Finally, THE OFFICIAL DARK KNIGHT TRAILER Hits! Thoughts and More...

There's something fascinating about Chris Nolan's Batman films.  They all look like shit when the news breaks, or the leaked photos or trailers hit. Seriously.  They look terrible.  The Dark Knight Rises is no exception.

But here the official trailer sits, after the jump.  




Remember the uproar when the Batman Begins costume was revealed?  Holy shit that thing looked awful.  At the time I wondered about the cast--how could these huge name actors work together?  How can they function as an ensemble?  And what about when Heath Ledger was announced as Joker for The Dark Knight?  Oh, the humanity!  That film's first teaser trailer looked terrible too--it did nothing to reassure viewers that Ledger was the man for the role.  So yeah, I admit it.  I'm not horribly impressed by this trailer because of the parts they tease us with: Bane's close-up, Bane approaching Batman... What I am actually interested in is Commissioner Gordon's injury, and whether or not Gordon now knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman--Christian Bale is using his Bruce Wayne out-of-playboy-mode voice, not his Batman voice... though I wouldn't be surprised if this was Wayne dressed up as the masked assailant from Batman Begins (the scene in which he introduced himself to Gordon by threatening him with a stapler).
  

Ah, the first suit Wayne tried out in Gotham.  Jumping onto fire escapes never looked stupider.

Anyway, below you'll find two pics of the major new shots from the teaser: Bane's close-up, and Bane approaching Batman as someone in the background looks to be aiming something (a gun?) at the duo. 

Nobody blames you, Jeep Swenson.

This is certainly an upgrade from the ill-conceived Bane of Batman and Robin fame, which I blame entirely on Joel Schumacher.  I mean who the fuck makes a Batman movie like that?  But back to the above picture of Tom Hardy as Bane: I can't help but think: what the fuck is that thing on his mouth?  They look like fingers reaching down, trying to stretch his mouth apart, goatse-style.  And if you don't know what that means, DO NOT TRY TO FIND OUT.  Overall, the picture just seems, well, underwhelming.  Tom Hardy I like, but does he really strike you as someone bad ass enough to take down Batman?  I wonder.  The first picture, below, is a fantastic shot, full of drama and intrigue and badassery.  But that's not difficult with the right lighting and a very limited view of his face.

On to the next shot, in which Batman confronts Bane.

Interesting shot... Can't tell if they're in Wayne Manor or the Batcave, since, well, we won't know what Wayne Manor looks like since it's a whole new set.  It does vaguely remind me of this panel from the Knightfall series:

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pic--I don't have a scanner!

Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the Knightfall series (and its two sequels), Bane is introduced as a villain from a Caribbean prison hopped up on some super steroid called Venom.  He gets it in his head to take over Gotham City by releasing all the insane super-villain inmates from Arkham Asylum.  By the time Batman has most of the criminals locked up, he's so weakened that Bane is able to defeat him in combat and break his back, thus claiming "The Prize" since there can only be one Immortal left.  Now he's some old dude in the future and then it turns out he's actually an alien and then some new alien Immortals arrive on Earth from his home world and he's gotta kick some more ass, unleash the Quickening which returns him to his young, immortal state, and save the planet against evil incarnate, Michael Ironside.  True story.

Now, obviously the film can't follow this storyline because it's been reported that Ra's al Ghul, and the League of Assassins is going to play a major role.  Some sites have speculated that Marion Cotillard will play Ra's al Ghul's daughter, Talia al Ghul, under the alias Miranda Tate.  If I remember correctly, which I very well may not, Ra's conspired to have Bruce Wayne marry Talia al Ghul and take over the League of Assassins.  Now, I don't know what happened, but Wayne left and returned to Gotham City.  Later, to replace Wayne as his heir apparent, Ra's brought in Bane.  That's about all I know of that storyline.  But I will bring up that Bruce and Talia did have a relationship, and she is often considered one of his legitimate love interests, other than Catwoman.

Oh right, Catwoman's in this thing too.  Shit.  Anne Hathaway.  Beautiful.

I can't wait to see what her costume looks like.  Early reports state that it's form-fitting, but utilitarian and includes the goggles.  Sweet.