The Dark Knight Rises Trailer #3 Analysis and Breakdown

EPIC!!!

By now, many of you have probably seen the latest trailer of Chris Nolan's epic conclusion to his Batman franchise, The Dark Knight Rises. While released to the general public as of April 30, 2012, the trailer will also be included with The Avengers as previously reported.

Even though the trailer was included in yesterday's YAMB article on Bane, it was hastily tacked on, as the article was written before the trailer was released and unfortunately scheduled to post the day after the trailer was sent out. Bummer. 

However, let's take a closer look at this trailer. But first, just back in it's glorious amazing-ness:

Um. Wow. Sorry Avengers you're great and all, but... 

BAZONGA! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO EPIC!!!!!

Whew. Calm down... okay. Now, let's take a rational look at what exactly is going on in this wonderful, spectacular, stupendous trailer.  

And here... we... go.

O Hai Dere.

The trailer starts off slowly and quietly, showing shots of Bruce Wayne (most likely a crippled Wayne, as seen in Trailer 2) and the doomed airplane holding Bane and various CIA and bad guys (as seen in the prologue attached to Mission Impossible: Admit it, You Only Saw It Because of The TDKR Prologue). Piano and strings play chilling chords in the background, as Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and Bruce exchange playful, yet menacing words. 

When Wayne responds to Kyle's comment, he points out that she "sounds like [she's] looking forward to it." With that, Kyle kittenishly (yes, a word) answers, "I'm adaptable." Kyle seems like a character who will choose whichever side she thinks will have the best chance at winning. 

After this we have Bane holding another man, beaten and broken, at his mercy (yeah... that guys's gonna die), and echoing the dying banker in The Dark Knight prologue asks, "What are you?" Unlike The Joker's maniacal answer, Bane gives a clear, concise and oh so terrifying response:

"I'm Gotham's reckoning."

"I'm Gotham's reckoning." Wow. Can we just let those words sink in... Perhaps this is alluding all the way back to Batman Begins, when Ra's al-Ghul (Liam Neeson) stated that Gotham needed to be destroyed or rather purged and purified aka TOTAL ANNIHILATION.  This would definitely tie into the rumors that Bane is connected to the League of Shadows and those pesky rumors that Ra's makes an appearance... Obviously Batman thinks that Gotham has good people left and innocent people who need not suffer, ergo he takes up the mantle of the Bat to fight the injustices of Gotham. 

Hines Ward outrunning players? WHAT???

The spine-tingling chords continue, their soft, shimmering brilliance juxtaposed by the images of complete and utter chaos. Bane wreaking havoc, football fields exploding, Wayne Manor getting looted, another place getting shot up. There's also the first good look at Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, John Blake, a policeman under Commissioner Gordon. Oh by the way, he's watching a bridge getting blown to pieces, or at least he's presumably watching that, along with a bus full of children (allusion to The Dark Knight and the metaphor of innocence? I think yes). 

 A Bridge to Nowhere...

Next, the score introduces the soft crescendos of french horns, while showing images of what I believe is Bruce Wayne being dragged away (similar to his prison time in Batman Begins). Blake and Kyle are talking, and Blake asks, "Did they kill him?" He is most likely referring to Batman, yet he could also be asking about Gordon. Kyle darkly responds with a foreboding, "I don't know." Like previously stated, Kyle is "adaptable" most likely switching alliances from the good guys (Batman, Blake, etc.) and the baddies (Bane, Arkham, etc.) just to stay alive. 

As seen in previous trailers, Wayne is shown climbing into a pit of some sort. While the first images that pop into my head are that of the well and Batcave entrance as in Batman Begins something tells me this is not the case. He's clearly tired and worn down, so this is no ordinary spelunking expedition. Perhaps, and I'm only speculating here, Wayne has found one of the rumored Lazarus Pits of Ra's al Ghul. 

Wayne, lying in prison battered and bruised, let's out a painful gasp, as he's awoken by the menacing stare of Bane. When asked, "Why don't you just kill me?" This question is not unlike the one he asks The Joker during the interrogation scene ("Why do you want to kill me?"). Once again, much unlike The Joker's response, Bane looks like he's reprimanding a small child. He almost looks as if he's shocked that Wayne would even ask a question like that. Bane gives the chilling response of "You're punishment must be more severe." 

Cue title card: Hope is Lost. Well... that's not disquieting at all... 

The music swells in the background as a young boy asks John Blake, "Do you think he's coming back?" as he draws the Bat signal in chalk (obviously, he's referring to Batman). As he's asking Blake, an image of Bane throwing the broken cowl of Batman into a flooding sewer, as symbolic rain falls. Obviously, something has happened to Batman, done by the ruthlessness of Bane (most likely Batman has been broken by Bane, as in the Knighfall comics). Blake apprehensively answers the child, "I don't know" and looks dramatically off into the distance.  

Next, there's a whirlwind of images, as the musical score becomes more and more intense (the strings seem to be playing something similar to the theme used in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight yet with just a bit of variation. The images include Kyle dressed in her Catwoman garb backing away from a cell of some sort with a horrified expression, a Tumbler rolling through Gotham's snowy streets, Bane throwing what looks to be Bruce Wayne down the previously mentioned pit, what looks to be the New York Stock Exchange getting shot up, Catwoman on Batman's BatPod, Blake running threw a flooded street, Bane descending on some poor helpless soul (Batman perhaps?), all the while Kyle and Blake have a voiceover.

Blake is asking Kyle, "Why would you run? [Is it because of] Bane?" And Kyle giving the tense and doom-filled answer of: "You should be as afraid of him as I am." Wow. To reiterate the point... Bane is a bad, bad dude. 

Cue the next title card: Faith is Lost. Again... disconcerting. 

As the score intensifies, adding a harder drum beat and horn blasts, Alfred, Wayne's faithful butler, delivers a defiant and very Alfred-esque line: "I won't bury you. I've buried enough members of the Wayne family." Through all this, the death of Bruce's parents and the troubled life of Bruce has seemed to take a toll on the wizened butler. It's easy to forget that Alfred is also just as effected as Bruce by what is happening in Gotham. For goodness sakes, he saw Thomas and Martha Wayne build the city, and now he helplessly watches as it's being blown apart, all the while their beloved son is masquerading around trying to stop the seemingly unending chaos.

As Alfred's voiceover is going on, images of a Tumbler rumbling up the steps of a government building as a fierce battle is raging  is shown, along with a henchman being taken down by Bats. Batman is shown in what I can only assume to be the new Batcave, as he turns and the camera focus pulls on the foreboding outline of Bane. Bane struts toward Bats with a very evil gleam in his eye. Right away, this raises all sorts of alarms. Has Bane found Batman's secret hiding spot? How? He must know Batman's identity then as well. This is a rather obvious point, as Bane is seen talking to an unmasked Batman prior to this, but it's still a chilling point. Bane knowing who Batman is... Yikes. Can't really be fun for Bruce Wayne.

Cue yet another title card: A Fire Will Rise. Another mysterious Fire Rises reference... 

Gordon and Batman are seen. It should be noted that this is one of the few times Gordon looks healthy and well (in the first trailer, he looked and sounded inches away from death). There's a heroic shot of Batman on the spire of a very tall building, much like the images in The Dark Knight. 

Selina Kyle dressed as Cats is shown talking to Bats. She declares that "You don't owe these people any more. You've given them everything." Obviously alluding to the fact that Batman has done enough for the city. She may be pleading with him to just give it up, a la Rachel Dawes and Alfred, as the chaos constructed by Bane could be the undoing of Batman. While she's saying this, images of the raging battle near the government building are shown. Gotham's finest are valiantly trying to take down Bane's forces, but it does seem as if they won't make it out as victors. Bane is seen focusing on something in the distance, most likely Batman is about to join the skirmish. John Blake is also seen closing his eyes and raising his arms in surrender, possibly bracing himself for the end. Morgan Freeman is finally sited, looking all Morgan Freeman-ish, while hunched over a techy system (possibly the cellphone tapping system in The Dark Knight?).

Finally, we're given footage of Bane and Batman duking it out. The thing I love about this is that Batman isn't just pummeling a hapless henchman to a pulp, he's swinging and missing at Bane, as Bane is going absolutely bananas and jumping around and blocking Bats's attacks. Oh yeah, he lands some wallops on Batman, too. Anyone thinking Hardy wasn't up to the physical challenge of Bane, uh, think again. The guy goes into ABSOLUTE BEAST MODE! It can also be assumed that Batman is fighting Bane in Bane's home turf, as there seems to be a henchmen watching the fight from afar.

Gordon is shown running for cover in a rather dangerous area, as an explosion takes out some of his men. 

In response to Kyle, even though there's a sense of weariness and tiredness in his voice, Batman defiantly growls: 

"Not everything. Not yet."

He's willing to lay it all on the line for Gotham, this corrupted, desolate, virtually destroyed city. Wow. That's the kind of dedication that every girl wants in a man. Or... that's the kind of dedication that gets you killed. Most likely The Dark Knight Rises focuses on the latter... 

Batman is then seen motoring along Gotham's streets in his BatPod, while Gordon is slowly backing away in fear, bodies littering the snowy ground around him (probably the same scene that the Tumbler was first showed). 

Cue title card: On July 20. As if you didn't know the date...

This... Won't End Well...

The music score blares to a full out Inception-like BRAAAAAAAAAHHHHMMMMM, as everything on the screen goes into absolute chaos. A prison riot might be starting, Gotham police are courageously shown running headlong into Bane's ranks, most likely the now-freed inmates of Arkham, and it should be noted that there are two (count 'em TWO) Tumblers present for the battle, which is also snowy.

Cue yet another title card: The Epic Conclusion. No... Really? 

A choir menacingly starts chanting as the brass continue to blare their notes. Batman is shown throwing a punch at Bane at previously mentioned government building battle, a dripping wet Wayne gets a little something-something (wink wink) as Marion Cotillard's character Miranda Tate and Wayne have a steamy make-out sesh,  a vehicle drives through an explosion, and Catwoman is shown kicking all sorts of butt! It should be noted that Batman is in the background also kicking butt. So... apparently somewhere in the movie the two characters reconcile their differences and team up for a giant thing of absolute arse take-downage.

Cats an Bats.

Cue title card to complete previous title card: To the Dark Knight Legend. Doesn't really make syntactical sense, but... we'll let it go.

Things are still going absolutely berserk onscreen. Explosions up the wazoo, Bane throwing explosions, a glimpse of the BatPlane shooting at a Tumbler, Batman pointing a weird weapon of some sorts, a Tumbler EXPLODING and barrel rolling toward the camera!!! Two giant drum beats, then:

Title Card: The Dark Knight Rises. Complete with creepy chanting...

And, sense it's not a Chris Nolan movie without some witty snark, Catwoman is shown in a vehicle saying, "My mother warned me about getting into cars with strange men" as a high pitched squeal is heard. Bats gives the witty retort of, "This isn't a car." Then, BatPlane in action! It's shown soaring over a building and doing an impressive turn to get to the action. From the looks of it, the BatPlane looks to be some sort of extension of the Tumbler, perhaps a modification much like how the BatPod comes out of the Tumbler. Man, I WANT A TUMBLER!!!

Whew. There you have it. A breakdown of the third trailer.

Now, let's watch it again...

Um. July 20, please hurry to me. 

A few things should be noted... Even if Batman succeeds in taking down Bane, there's a whole huge mess with the prisoners of Arkham once again loose on the streets, Gotham in shambles (economically and physically ruined), and Batman growing older... Batman can't be cleaning up Gotham forever... Even if he defeats Bane and Bane's cohorts. Also, after leaked photos of Cotillard's character getting into a Tumbler, rumors have swirled that she might actually be Talia al Ghul. Hmmmm... Thus far though, the trailers have not tipped their hand on this.

Now, excuse me. There was too much epic-ness in that trailer. I need to change my trousers.

Check out the Teaser and Trailer #2 below...