There was plenty of cause for celebration today at the Las Vegas’ CinemaCon when over 5 minutes of new footage from Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises was screened to a welcoming audience.
Descriptions of the footage have hit the web and as expected, they are overwhelmingly positive. One comment that comes across loud and clear from these reviews is the quality of Bane’s voice. After the prologue screened several months ago, Nolan stated that he would not be changing it. However, from the sound of it, that is not the case.
According to Cinema Blend:
I understood every word that Bane said.
Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) dressed as a maid before ripping off the white frills and revealing her black dress
James Gordon (Gary Oldman), as seen in the teaser trailer from last summer, lying in a hospital bed in bad shape
Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) sitting in his Batcave, which still looks very much like a cave
Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox together in Wayne Enterprises
A team of police officers in raid gear slowly touring through what appear to be subway tunnels
Batman’s new vehicle, The Bat, taking to the air and spinning twisting as it flies over Gotham
Catwoman, in her full costume, leaning down and stealing stuff from a safe
Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and Bruce Wayne sharing an intimate kiss
Catwoman sitting on the Batpod and firing at a blocked tunnel in the distance
Miranda Tate saying, “You’ve given them everything,” and Bruce Wayne replying, “Not yet.”
Alfred (Michael Caine) talking about the difficulty of getting back into his old routine.
John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) the footage shown today once again didn’t give us any dialogue from the character, it did show quite a bit of him – and in some interesting situations.
In the scenes shown Blake flashes a badge and is quickly seen wielding a shotgun, but the most interesting cut featured a giant bridge crumbling in an explosion and then a reaction shot from Gordon-Levitt. Just as with trailers, it’s hard to know if that will actually be the cut in the final film or if it was done for dramatic effect, but it most definitely had the latter.
Another description was released by IGN:
A new, atmospheric Bat-score was used here, music that slowly built in tension and eeriness the way Joker’s theme did in The Dark Knight. There was plenty of images of Batman and Catwoman in here, lots of Batpod stuff, brawling and explosions. The overriding takeaway from this footage was that the very existence of Gotham City itself is at stake, with a stunning bridge destruction set-piece, more of the football stadium chaos, and the fighting in the streets between Bane’s merc army and the Gotham City Police Department (including shots of Commissioner Gordon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake, and and Matthew Modine’s politically-ambitious cop in action). We also see Bane and his men attacking the Gotham Stock Exchange.
We see Catwoman kicking gunmen in the streets, firing the Batpod’s weapons, but most importantly a dialogue scene between her and Batman. Catwoman tells Batman, “You’ve given them everything!” Batman cryptically replies, “I haven’t given them everything.
Bruce working in his new Batcave, as well as a very “we were destined for this”/finding each other in the crowd showdown between Batman and Bane. It was like two mythic gunfighters meeting for the duel to decide who lives or dies. This town literally isn’t big enough for the both of them.
A very intriguing shot of a mystery man at that stronghold in India they began filming at last year, as well as a hot and heavy shot of Bruce and Selina kissing.
And, Entertainment Weekly chimed in with:
Bale has sunken eyes; he looks pale and haggard, and uses a cane. By comparison, Michael Caine’s Alfred appears as if he hasn’t aged a day. “Don’t worry, Master Wayne,” the butler reassures him later in the footage. “It takes a little time to get back in the swing of things.”
Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman) is revealed to be a maid working in Wayne Manor. On screen, she is nearly skewered by a crossbow arrow Bruce appears to be firing in his dining room. Nolan doesn’t include much dialogue here, but we do see the maid leaving the mansion and peeling off her uniform as her demeanor changes, Keyser Söze-style.
An explosion seals off downtown Gotham, allowing an army of infiltrators – or maybe just the dispossessed — to lay waste to the privileged class of the city while police – and even Batman – are helpless to stop it.
The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Marion Cotillard and hits theaters on July 20th.
