Why I Like The Dark Knight Rises Better Than The Dark Knight. (On Only Second Viewing)

Well, I saw TDKR again a second time last week, and....that was kick-ass. I LOVED it on my second viewing. What really suprised me was that I liked it better than TDK (on only second viewing). And in this blog entry I will explain why....

1. More Focus on Bruce Wayne

This is the biggie. The Dark Knight Rises felt much more like a Bruce Wayne story. Don't get me wrong, but I thought Bruce had a very distinct character arc in TDK, but it also felt like a Harvey Dent story.
In this movie I felt I was going on a jounrey with Bruce. Him going broke, getting thrown in the prison, and then rising up to save Gotham from Bane and Talia. And I loved, loved how they ended Bruce's journey in this one, which I will cover later..

2. Better Female Characters

As shown in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, you could see female characters in this trilogy were not Nolan's forte. Rachael was horrid in Batman Begins. Mainly because of Katie Holmes TERRIBLE performance. Two scenes in particular made me cringe. The scene where Bruce sees Rachel again after returing from training. The way Holmes delivered her lines was very exaggerated and all around cringeworthry. Maggie Gylenhall as Rachel in TDK was much better though. But the character itself isn't interesting or compelling.

But Nolan definitely redeemed himself in the female department with The Dark Knight Rises. First off Catwoman/Selina Kyle. She stole the show similar to how Heath Ledger stole the show as The Joker in TDK. Her character was, unlike Racheal, interesting and compelling. She was sly, smart, and sexy. I really loved her character arc in the movie revolving around the rich. She learns that Bruce Wayne, a rich man, was the only hope for Gotham and that all her beliefs about the rich were not so right..

I thought Talia Al Ghul was a great villian. You could see that all things she did were all because of Ra's Al Ghul's actions. In fact, Ra's Al Ghul's legacy you could be considered the main villian of the movie. I thought she was very interesting.

3. It Makes It Feel Like a Continuous Story 

I think movie turned this trilogy into one continuous story. Many plotlines from TDK and Batman Begins are all present here. The two main villians of TDKR are tied to Ra's Al Ghul from Batman Begins. All around, this movie feels much like a sequel to Begins rather than The Dark Knight, but, even plotlines like Rachel's letter and the death of Harvey Dent are all in this movie.

4. It's the Most Emotional Movie of the Trilogy

Yes, I cried a lot during this movie. This movie surpasses TDK in emotion. This film is emotionally powerful. There were many scenes in which I cried.

1a. When Alfred tells Bruce how he's cared about Bruce ever since he heard his cries in the Wayne Manor.

1b. When Bruce tells Gordon his true idenity. This scene was just excellent. It showed that Bruce's hero was Gordon. And when they showed that showed that shot of Gordon smiling at Bruce, I cried very hard. Bruce and Gordon's relationship is one of the best things of the trilogy.

1c. When Bruce fakes his death. If you're a Batman fan, how can you not cry at this moment? Dosen't need explantion. 

1d. The Cafe Scene. This scene is very emotional. Learning that Bruce got a happy ending is a very touching. And after all the shit Bruce had to deal with, he deserved a happy ending.