I admit, I did watch the bootleg version of this over the weekend, but I didn't want to comment too much until I had seen the official version. Well, I've seen the official version. It still looks like a half-assed fan-edit preview. The two telltale signs of a fake preview have always been cheesy onscreen text and the use of copious footage from previous films of a given series. This has both, insultingly reminding us that 'every hero has a journey' (thanks Campbell) and every journey has an end (also knew that, but thanks). The first 45 seconds is nothing but footage from Batman Begins, with a dash of The Dark Knight thrown with Liam Neeson's narration tossed in. The only new footage we get is Gary Oldman lying in a hospital bed whining about how Batman left us, evil rose, and now Batman must Return. We do get a brief shot of someone climbing up a well (the Bat Cave hole?), a worn-down Batman facing down a mostly offscreen Bane, and a single close-up of Tomas Hardy as the villain of the day, Bane. Are we thrilled yet?
Yes, it's a teaser, but it's a laughably lazy one that substitutes suspense and tension for cliches and platitudes. Does that mean the movie is going to be terrible? Of course not, it just means that Warner Bros. should have waited until they had something worth teasing. Last time around, they had The Joker, so all they had to do was give us a couple seconds of Heath Ledger talking in character to get us excited ("Starting tonight... people will die! I'm a man of my word."). This time, they have a villain no one cares about (oooh... Bane!) and a quasi-villain (Catwoman) who's brand has been damaged by the 2004 Halle Berry movie. Again, the movie may be a solid Batman story that suitably closes the book on the Nolan franchise, but this is a terrible and counterproductive piece of marketing. Does this tease make you more or less excited to see the film? And furthermore, if this was the teaser Warner was prepping, why the hell didn't they attach this thing to Green Lantern? I'm pretty sure Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II didn't need the help, but Green Lantern sure could have used an exclusive Dark Knight Rises teaser playing in front of it over opening weekend. Here's hoping the first real trailer (likely premiering in front of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on December 16th) brings the goods to the table. Anyway, the film itself opens on July 20th, 2012. I'm absolutely sure it will be better than this teaser, but that's not the point of a teaser, is it?
Scott Mendelson
