brief history of Bane 49:13 — Did Bane predict Donald Trump? 52:30 — What are Christopher Nolan’s politics? 1:01:15 — Biggest movie budget ever 1:03:25 — Aurora, Colorado shooting 1:05:00 — Everyone’s still talking about Harvey Dent (not the Joker) 1:08:26 — Bane on a plane 1:16:31 — Bane’s a con artist 1:18:28 — The Dent Act 1:21:48 — Gala at Wayne Manor 1:29:35 — Selina Kyle swipes some pearls 1:33:31 — John Blake meets Jim Gordon 1:37:26 — Alfred is fed up with Bruce 1:42:55 — Selina delivers Bruce’s fingerprints 1:43:39 — Gordon goes into the sewers 1:45:40 — Blake confronts Bruce 1:50:21 — Bruce visits Gordon at the hospital 1:52:50 — Rich people costume party 1:58:59 — Bruce goes back to work 2:01:02 — Alfred does NOT want Batman to come back 2:03:00 — Stock heist 2:06:49 — Alfred leaves Bruce 2:09:44 — Bruce Wayne is “broke” 2:12:00 — Bruce and Miranda share a fire 2:14:15 — Bane breaks Batman 2:17:00 — The worst prison in the world 2:20:40 — Bane kidnaps the board! 2:22:29 — Football game 2:29:15 — Blackgate Prison liberated 2:31:05 — The story of the mercenary 2:32:55 — Gotham under siege 2:35:30 — Bruce climbs out of the hole 2:37:09 — Judge Scarecrow 2:39:15 — Batman returns 2:43:00 — An army of cops 2:44:36 — Batman fights Bane 2:46:17 — Talia al-Ghul 2:51:13 — Batman flies away with the bomb 2:52:35 — Long live Batman 2:57:06 — Star ratings + final review of The Dark Knight Rises THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012) was directed by Christopher Nolan. Screenplay by Nolan with his brother Jonah; screen story by Nolan with David Goyer. Starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Tom Conti, Matthew Modine, Ben Mendelsohn, and Glen Powell as a stock trader. "The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture" by Glen Weldon (2016) - https://amzn.to/4aNZi2Y "Christopher Nolan (Iconic Directors)" by Dan Jolin (2026) - https://amzn.to/4oEtmE3 "The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan" by Tom Shone (2020) - https://amzn.to/4yiNtw0 "The Dark Knight Trilogy: The Complete Story Of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Films" by Dan Jolin | Empire (2012) - https://bit.ly/44KS6kW "Heath Ledger was planning to return as the Joker in The Dark Knight Rises before his death, say family" by Jacob Stolworthy | The Independent (2018) - https://bit.ly/3T8u5So "For now, Nolan and Batman will rest in 'Dark' glory" by Scott Bowles | USA Today (2008) - https://bit.ly/4yxUUiU "Christopher Nolan on ‘Dark Knight’ and its box-office billion: ‘It’s mystifying to me’" by Geoff Boucher | The Los Angeles Times (2008) - https://lat.ms/4hm5SSr