Uh, well, that was vaguely underwhelming, but in a good way. It’s nice to see that a trailer in this day and age isn’t blowing its wad early on the big special effects shots or things that could potentially spoil the twists and turns of the movie. I’m one of the few horrible people who really pay attention during the trailers, and for a lot of big-budget fair, you gauge the runtime of the movie by remembering which shots from the trailer they haven’t shown yet.* I feel like the majority of the third act hasn’t even been glimpsed by the public, and that’s pretty fantastic. There’s a lot more Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which I think is setting up some third-act stuff so that we aren’t completely surprised. We’ve seen little of Marion Cotillard, too, and I don’t think that’s unintentional, given what I’ve heard about her character.
That being said, I’ve got a few gripes, but they’re nothing substantial. The BatHovercraft still looks ridiculous, and I like it a little less every time I see it. Hopefully it’ll look great in the finished film, and Nolan’s directing of this sequence seems to be a solid improvement from what he did. Bane’s voice, by far being the most divisive aspect of the previous trailer, has undergone a complete make-over, and I think it’s funny. I can actually visualize Nolan making Hardy over-enunciate everything in a sound booth, and then mixing it so that the first time you hear him speak, it’ll blow the speakers out in your theater. Bale’s Batman voice gets a little more ridiculous with each passing day since the release of Batman Begins, but hell, it’ll still sell tickets anyway.
It still looks incredibly pretty. God bless Nolan and his love for shooting on 35mm, and for shooting a ton of this with actual IMAX cameras. The quiet mood and tone is incredibly effective, and a really great choice for what may be the most unexpected blockbuster franchise of our time. Here’s to hoping they can stick the landing.
*To everyone whining about the new Prometheus trailer, shut up. There’s still at least 100+ minutes of movie left in the fucking thing.
