Consequences.

If any word can sum up the themes of The Dark Knight Rises, it’s consequences. Whereas the themes of the preceding two films in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight Saga”, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, could be stated, respectively, as “Fear” and “Escalation”, the third film embodies the idea of reaping what one sows. The villains of the film, also as in the previous entires, encapsulate the theme, both in motivation and in their plan. But the idea expands beyond just the villains, encompassing the entirety of the plot, and bringing in almost every other major character n the film under its wing. And it’s this motivation, this tying together of theme, that keeps Nolan’s films from being just “superhero movies” and pushes them into capital F “Films.”