It is rare to find your emotional state be truly and deeply struck by fiction, by a movie in this case and when that happens you know you have witnessed something greater.
I consider myself a comic book person. I am very educated in the mythos of superheroes. From Batman and Superman to Monkey Joe and Squirrel Girl. Yet, above all else I consider myself more a movie enthusiast than that of a reader of comics and graphic novels.
I have been thoroughly following all news in relation to The Dark Knight Rises. Not from a comic book "fan-boy" point of view, but from someone who has truly had a connection to what Christopher Nolan has done to the Batman mythology. I have true respect and give him due recognition, because he was able to understand Batman, far better than anyone else has in the movie business. And I have to admit that my worry grew everytime I read a negative review, or someone saying "not as good as the last", or "did not live to my expectations". SInce the moment RT put as consensus "not meet standard set by it's predecessor" I knew this would terminally be the general public consensus, as I have seen that MOST of the people, truly end up concluding what the masses tell them, or lead them to believe.
The sole purpose of this writing is to correct that.
The Dark Knight Rises is without a doubt in my mind, without hesitation in my expression, the Best, most engrossing, emotional and thought provoking superhero movie E V E R.
This is not an exaggeration.
I had not been able to debate online due to the fact that The Dark Knight Rises opened in Puerto Rico on July 25th. And so I went to the very first screening. And again, to the very last screening of the day. The movie has been incessantly creeping on my mind. And I can't get it out.
Not better than The Dark Knight? Christopher Nolan made something very clear about 2 months after TDK premiered and I remember reading those words "I do not want to repeat myself". I can attest to the fact he has not. With TDKR the director has created a movie that doesn't even feel remotely related to it's predecessors, at least in tone. The gloomy, tragic and desperate atmosphere that fills the pictures lingers over a cinematography far above anything he has done in his past work. Add to that the fact that this movie plays out like a redemptive, social revolutionary war story and you truly have something different from the "horror" elements of begins, and the "pulp crime drama" from TDK. For that distinct quality he gives each picture, he deserves a couple of points.
Now the true reason for why I believe this movie is superior, is because of its emotional impact. The movie has characters that breath. And we get to see them struggling with their past decisions and with their present actions. The movie truly pits each character with themselves. The emotional response I had when each of these characters spoke, Wayne, Bane, Alfred and Blake, especially, grabbed me and did not let me go. The movie is about Bruce Wayne, the central figure not only endures the breaking of his body, but he has to reconstruct his soul, his purpose in life, his focus. And on top of that, he has to change his entire manner of thinking, which is in a depressive state, 8 years in reclusion. TDKR is a movie about personal redemption about learning that there is ALWAYS an epilogue to what you believe is your life's concluding moment. For this I believe The Dark Knight Rises is the superior picture.
There are those camps that state TDK is "better", sure it had a menacing, ethereal presence of the Joker, the unrelenting tension and constant movement, but except for those final 5 minutes, that movie did not have much of an emotional resonance and the excess of subplots in the beginning and end of that movie can be truly seen as a mess. The other camp would state that Nolan rapped the Batman mythology. I understand that worry and even though I would truly love a true 'Arkham City' style Batman movie, I do not believe a film like that would have much real world resonance, personal impact and long lasting importance in our modern popular culture. Yet, everytime I saw Bane and his mannerisms his fight scene, I could not stop screaming to myself: "THIS IS THE BANE I'VE READ ABOUT, THIS TRULY IS BANE!"
The Dark Knight Rises is not without it's faults. I do have some gripes, minor though. I do think Bane should have had a different, more emotional death, I do believe a little more Batman would have been needed and a dice more of Tumbler, Bat, Pod, cars, motorcycle, helicopter wreckage would have been nice. Miranda Tate's final breath was a bit overplayed and cheesy. But these are minor flaws which all films had.
The consensus HAS been wrong. And I implore you to find out why you believe this is not the best picture of the trilogy. Put aside the fact that Batman Begins was the origin, with it's "true" Batman translation. Forget about the Joker in TDK and the fact that movie had so much unresting energy. Forget about the critics, the 87% on RT, the fans that can't stop comparing it to the graphic novels and so forth. Think about everything that has come before and how The Dark Knight Rises ends it. You will find a much cleaner, more refined, better directed, more emotional picture in this one. And you will conclude The Dark Knight Rises is NOT the best superhero movie ever, it transcends that. The Dark Knight Rises is one of the best character-study pictures ever made.
THAT is of greater importance and longer lasting resonance.
NOTE: When I say "forget about.." I DO NOT MEAN obliterate what has come before. Just do not take into account one aspect of the movie, say for example The Joker, as the sole reason for why TDK is a better movie. I mean to say, think of the movie and it's story in general and then compare.
Wrong phrasing.