The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s third installment of the Batman reboot starring Christian Bale.
The background
Speculation reached fever pitch over summer 2012’s most hotly anticipated film, The Dark Knight Rises, after the release of a new 13-minute featurette and news that a select group of bloggers and fans were treated to an advance screening.
Around forty people saw Christopher Nolan’s third Batman installment in early July in the US, under the condition they would not post reviews until the film’s official premiere on 19th July. However, some reaction has leaked – and the word is, this is a must-see movie. Comments on social networking sites were “overwhelmingly positive”, reported Ben Child in The Guardian, although most were quickly removed. According to ComicBookMovie, viewers gave the film a standing ovation after the screening.
But despite the new footage, mass of trailers and the odd leak from the advance screening, cinema-goers have been relatively unspoiled for the movie. Which burning questions remain over The Dark Knight Rises?
Will Bruce Wayne die?
Rumours swirl that Dark Knight Rises will be Bruce Wayne’s last outing. “If anyone can kill off Bruce Wayne on the big screen and get away with it, it’s Nolan,” opined Kevin Sullivan at MTV. But the death of Wayne does not necessarily mean the end of the caped crusader. “If Bruce Wayne does bite it, someone will pick up the mantle, and ‘Rises’ has been kind enough to offer the perfect candidate: John Blake, good-guy beat cop,” Sullivan said.
Will the film have a tragic ending?
Comments by screenwriter David Goyer that the film’s ending gave him a lump in his throat led many fans to suspect a favorite character – whether Bruce Wayne or not – was facing the axe. But, as Gather reported, director Nolan refused to be drawn: “I think, really, people are reading too much into David’s quote, actually.”
Batman’s swooping over the rooftops of Gotham would probably end with the caped crusader splattered over the pavement, according to physicists at the University of Leicester. “Batman’s velocity would peak at 110km/h before levelling off at a life-threatening 80km/h descent,” reported Wired.
Will Anne Hathaway do Catwoman justice?
“Since her casting was announced, Hathaway’s character has been the big question mark for fans,” wrote Michelle Lee at Hollywood.com. But, said Lee, early indications are that Hathaway may prove to be a decent Catwoman. And the 13-minute featurette released on 8th July also answers fans’s concerns that the film’s villain will be one-dimensional: “Tom Hardy’s beefy baddie Bane is a fully realized character and the film explains what drives him and what he wants.”
Ever wondered about the literary inspiration behind Christopher Nolan’s Batman films? Wonder no more: the answer is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, according to ComingSoon.net.
Will there be an interval?
According to Empire, The Dark Knight Rises clocks in at a buttocks-numbing 164 minutes and 27 seconds. “If you’ve already pre-booked your tickets for The Dark Knight Rises, remember to bring a cushion, a snack and three hours of your time,” advised Empire.
Watch the latest featurette for The Dark Knight Rises.
