The Dark Knight Rises Trailer 3

Excited does not do this film justice. For over a decade my favourite film has been the Matrix; a film that was groundbreaking for its time with an intelligent plot, superb special effects and top quality fight choreography. The film had everything: style and substance, action and emotion, intelligence and spirituality, which is why for so long no other film has come close to touching its greatness in my eyes. That is until now. The Dark Knight Rises has the potential to replace the Matrix as my favourite film of all time. So what is so special about the Dark Knight Rises? The latest trailer is the best indication yet of just how good this film could be. I will now break down the reasons why I have such high expectations of this film:

Batman:
I want to start with the most obvious - the protagonist, Batman. Batman is my favourite comic book superhero - he's highly intelligent (an expert in criminology), he's athletic and strong with genuine martial arts training from Asia not just some conveniently endowed super powers; he fights out of a strong moral conviction in the injustice of evil and is the personification of the virtues he seeks to encourage in Gotham City. Above all he's a man with an unwavering sense of hope that Gotham is redeemable from the crime and evil that ensnares it. Very few other comic book environments take on anthropormorphic qualities such as Gotham City, it's as if the city itself is forsaken in the perpetual clutches of evil but Batman alone stands as the vanguard and bulwark of all that is good and decent and righteous. Christopher Nolan has truly captured the essence of Batman as a character in his portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman played by Christian Bale. Bale's Batman is a far more imposing physical specimen than any of his predecessors incarnations as well as having a far greater sense of authenticity from Bale's other action roles. What I love most about Nolan's reboot is his emphasis on Batman as the Dark Knight. This was a sublime and genius decision and piece of storytelling. The Dark Knight bears all the right connotations connected with the character of Batman: an edgy antihero that inspires fear and intimidation into his enemies as well as a servant, a guardian and a protector of all that is good in Gotham.

Bane:

Every great hero needs a great villain and the antagonist for Nolan's swansong is non other than the most physically dominant and one of the most highly intelligent villains in the entire Batman legend - Bane. While the Joker will always be Batman's arch-nemesis and the late Heath Ledger's iconic portrayal was a masterpiece that will stand the test of time, Nolan was right to keep Bane till last. While the Joker is pure evil - a self confessed "agent of chaos", Bane was the first villain to break into the Batcave and break Batman's spine, in the cult classic graphic novel Knightfall. There could be no better villain to end the trilogy than the villain who legitimately defeated the Dark Knight in the comics. This automatically creates the speculation, will the film stay true to the comics and will this be the end for Bale's Batman or is the allusion to the Knightfall story in the new trailer a red herring? Nolan has intelligently created massive hype for this film simply through Bane's inclusion, because of the vast amounts of options Bane as a character gives him. But just as Bale is a casting triumph, so too I believe is Tom Hardy as Bane. Hardy's shaved head, mask wearing Bane may seem far more human that the Lucha Libra masked, venom enhanced Bane of the comic books but he is altogether far more sinister. This brings me to what I believe is so special about Hardy's Bane: the voice. There is something innately sinister about not being able to discern someone's true voice. The distortion and muffled effect of Bane's mask upon his voice gives me chills. His image, his gait, his screen pressence is absolutely undeniable, when you see Bane on screen you are drawn in, compelled to watch what he does and yet terrified at the same time of the horror he is capable of unleashing.

Catwoman:
No Batman trilogy would be complete without Catwoman, Bruce Wayne's on/off love interest in the graphic novels makes her debut along with Bane in the Dark Knight Rises. Again like Bane, Nolan's inclusion of Catwoman automatically sparks interest and speculation - is she good or bad? Will she become Wayne's girlfriend or sidekick? Will she meet a happy or tragic end? The casting of Anne Hathaway came as a suprise to some but like the rest of Nolan's casting I am sure it will be vindicated. From the latest trailer Hathaway's Catwoman is true to the comic books and will play an instrumental part in the story's conclusion. I am very much looking forward to the interplay and chemistry between Batman and Catwoman as hinted at in the trailer.

Technology:
Where would Batman be without his gadgets? Batman Begins introduced the Batmobile, the Dark Knight the Batpod and now the Dark Knight Rises the Batwing. The scale of the final film is truly phenomenal judging from the trailers, from the opening prologue of an aeroplane heist, to all out civil war and an aerial battle with the Batwing.

Films get bigger and better every year so it takes something very special and extraordinary to break the mould and stand above all the high tech special effects. Everything in the Dark Knight Rises trailer suggests this film will be one of the greatest films of all time. The trilogy has amazing depth in scope, storyline, character development, casting and action.