So, I've now watched the Dark Knight Rises twice.
The first time was on the opening night at Sydney's Imax theatre. I watched it alone and left the theatre slightly disappointed. The second time I watched it with my sister, a day later in a normal cinema and liked it much more.
The audio was better in the smaller cinema, and I was able to see the entire screen which helped. But I think the main factor was that I could fully relax, and not expect anything that the film could not and did not deliver - in essence, I had already seen it and there was no more anxiety or hype.
If you haven't seen the film, do not read beyond this point.
After thinking about the ending of the movie and the goings on during the film, I have come to the conclusion that the Joker won.
In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne returns to a corrupt Gotham and vows to save it by becoming an "idea", an incorruptible symbol of hope which would help pull Gotham's citizens out of the mire they had found themselves in.
In the Dark Knight, the Joker sets about destroying this symbol of hope by putting Batman in a stalemate situation; Bruce could either let Harvey Dent take the blame for the murders he committed and thus destroy his image and also release hundreds of criminals indicted by Dent; OR Bruce could take the blame himself and prove to the world that Batman could indeed break his one rule - he could murder. "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain".
So we end the Dark Knight with Batman being chased by police and their dogs, and riding into the night whilst Jim Gordon delivers an epic monologue about Batman being able to take the blame, and being able to endure being hunted and hated by us - because Gotham needed to blame someone for the chaos caused, and Gotham needed to believe in the good of Harvey Dent; the people needed a hero.
But the Dark Knight Rises shows us that Bruce Wayne, the very night the Dark Knight ends, hangs up his cape and becomes a hermit for 8 years.
What happened to the Batman being able to take being hunted and hated. I hoped to see Batman taking out crack dens and crime syndicates whilst evading the police. However, we see that the Joker does indeed beat Batman, by not only breaking his heart (by killing Rachel Dawes) but by eradicating him for 8 years. Bruce gets a gammy leg and loses all will to live, and finally returns to get beaten up and broken by Bane.
Bane then throws Bruce into a hole and blows up Gotham...literally. If the Joker was in his cell in Arkham and somehow caught wind that the Batman had returned after 8 years, only to be broken, I'm sure he would have had a laughing fit. Also, Gotham being blown up would also have thrilled the Joker, just for the mere chaos.
The film ends with Batman supposedly flying an atom bomb away from Gotham's coastline before it explodes (likely causing a massive radiation fallout, polluting Gotham's air and waterways). We are then told that the Bat's autopilot did indeed work and therefore Bruce is likely alive. But it doesn't matter, the Batman we knew is dead. Even if Robin Blake doned the cape and cowl (and it fit him), he is not a highly trained ninja vigilante. He's a beat cop.
To conclude this ramble, I'd just like you to imagine that you are the Joker. The Batman is gone, Gotham is a toxic ruin, and all of Blackgate's inmates are loose. Sounds like a bad joke to me. One that even the Joker wouldn't have been able to imagine. The Joker won, and chaos reigns in Gotham.
