Warner Bros decided to give fans of the Nolan Batman films, like myself, the latest trailer three full days before it will be seen in theaters with The Avengers. But they didn't just give it freely or easily. Rather, there was a viral game that was part of the trailer reveal. First, there was a arrest warrant released by the Gotham Police Department for The Batman. Next, there was chalk drawn bat symbols drawn on buildings and landmarks all over the country. Once found, a photo was needed to be taken and posted to Twitter. With each bat symbol found, one frame of the new trailer was released until all were found. Then, at around 10:30 cst last night the full trailer was released.
The viral game itself was pretty cool in my opinion and the work put in by Batfans all over the country was well worth it as the trailer itself is in a word: Incredible!
As many who read this blog know, I am a huge batman fan since childhood. I read the comic all while growing up, watched all the cartoons, and probably saw Batman 89 like 4 times in the theaters and hundreds at home on VHS. So I come to this trailer and the Nolan series with alot of baggage and from a certain point of view. I am already sold, so to speak on the film. So this trailer doesn't have to do much, if anything at all, to convince me to see the film. I am already there.
With that established, this trailer can now be looked at for what it is: a window into the final Nolan film. And that window has an amazing view. Let's break down what I loved and found interesting about the above trailer:
- I love the way this trailer slowly builds with both images and music working together to build to a crescendo of sound and fury. If the music heard during the last quarter of the trailer is from the score to this film, then bravo to Hans Zimmer for building on the previous scores and making something very compelling.
- It would appear that John Blake may be just a Gotham beat cop. Although knowing Nolan, I could see this trailer and all the marketing to this point being a big fake out and Blake being much more than meets the eye. Time will tell of course. But I do love what little I see of Joseph Gordon Levitt in the role.
- I think any debate about whether Anne Hathaway can handle the role of Catwoman can be put to rest. In the scenes she is in as both Selina Kyle and Catwoman, Hathaway feels absolutely perfect. She isn't even trying to channel Michelle Pfeffer's Catwoman here but taking on the iconic character in her own way.
- It would seem as if Batman disappears for a time and then triumphantly returns again. It has been speculated that in his first fight with Bane, which can be seen in the trailer, that Bane breaks the Batman. Bruce goes away and has to work to return to form. Once he does, he fights Bane again with a different outcome. This can all be seen from what is in the trailer. I wonder how other batfans will feel about Batman being MIA for a good portion of the story. Which brings me to...
- Gordon, Selina Kyle, John Blake, and Miranda Tate seem to be the characters who will be center stage once Batman goes away. I personally have no problem with that as I think all will be very strong in this film, particular the latter three who are new additions to the series.
- This film seems to be a mix up of the Batman stories Knighfall, No Man's Land, and The Dark Knight Returns. I have read all three and all of them are fine stories and I think will mix well together.
- The Bat is clearly going to be just as amazing and great as the Batpod was when introduced in The Dark Knight. I am still puzzling over how exactly it mechanically is able to fly. It would seem it has some kind of propulsion jets on the bottom surface and then the large guns on the front have forward propulsion engines on them. In any event, it will be great to see it in action.
- Alfred's line is deceiving. At the 1:30 mark Alfred states that he will not bury Bruce as he has buried enough of the Wayne family. This would imply that Nolan will not do what has long been theorized- Kill The Batman. But I think Nolan is being a little bit of a trickster here and leading the audience to a false conclusion. As I have elaborated on in a previous post, I would count on The Batman sacrificing himself for the people of Gotham.
- Bane is a dangerous and deadly terrorist who seems to give Batman and the city of Gotham all it can handle. It is clear that there was work done on his voice after there were many complaints that it was unintelligible when the prologue was screened several months ago. I have no worries on that and find the choice of voice for Bane is very unique. I applaud Tom Hardy for taking a different route with, at least, the voice of Bane.
- Catwoman and Batman will team up in the film. This I think was absolutely essential for the film and makes me very happy. Of course, Catwoman will have her own agenda in play and will only align with The Dark Knight for her own reasons, and I would not want it any other way.
Overall, I think this trailer does a good job of laying out the overall story, the stakes, and introduce us to nearly all of the characters in the film. The interesting omission was Miranda Tate, who can only be seen kissing Bruce toward the last quarter of the trailer. I think that has alot to do with exactly who this character REALLY is.
Not that I subscribe to the fanboy wars, but this trailer does refocus some attention away from the Marvel team up film opening Friday. This, to me, is the film to see this summer.
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