First off apologies for not having posted anything in a while, I was working on graduating from college and finishing up a feature length film and writing for this blog kind of took a backseat I admit. But now I’m back and coming soon will be some retrospective on creating “Death Suspects a Murder” as well as more movie reviews and top 15 countdowns. Anyway for now here is a breakdown of the new “Dark Knight Rises” trailer. If you haven’t seen it yet here is a look:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8evyE9TuYk]
Okay now that I’ve stopped squealing like a kid on the jungle gym for the 1st time let’s take a look at this trailer. The first thing gotta bring up is the new DC Comics logo. Doesn’t that just look bad? I mean I hate it. But that’s about the only thing wrong with this trailer, everything is kept pretty secret with this one. I throughly enjoyed “The Avengers” but I couldn’t stand how much the trailers gave away, as much fun as the film was there were some key moments where the element of surprise was taken out because of the extensive coverage of their trailers. I’m fearing a similar outcome with the much anticipated “Prometheus” whose 2nd trailer I feel reveals way too much.
Bale and Hathaway
This new sleek trailer reveals just enough to tantalize but nothing more. We see Bruce Wayne and Catwoman together, it’s unclear whether Selena Kyle/Catwoman knows Batman’s secret identity and it’s unsure whether they are truly on the same side. Like in the comics and Bruce Timm TV show Catwoman and Batman always have a very odd sexual tension between them. They respect each other, but both come from two very different perspectives. Catwoman isn’t a villain in the sense of harming another human being but rather just a very stylized thief with very particular taste. Though in this film she seems a bit more open to the societal/political shifts sure to come with the rise of Bane (Tom Hardy). So like in the comics despite their varying morals the two have on a number of occasions teamed up. It looks to be happening here but as in the Batman mythos Catwoman is known to switch up on Batman at the very last minute to further her own desires.
Gordon-Levitt
The trailer also raises many questions about John Blake played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Blake is seen prominently in the trailer talking about Bane and Batman. He is obviously a major part of the storyline. He is even apparently talking to Catwoman, could this be the new Robin? That’s what many are saying. I remember a USA Today article where they interviewed both Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan about the next Batman film. Nolan said that he never was a fan of Robin, so it’s unclear if we will see that in the Nolan universe. Regardless John Blake serves some greater purpose to the film and quite possibly if you watch the trailer at the 1:16 mark you may see Blake being tossed like a rag doll by Bane.
Bane played by Tom Hardy
Speaking of Bane let’s take a look at the prime villain for the final Batman installment. Bane is an odd choice in some regards, he is not well known to the casual Batman fan he’s not like a Joker though he’s arguably more popular than Scarecrow who appears in the previous two Batman films. Bane is famous for his physical strength and high IQ. Bane in the comics uses a special serum called Venom to power him and give him super human strength. I’m not going to spoil what he does in the comics to Batman but I feel everyone is expecting that infamous moment to happen in some shape or form in “The Dark Knight Rises.” I’m still not crazy about the voice, in the television show Bane still has his South American accent and it’s very clear what he’s saying. This current voice modification he has on is like a cross between Darth Vader and something out of a Wes Craven movie. It could work with some more audio tweaks but when he says “Your punishment must be more severe” I felt Bane wasn’t even in the same room with Bruce Wayne. Just a voice over narration.
This isn’t a car.
Finally there is the Batwing, which is indeed not a car. This just looks flat out awesome. I felt a rush when I saw this thing fly across the skyline of Gotham city, what a way to end the trailer! Leaving you with something that you just cannot wait to see, I usually don’t pay the extra ticket price for IMAX films but I will with this one, and probably for that one scene alone. I know I’m leaving out a lot from this trailer but I feel it wouldn’t be right to obsess over every single detail, I want this movie to be a surprise but I can’t help but to excitedly speculate what will happen. I will be seeing this at the midnight premiere July 20th and I will probably see it again with my family, as I did with “The Dark Knight.” It’s hard to make a solid trilogy but Nolan seems on the cusp on joining the elite few to do so.