CONFUSING MOVIE ENDINGS EXPLAINED ― THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

In short, the ending of the movie is up to us—and we're right either way.

Meanwhile, the ending to Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy isn't as vague as Inception. After flying a nuclear bomb out of Gotham City, Batman escapes the blast…off-screen. We know this, because later, while Alfred is in Florence, he sees his former Master Bruce sitting at a table, enjoying a meal with ex-Catwoman Selina Kyle. Some fans have theorized that this is all a dream—that Batman actually died in the explosion, and that Alfred simply imagined seeing his friend taking in the Italian sunshine.

But that's bat-baloney. Before the movie's end, we learn along with Lucius Fox that Bruce Wayne fixed the Bat-plane's autopilot six months before the final showdown in Gotham. That's all the exposition necessary for viewers to know that Batman jumped out while the plane flies the bomb toward the bay.

And sure, when Alfred sees Wayne in Florence, it's exactly how Alfred describes it earlier in the film. But that's not a dream—it's just the best way for Wayne to show Alfred he's alive. Moreover, Selina Kyle is there, wearing Wayne's mother's necklace, which she steals at the beginning of the movie. Alfred doesn't know she and Wayne have become an item, and he'd quit before Batman and Catwoman teamed up to save Gotham City.

Finally, Bruce Wayne himself, Christian Bale, thinks that he's alive by the end of the movie. He explained during an interview while promoting Exodus: Gods and Kings:

"[Alfred] was just content with me being alive. And he left. Because that was the life he'd always wanted for [Bruce]. I find it very interesting. I think with most films, I tend to say it's always what the audience thinks it is. My personal opinion is that it was not a dream. That that was for real. And [Bruce] was delighted that he had finally freed himself from the privilege, but ultimately the burden of being Bruce Wayne."

None of this matters anyway. Batfleck is the wave of the future! But let's shift our gaze toward the ghost of Batman's past…

From looper  


The Dark Knight Rises Ending: What Happens To Batman, Gotham And John Blake
BY ADAM HOLMES
THE ENDING

Because of Christopher Nolan wanting to tell a complete Batman story, as well as Warner Bros’ eagerness to kick off the DC Extended Universe, the Dark Knight trilogy is a shut book now. While there was talk shortly after the film’s release about whether the Dark Knightseries could continue, be it in a John Blake-led Batman movie or a Catwoman spinoff, those ideas were quickly shot down. So unless DC decides in a decade from now that they want to do a comic book continuation, we’ll never officially know how this universe continued. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not possible to figure out what would have happened afterwards to lay the groundwork for a fourth movie.

Before we give our thoughts on the Dark Knight universe might have looked following The Dark Knight Rises, let’s first recap how the threequel ended.

The EndingAt the end of The Dark Knight Rises, with the help of Gotham City’s remaining police force, Batman was able to get control of the city back from Bane and finally defeated the breathing-impaired supervillain mano-a-mano - though it was Catwoman who delivered the killing shot. The problem was, the threat wasn’t over. That reactor set to explode and decimate the entire city was still somewhere out there, and although Commissioner James Gordon had prevented it from being remotely detonated, it was now in Talia al Ghul’s hands. Batman, Catwoman and Gordon were able to take out the truck carrying the bomb, but before she died, Talia destroyed the reactor so that they couldn’t put the core back into it for disarming. With no other alternative, Bruce was forced to attach the core to The Bat and fly it over the bay so it would detonate away from civilians. The problem was, the aircraft had to be flown manually, so in seconds, we watched Bruce Wayne seemingly perish saving everyone in his home city.

As the movie ended, we got our final taste of what life had ahead for the main players. Wayne Manor has been turned into an orphanage, while the rest of Bruce’s assets (that also weren’t seized to pay his debts) were bequeathed to butler extraordinaire Alfred Pennyworth. Commissioner Gordon continued his police work, but was surprised to see the Bat Signal back atop the GCPD rooftop. Lucius Fox discovered the The Bat’s autopilot issue had been fixed, seemingly by Bruce Wayne – suggesting that he actually survived the nuclear explosion. John Blake quit the police force, and after being left spelunking gear and a set of coordinates by Bruce, he found the Batcave. As for Alfred, he was understandably distraught over Bruce’s death, and felt that he had failed Thomas and Martha Wayne. However, when he went back to that cafe in Florence he mentioned earlier in the movie, he saw Bruce with Selina Kyle across from him, and with each giving a nod of recognition to one another, they went their separate ways.

BRUCE WAYNE'S FATE

It's left ambiguous in whether Bruce Wayne survived The Dark Knight Rises or if Alfred just hallucinated seeing him at that cafe. On the one hand, the autopilot on The Bat was indeed fixed, and the software patch had Bruce Wayne’s ID on it. Plus, just like in the comics, Bruce Wayne has a penchant for surviving seemingly impossible situations as long as he has the right tools.

On the other hand…this was a nuclear explosion! Even someone who trained with the League of Shadows and fought the worst Gotham City has to offer can’t just escape something of that magnitude with ease. Alfred was obviously overcome with emotion at Bruce’s death, as the man was practically his own son. So it’s possible he simply imaginedhe saw Bruce with Selina at the cafe, his desire for Bruce to have a better life briefly becoming his reality. Then again, like mentioned earlier, this is the Batman.He’s been known to surprise us.

Bottom line, if Bruce is still alive, he wouldn’t go back to being Batman. That part of his life is over. He dedicated years training his mind and body to near-perfection, and afterwards spent several years striking terror into the hearts of criminals. He was able to save his city one last time, and now that part of his life is over. He’s with Selina Kyle, and whatever is in store for their future, it won’t involve beating criminals up. Hopefully he realizes how lucky he is. Most iterations of the Caped Crusader go their whole lives dedicated to the mission, even if it means passing the Bat-mantle to someone else and staying on as a direct mentor.

From CinemaBlend

Christian Bale Explains ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Ending

Viewers familiar with the works of Christopher Nolan know that he has a tendency to be rather ambiguous with the conclusions for his films. Take one look at the comments for our Inception ending and Interstellar ending explanation posts for proof that moviegoers enjoy discussing the finales of Nolan movies months, or even years, after its original theatrical premiere.

One instance where that open-endedness hasn’t been used to full effect is Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, where he and Christian Bale teamed up to revitalize the Batman film property by earning critical praise and billions of box office dollars. The first two films in the series – Batman Begins and The Dark Knight – are relatively straightforward superhero tales, with a clear beginning, middle and end that leave little up for debate. However, the ending for The Dark Knight Rises was the subject of many theories, with some believing Bruce Wayne’s ultimate fate was still in question.

Early on in the trilogy-capper, Alfred (Michael Caine) tells Bruce his one true wish for his surrogate son. Instead of coming back to Gotham and reliving the pain and grief from his parents’ deaths, the butler wanted Wayne to never come back and instead move far away and perhaps start a family somewhere. This bit of dialogue plays over a scene where Alfred, on vacation visiting a cafe in Florence, sees someone he thinks is Bruce before realizing it’s someone else.

Fast-forward to one of the last scenes in the movie, and the setup is identical to that previous Florence sequence, only this time the man Alfred sees actually is Bruce, who has settled down into a nice peaceful life with Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), far away from the memories of Gotham City. Because everything seemed a little too perfect (and since Batman was seemingly caught in a nuclear explosion), some speculated that the ending was a dream of Alfred’s and not something that really happened.

Shortly after The Dark Knight Rises first came out two years ago, Caine himself explained that what we saw “was no imagination” and Bruce was there, in the flesh. While promoting Exodus: Gods and Kings on Sirius XM Town Hall (hat tip EW), Bale chimed in, essentially echoing what Caine said previously in a response to a fan question:

“I find it very interesting and with most films, I tend to say, ‘It’s what the audience thinks it is.’ My personal opinion? No, it was not a dream. That was for real and he was just delighted that finally he had freed himself from the privilege, but ultimately the burden, of being Bruce Wayne.”

In the pre-release phase for The Dark Knight Rises, many speculated that Bruce’s death could happen, which is something that probably fueled the conspiracy theories about Batman’s demise. However, it appears all that hypothesizing was for naught, as multiple key figures in the film have said that the sequence is decidedly not a dream, but rather a happy ending for the trilogy’s protagonist. That should be enough to convince even the most stout dream believers.

Given that Nolan’s series helped usher in an age of dark, gritty Hollywood pictures, it’s easy to see why the tone of such an upbeat, emotional conclusion would seem out of place in the overall series, but that’s what made it so satisfying when it happened. We had seen Bruce endure so much over the course of the three films that it was a nice relief to know that he was ready to move on with his life and have something resembling a normal existence.

Admittedly, seeing Bruce at the same exact cafe that Alfred frequents does make it all seem a tad coincidental, but that’s Hollywood sometimes. That said, it doesn’t really matter how he got to Florence and knew his old friend would be there. The point of that scene was that Bruce had made peace with everyone and everything around him; he had inspired the people of Gotham to stand up for justice and accomplished what he set out to do. From that perspective, the end sequence is touching and poignant – and a perfect way to end his story.

From ScreenRant