Textual Analysis: of The Dark Knight Rises opening scene

What is the purpose and function of The Dark Knight Rises’ opening?

The diegetic music in the opening few seconds gradually builds. This is a typical thriller convention as it builds suspense for when we are introduced to the three masked men. The dialogue used by Bane reveals him as being a powerful character – he tells the agent that removing the mask will be extremely painful for the agent which shows Bane is physically dominant. The purpose of this is to introduce Bane as a powerful opponent for Batman – the odds are stacked against Batman which is a generic convention. Also he reveals his intentions of ‘crashing [the] plane’, which further shows Bane’s power as he feels he has no reason to hide his plans meaning he is not threatened by the agents. It also makes the viewer wonder why Bane wants to crash the plane. Also the tone of Bane’s voice when he says he’s going to crash the plane shows he is confident in his ability and he is certain the plane will crash. This breaks the tension in the scene to place the focus on the action. When the second plane arrives, the pace and volume of the non-diegetic music increases causing the viewers to anticipate the action that is to come. This shows the story is going to be very intense and full of face-paced action.

15 seconds into the opening, we are introduced to three characters. The mise en scene is used to present them as being villains. They are all handcuffed and have bags over their heads. The purpose of the bags is to also create a narrative enigma – who are the masked men? This grips the viewers because they want to find out who the masked men are. Later when the CIA agent is about to interrogate the masked men, we see him holding a gun. This connotes violence and death – both are common conventions of a thriller. At 2:04, one of the masked men is revealed to be Bane (the main antagonist of the film) and he is wearing a mask. This is another narrative enigma as it makes the viewer wonder why Bane wears the mask and what the mask does. It is also a thriller convention as typically the villain has some sort of unique physical trait. Bane is also revealed as being a psychotic character – typical of the antagonist in thrillers – as he has a very wide-eyed stare and keeps eye contact with the agent when revealing he is going to crash the plane they are all on. This introduces Bane as a very evil and cold-hearted character which is typical of superhero villains.

When we are introduced to the three masked men, there is a mid-shot to show that they are close together. This is a convention of a thriller because it shows the villains are entrapped which is a theme commonly used in thrillers. Camera is used again later to represent who currently has power in the scenario – the shot shows the CIA agent standing over the three masked villains who are kneeling down. At 2:54 there is a shot showing a plane with reinforcements for Bane – this is essential to the narrative as it shows Bane is now in control of the situation. It also helps develop Bane’s character as it connotes that he is intelligent as well as physically dominant. This makes the viewer wonder has Batman finally met his match?

When Bane is revealed and the agent is having a conversation with him, the shot reverse shot contains low angle shots of Bane and high angle shots of the agent. This shows Bane as being the more powerful of the two characters. This again is reinforcing that Bane is going to be a difficult opponent for Batman to beat and foreshadows the later scene in the film in which Bane breaks Batman’s back. There are jump cuts between Bane being interrogated on the plane and the other plane that is catching up with the plane Bane is on. This makes the viewer wonder what is about to happen because it connotes that the two planes will meet and are linked. It also introduces that the story will be based around Bane’s intentions and evil plans to wreak havoc on Gotham City. There is also a match on action when bane rips of his handcuffs to emphasise Bane’s strength. In the lead up to this and Bane’s men arriving to help takeover the plane, there is lots of fast-cutting. This picks up the pace of the film which makes creates suspense of what is about to come.