Sneak Preview- The Dark Knight Rises

By Natalia Kozikowska

Dark Knight Rises in theaters this weekend.

The wait is finally over Batman fans! The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s final film in his Batman trilogy is hitting theatres this weekend, sure to smash the box office. In this final installment Batman (Christian Bale) is struggling with his new status as a wanted vigilante and must contend with newcomers like Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and the super strong villain Bane (Tom Hardy.)

When The Dark Knight was released in 2008, the film received highly positive reviews and set numerous records during its theatrical run. The enormous success of these films in large part pertains to the complex characters in them. Audiences across the globe are intrigued by characters like The Joker, Two-Face, Catwoman and of course, Batman himself. In some ways it seems as though the character overpowers the actor playing the roles. Throughout the years Batman has been played by several actors – Michael Keaton, Val Kimer, George Clooney and Christian Bale. The Joker has also been played by multiple actors (Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger) as was Catwoman’s persona, played by actresses like Julie Newmar (on TV), Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry and most recently, Anne Hathaway.

The beauty of the Batman movies is that the mask worn, the character played, truly takes over the actor – it was even rumored that Heath Ledger’s prescription painkiller overdose was linked to his dark role as the evil Joker. It is said that Ledger prepared so fiercely for the role that he became one with the Joker and began to feel his darkness.

With such strong characters in the Batman movies, the actors become interchangeable pieces and so long as they convince their audiences that they can play that role, the movie is a success. There are not too many films that can accomplish the same feat. It would be hard to imagine the Iron Man movies without Robert Downey Junior. Similarly, Christopher Reeve’s performances in the Superman films were unmatchable which has made it difficult to successfully continue the franchise.

In The Dark Knight Rises another complex character, Bane, will be reintroduced. Bane’s first debut was in Batman and Robin (1997) played by Jeep Swenson. Bane is an escaped convict from an island prison in South America. He has abnormal strength as a result of having undergone experiments involving a derivative of the drug Venom. In the comic book series, he is known as “The Man Who Broke the Bat” when he broke Batman’s spinal cord, forcing Bruce Wayne to give up the Batman persona while he was recovering. In this the last of Nolan’s three Batman films, actor Tom Hardy will play the complicated role of Bane once again proving that in Batman movies, the characters make the film – not just the actors.

One thing is certain – if you are headed to theatres to see the highly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises for opening night, Friday, July 20, it is best to buy your tickets in advance. Smart Money reports that ticket scalpers are asking for as much as $100 per ticket. You can pre-order your tickets on fandango.com, but hurry, even those tickets are limited!