Opening Scene - The Dark Knight Rises - Action

The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the third and last instalment of the Nolan Batman trilogy and has reached 2^nd in the highest grossing superhero films. It is also seventh in the highest grossing films of all time. As the Dark Knight Rises is predominantly a superhero, action film throughout the feature we see common conventions that match the genre.  Superhero films like The Dark knight Rises have many action scenes, fights and explosions so CGI, SFX and pyrotechnics were a common feature in the film, like all superhero films The Dark Knight Rises has a hero and a villain, the shots are extreme and camera angles, especially aerial shots, are from high, hard to reach angles to really capture the action.

The scene we have been studying is the opening scene of the film, we start in the back of a truck where a group of soldiers have 3 people handcuffed with their heads bagged, these people are then taken onto a plane, whilst on the plane one of the soldiers is trying to get information out of each person by pretending to shoot them, this is where audiences first meet the main character villain Bane, Batman’s rival. After he has been identified a larger plane flies above them and latches onto the smaller plane, this is when Banes army of men take over the plane.
The characters in this scene are all of around the same age, there are no children or elderly people. The soldiers are all middle aged men this shows us that men are seen here as the stronger sex and also are seen more violent and aggressive towards war and conflict. Bane the villain is also male as is his army of men, this also shows men’s strength and power in war and violent situations and that men are more suited to that kind of environment.

In the opening scene we see the villain Bane, in a car handcuffed, the people surrounding him are soldiers. Mise en scene is used here in the form of costume, the costume given to the soldier actors automatically gives them power and authority, the audience clearly establish who is in control at this point and that they because of their army uniform costume have a lot of power over the other actors in the scene. Props are also used in the same scene as the soldiers are holding guns and Bane is handcuffed with a bag over his head, the mixture of army costume and gun props show the audience early on that the film will be action packed and more than likely violent and establish the nature and genre of the film.

Further on in the opening during the plane attack scene we see Bane the villain hanging high up the collapsing plane above the struggling characters, we see this from what would be the struggling characters subjective POV and it is filmed from a low angle looking up at Bane, the low camera angle shows how helpless and weak the other characters are compared to Bane who is safe at the top of the plane and looking down on them, because he is looking down on them, we can see through the Sub POV of the other passengers how intimidating Banes power and dominance in this part is and how they feel helpless and out of control of the situation. The use of different camera angles in the scene helps audience members know who is in control and the most dominant, powerful character and portraying the villain as the more dominant character in the opening stages of the film brings suspense throughout the feature, it is a classic convention in any superhero film, the directors establish the villain as the more powerful character early on so it leaves audiences gripped throughout the film and makes them think how such a powerful person could be beaten.

I feel sound, in this case non diegetic music, is a really important feature in all movies especially movies of the Batman, superhero nature, throughout the early action scene when Bane and the soldiers are fighting on the plane non diegetic music is playing in the background, it is high tempo and quick paced, this kind of music perfectly matches the quick movements of the actors and the overall dramatic feel of the fighting scene, it really establishes what the film is going to be like and goes hand in hand with the movements and positioning of the actors, when a heavy punch is thrown the beat increases suddenly, this tells the audiences that these points in the scene are of more importance and could also reflect the pain and determination of the characters.

Editing is seen right at the start of the film in the form of credits, credit colour could really
portray the overall mood for example red credits in a horror represent the blood and death, in the Dark Knight Rises the credit colour is a metallic, shiny silver, this really matches the mood of the film as it portrays wealth, power and sleekness which are all characteristics that the main character batman owns.

In conclusion mise en scene, camera, editing and sound all play their part in portraying to the audience the genre and nature of the film, they also establish to me and the audience the classic and common conventions that appear throughout The Dark Knight Rises and every other superhero film.