A Huge Success For What Its Meant To Be!

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2013)

The Dark Knight Rises may be the most depressing, deceptive, and terrorizing comic book movies of all time. But, in my opinion it is also one the most triumphantly inspirational comic book movies of all time. For every time Batman falls, he climbs back up stronger than ever with a fierce, emotionally charged purpose that the hero in all of us roots for. I get slightly peeved when critics write-off Batman as just an adolescent fantasy when he possesses highly virtuous qualities that make him one of the most loved and revered pop-culture symbols of all time. If Batman inspires you to examine your conscience and think hard about the moral decisions you face then that is a true sign of the character's authenticity and substance.
I will admit there are some story elements that require you to suspend your disbelief (i.e. how Bruce recovered from a broken back), but isn't that part of watching a movie, let alone a comic book movie? For anybody who says "Why don't they just shoot batman", in response I would say "Well, would you pay $12 to just to watch him get shot and then end the movie all of the sudden?! Of course not! Because that's not the point of the hero's journey! I want to see him at his lowest point, yes, but also make an epic comeback!" Also, the League of Shadows didn't blow up the city immediately because they wanted to torture Bruce's soul and show the world how corrupt and complacent we have become.
I find the complaints about Bane ridiculous when they clearly adjusted the volume of his voice due to initial complaints from the trailer. If you take a look his lines on IMDb, he speaks very metaphorically and is partly meant to be a voice for the disillusioned. I thought he was the one of the best parts of the movie, due to his ferocity, his intimidating demeanour, his strategies, and his powerful speeches. Bane is a great follow up to the Joker because he accomplished what the Scare crow, R'as Al Ghul, Two-Face, all failed to do: Break the Batman's body and spirit!
I'll admit this movie isn't perfect, but as a huge fan of Batman and comic book movies in general, I thought this was a resounding success partly because of the emotional dives and peaks the audience will experience. In the beginning, we have this uncomfortable feeling that lie about Harvey Dent is still alive, and by the end we have an ending that may not be appreciated by all, but it does give us a sense of the eternal truth "The darkest hour came just before the dawn" or just when things are at their absolute worst, true hero's will rise to their destiny to fight for a better future. In the end, Batman became the hero Gotham needed and deserved and he further solidified himself as a legend along with the idea "A Hero can be anyone". This movie had a lot of heart (the leap to freedom scene), intelligence (themes of deception/truth, financial/digital info manipulation), well developed character arcs, and some great twists. Despite its length, once it gets going, the movie follows a swift pace. The music is spectacularly epic; given you a sense of Bruce Wayne's struggle and Bane's menacing plans in action. Overall, I would rate The Dark Knight Rises a 9.5/10.