The Dark Knight Rises is one of the most anticipated films of 2012. Considering the success both financially and critically of the previous Nolan film, it is no wonder. Christian Bale returns to the role of the troubled knight, with Michael Caine as his esteemed butler, Alfred; Morgan Freeman as the ever creative and innovative Lucius Fox; and Gary Oldman as Chief Gordon join him for the new film.

 

The amount of talent and skill that surrounds Bale is staggering, and the expectations are extremely high for the final entry in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy.

 

The Dark Knight Rises movie trailer is vague, but has a few things that we can take away from it, the first being the super-villain Bane. Bane is a chemically enhanced psychopath with super-human strength and like so many super villains, a vendetta against Batman. Though extremely strong and nearly mad from drugs, Bane is able to still able to use his wits to confront the Batman in the comic book series. Bane gets his strength from an experimental form of steroids called “Venom.” In the comic book series, Bane defeated Batman and broke his back, forcing Batman into retirement for a time. This could be a story arc that is explored if we are to take hints from the trailers. At the end of the video, we are shown a stylized bat silhouette made from the tops of Gotham’s building, as the camera pans to the bat symbol, the bat explodes into light.

 

Another clue from the trailer shows Chief Gordon smashing the bat signal, implying the Dark Knight has crossed the line, or perhaps been framed for a crime. If we’re to go along with the theory that Batman is incapacitated by Bane, perhaps Gordon smashes the bat signal out of frustration. It may be a safer bet to assume that Bruce Wayne chooses to walk away from the mantle of the bat. Bruce Wayne is seen speaking with what looks like a wounded Gordon in a hospital room and Gordon is breathing through a respirator and pleading with Wayne to believe in himself. We see in different clips in the trailer that Bruce Wayne is still struggling with the death of his mother and father at the hands of criminals, and questions the role of Batman.

 

We can expect at least one other villain in The Dark Knight Rises, though which ones are not certain. What is likely certain is the appearance of Catwoman. Although Catwoman is a cat burglar and frequent thief, her role is not always well defined in the DC universe. There is clear sexual tension between her character and Batman, and she often helps him with his investigations. Her personality is very much like a cat though, interfering with Batman and distracting him other times, and she is overall a very self-centered character. Batman clearly has a soft spot in his heart for the criminal kitten and may envy her carefree and wise cracking ways.

 

Be wary searching for the Dark Knight trailer, as there is a well done fake trailer showing Robin Williams as Hugo Strange. It may be unfair to describe the trailer as a fake, even though it has duped more than one legitimate journalist. It is a fans’ creative editing of a trailer, kind of like fan fiction, but in trailer form. A search for “Dark Knight Rises trailer Official” will return the link to Warner Bros. and their posting on youtube.com.

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine

BUY Dark Knight Rises Memorabilia

 

About the author: Diane Johnson writes about a number of her interests including four wheeling, shopping, and online classes.

Further Reading: Teaser Poster for Batman The Dark Knight Rises