The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - To Rise Is Not Easy.

★★★★☆

A few great things about this film: a stunning opening to introduce the villain like TDK’s; breathtaking score; witty, thought-provoking dialogues; heart-pumping, down-to-earth fistfights; and emotional, quiet moments to prepare us for the climaxes. TDKR is more about the Batman himself than the villain. It explains what’s left off in ‘Batman Begins’, which to me is just a fair piece of cinema though.

If you expect TDKR to exceed TDK, you may be let down since it lacks an impressive villain like Heath Ledger’s Joker. Bane (Tom Hardy) seems physically strong and verbally intimidating enough, but he wears a mask and his facial expressions are basically none. We don’t get to see his eyes often, and there’s nothing special about his body language either. Like I said, this film’s more about Bruce Wayne the Batman that’s aging and getting weak both mentally and physically as he thinks there’s nothing out there for him anymore. Later, when he’s finally obliged to make a comeback, he seems fearless but inside he’s like a coward indeed. There’s a memorable conversation between him and Alfred (Michael Caine), who’s in fact not worried that Bruce would fail after 8-year seclusion but that he wants to.

Can a man not afraid of death be considered the brave and the strong? TDKR doesn’t quite seem to agree with that. How Bruce manages to get out of that prison in the ground after being smashed by Bane is definitely one of the most moving and inspiring scenes that’s to tell us that hating life itself wouldn’t get us anywhere. That just because we’re not afraid of death doesn’t mean we’re strong. A true hero should be able to face up to his past and move on embracing his life, responsibilities and of course all of his fears. He should be able to rise to be the strong despite the fact that it’s always easier to fall than to rise!

Like it or not, this last chapter of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy seems rather bright and optimistic. To be honest, I’m not so fond of an ending like that. Obviously Mr. Nolan doesn’t want us to lose hopes for a better world where people could be like heroes without having to do anything heroic. Truth is, it’s better to die in hope than in despair. As a superhero movie, TDKR, nonetheless, needs a better villain and a more emotional ending to become a classic such as TDK.