Batman's not afraid; he's angry. And fans are not impatient; they're excited...

As if we weren't already anticipating The Dark Knight Rises enough, here's a fourth trailer. Not that we can really complain...

The first few seconds of this trailer make up one of the best trailer openings in recent years. Terrifically edited, it throws us straight into the action, cutting rapidly between impressive shots, set to a bombastic, percussive score. Hopefully this music will feature in the film itself.

Then the trailer slows down to establish the atmosphere, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt reluctantly admitting that he doesn't know if Batman will come back. But of course he will, because this is a film about Batman. But Joseph Gordon-Levitt doesn't know that. Sad dramatic irony is sad.

Batman utters the line "I'm not afraid; I'm angry!", which has already become a catchphrase, no doubt much to his chagrin. Batman probably growls to himself every time one of his utterances (accidentally) becomes a catchphrase. Which would help to explain why he's so moody all the time. And maybe also why he went into exile.

Maybe Batman's like Alan Rickman's character in Galaxy Quest, always grumbling because he's trying to be taken seriously, striking fear into the heart of Gotham's underworld, etc. etc., but then people keep wanting to treat him as the hero Gotham deserves, and spouting his catchphrases back at him and stuff, and he's fed up with it. So hopefully he'll get a similar arc in this movie, where he comes to embrace his role as a hero.

Or maybe Batman only said "I'm not afraid; I'm angry!" in order to clarify his emotions. Maybe Caped Crusaders, like Ron Weasleys, appear have the emotional range of a teaspoon, and so need to spell it out.

"I'm not grumpy; I'm sulking!"; "I'm not moody; I'm disgruntled!"; "I'm not unhappy; I'm gloomy!", and so on. Maybe Batman finds he's more effective if he controls his emotions, and acts "Calmly...coolly...entirely without incident..."; "No. Not without incident..." Like that time he was John Preston in Equilibrium.

There's a brief glimpse of a moment where a character falls off something, perhaps a building or a waterfall. Could this be a Sherlock Holmes homage; some kind of Reichenbach Fall moment, perhaps?

There's been a lot of speculation as to whether or not Batman will die in The Dark Knight Rises, as it's Christopher Nolan's final Batman film. So the aforementioned moment could be a relevant clue, or it could just be the trailer-makers teasing us. Similarly, there's a shot where Bane confidently throws Batman's mask to the ground, as it's raining. And we all know what rain means. It waters the ground, and then crops grow... No, the other thing. In films, rain generally means sadness and despair and defeat. And Akira Kurosawa action sequences. (And homages to them.)

There's a brief, masterful sequence in the trailer where Batman, after staring through a chainlink fence (presumably for several hours, but that's for the director's cut), very slowly, sadly turns away. There's something in the distance, at the far end of the shot, and then it comes into focus, and it's Bane.

Bane then greets Batman with "Mister Wayne...", meaning "Yay, fighty punchy time!"

Could "Mister Wayne..." become the next "Mister Anderson..."?

Yes, it looks like there's going to be a dramatic bridge showdown between Bane and Batman. Showdown on a Bridge! It's like Snakes on a Plane, but weighter! With debatable socio-political metaphors, to show that the superhero genre should be *taken seriously*, and that it's not all witty dialogue and Hulk Smashing. Not that The Avengers lacks meaning, mind you.

As befits the trailer for a third and final instalment in a film franchise (well, before it's rebooted), there are lots of atmospheric slow-motion shots of people turning or reacting to something, telling us that this is a *serious film*, that *matters*. In fact, to use a non-trilogy comparison, it brings to mind Zack Snyder's Watchmen adaptation, though less stylised. Incidentally, Christopher Nolan is executive producing the Zack Snyder-directed Superman reboot Man of Steel, which Batman composer Hans Zimmer has just signed on to score.

The trailer ends with the Bat-symbol exploding stylishly and gracefully, Timur Bekmambetov-style, behind the title. And then, over the credits, it calls back to the crowd chanting "Rise" from the previous trailer.

Before this trailer, I thought there was no way that The Dark Knight Rises would surpass The Avengers five kajillion dollar worldwide box office haul. Now, I'm not so sure. And the Avengers aren't afraid; they're angry... Especially Hulk.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman, and is released on IMAX and regular screens on 20th July 2012

See also:

Could a Justice League movie succeed?

Leonardo DiCaprio could have played The Riddler in The Dark Knight Rises

An analysis of the new posters for The Dark Knight Rises

The untold story between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises

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