Listen, I know Christopher Nolan’s films can be labyrinthine and twisty, and the end of "Inception" was one of the best "gotcha!" moments in recent memory, but did anyone really think that the end of "The Dark Knight Rises" was a dream? I thought it was crystal clear, but it appears that it’s still a legitimate concern for some folks.
To recap for the five people who haven’t seen it (and duh, spoilers), the end of ‘Rises’ sees Batman (Christian Bale) seemingly dying while saving Gotham, passing the mantle, his Batcave, and more over to a certain John Robin Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). However, in the film’s last moments, we’re taken to Florence, where Alfred (Michael Caine) visits his usual café, only to look up and see Bruce Wayne alive and well, sitting with Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway). It’s a sweet little touch that wraps up the trilogy nicely, but it appears for some, there are lingering questions
At a SiriusXM Town Hall hosted by EW, Bale was asked directly if that final sequence was a dream, and he essentially says: no, it wasn’t. While he’s polite enough to add that the movies are all about people bringing their own interpretations etc. etc., he says that as far as he’s concerned, Bruce Wayne survived, and is probably still there now, getting fat on Italian cooking. Thoughts? Let us know below.
I struggled with understanding that last sequence as well when it first came out and it wasn\’t until I get the film on Blu-ray that I finally picked up on what had happened. Earlier in the movie there\’s a quick scene where Lucius Fox learns that the autopilot in the Batcopter actually was working, so it\’s implied that Batman escaped before the bomb went off.
Of course it\’s still too much of a stretch to believe that that there\’s no nuclear fallout after that bomb goes off, but that\’s movie magic for you.
Ben Affleck, you\’re nobody. NOBODY compared to this guy!
Brain fart, corrected.
In the audio clip, Bale says the ending was really happening, not "yes, it was a dream" as the article suggests.
"At a SiriusXM Town Hall hosted by EW, Bale was asked directly if that final sequence was a dream, and he essentially says: yes, it was"
Uhr…. I\’m pretty sure the clip indicated the opposite. Bale said it WASN\’T a dream.
There\’s a confusing mistake here – you write "Bale was asked directly if that final sequence was a DREAM, and he essentially says: YES, it was." – Bale was asked if the coda was REAL, and he agreed to that. You\’ve transcribed the opposite meaning. Dude.