The moment has finally arrived for Caped Crusader fans worldwide -- The Dark Knight Rises lands in theaters at midnight tonight. Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film promises great thrills and a satisfying conclusion, as we state in our The Dark Knight Rises review.
But, before you head into the theaters, Movie Fanatic presents a spoiler-free quintet of things you want to know before the lights go down and the epic conclusion begins.
1. Bane is Beautiful
Despite internet buzz earlier this year about trouble understanding The Dark Knight Rises Bane, the Tom Hardy performance is crystal clear. In fact, his voice is so awesome -- we’ve been walking around the house trying to imitate it for days now. Hardy crafts a performance that is powerful, brutish and yes, beautiful.
2. Catwoman isn’t Catwoman
Anne Hathaway is astounding as Selena Kyle, but one thing needs to be said: Never do they refer to her in Dark Knight Rises as Catwoman. Sure, she’s a cat burglar that serves as the catalyst to get a reclusive Bruce Wayne to don the batsuit once again. Yes, she wears cat ears to a masked ball. But the famous moniker is never used… and rightfully so.
3. Don’t Believe What You’ve Heard
David Letterman famously had Hathaway on his show the other night and shocked her, and audiences, by revealing the ending. A reporter at The Dark Knight Rises' press conference was scolded by Nolan for asking a question that appeared to give away the ending. Both of these instances have produced numerous reports in the media about how the film ends. Don’t believe it. Nothing that is said could ruin the spectacle that is Nolan’s conclusion.
4. Harvey Dent Looms Large
Although Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) perished in The Dark Knight, his persona is felt enormously in The Dark Knight Rises. Whether it’s the reason that Batman/Bruce Wayne went into hiding or serving as the motivation for Bane’s badness, Dent does exist in spirit in the final Dark Knight film.
5. Batman’s Bounty
We will never see a superhero franchise like this again. Savor your moments in theaters this weekend as we will likely never have the lightning-in-a-bottle moment again where a superhero franchise meets a star in Bale and a director in Nolan that craft a film series that is not only a stellar piece of superhero filmmaking, but a classic film series period.