The Dark Knight Rises CinemaCon Footage Impression: A Truly Epic Batman Finale

Right now Avengers hype is at an all-time high as Marvel’s mega-movie crosses the finish line into theaters. Inevitably, talk is now turning to what Marvel Studios has allegedly done that DC/Warner Bros. has arguably not: built sufficient hype for their big summer tentpole film.

People are currently (at the time of writing this) mentioning The Dark Knight Rises in the same breath as the word “underwhelming” – but only for now. When the new Dark Knight Rises trailer is released in front of The Avengers next week, the talk will no doubt shift all over again. Or, you can scroll down and read about some recent Dark Knight Rises footage that was screened at CinemaCon this week, and possibly get that giddy Batman movie feeling right now.

Batman On Film was sent prompt word by reporters Sean Gerber and Josh Costella, who were on hand  at CinemaCon to cover the new sizzle reel of Dark Knight Rises footage that was unveiled.

Suffice it to say, The Dark Knight Rises footage was absolutely breathtaking. People were literally holding their breath throughout much of it, and couldn’t even move at the end they were so blown away by this new glimpse we got. We know it was only another 5 minutes of footage, on top of the trailer we’ve seen so far, but the more people get to see and spill the beans, the more confident I am that Nolan has not only topped The Dark Knight, but made something possibly even more phenomenal. It’s the conclusion we didn’t know he could pull off, but possibly has. The shots, the story, the epicness, the characters, there’s nothing that can top my anticipation for this movie.

Below you’ll find a small excerpt from their report:

It opened with previously seen images from the PROLOGUE and teaser trailer before fading into brand new, incredible sequences. The first “money shot” has now been shown with Batman standing atop a bridge with the wind sweeping his cape behind him. Batman looks as badass as one would expect, but Bruce Wayne looks tired and in need of retirement.

Not all is bad for Bruce, though, as his love life appears to be on the upswing. There was a shot of he and Miranda Tate kissing (I’ve seen it reported elsewhere that he was kissing Selina Kyle, but it was definitely Tate) on what appeared to be the “morning after.”

The relationship between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle is a little harder to pin down, as the footage sent mixed signals. Despite the evidence to the contrary, I was left with the feeling that Batman and Catwoman are indeed allies. There was a brief shot of the two of them fighting side-by-side, but more importantly was the sympathy Catwoman showed to Batman and his cause. “You’ve given them everything,” she tells Batman, to which he replies,”No I haven’t. Not yet.” I’m paraphrasing the beginning of Batman’s line, but I’m sure about the “Not yet” part.

We’ve seen his new aerial vehicle before and learned it’s name, The Bat, but this footage really showed it in action. It moves like a jet, doing a barrel roll as it whips over a Gotham skyscraper, but lands almost gently and efficiently like a helicopter within the safety of The Batcave. The Bat is cool. No doubt about it.

I’m sure there’s more that I’ve unintentionally left out, but the feeling I walked out of this presentation with was clear: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES truly looks like the very best of Christopher Nolan’s already legendary era of the franchise.

This is only a very small slice of what was screened in the presentation – for many, many, more juicy details, you need to head over to Batman On Film.

Having been called a ‘dirty little Nolan fan’ and everything in between for years now on this site, I am going to remain in a nice, safe, middle ground. So I’ll say what I have been saying all along: It’s going to be a very good year for superhero movies. Quite possibly the best we’re going to get.

If you’ve been following the development of the movie with us, you’ll also hear us come to a conclusion that few seem to have reached: despite the trailers, set photos, set videos, rumors, spoilers, and even this footage report, we still know next to nothing in the way of confirmed information about what Dark Knight Rises’ plot is all about. We know there’s Batman, Bane, Catwoman – maybe some surprise guests – and the whole thing takes place eight years after The Dark Knight and is about some vague terrorist plot. Again, not very much.

Check out the previously released trailer for The Dark Knight Rises.

The Dark Knight Rises cast sees the return of Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Nestor Carbonell and Michael Caine along with franchise newcomers Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata, Burn Gorman, Diego Klattenhoff and Alon Aboutboul.

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters July 20, 2012.

Click here for more The Dark Knight Rises trailers, clips, featurettes and behind-the-scenes coverage.

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