Lucky members of the press were treated to a special screening of The Dark Knight Rises' prologue this evening. The screening was introduced by Christopher Nolan and official descriptions are starting to appear online. This was the introduction of Bane, much like how The Dark Knight's prologue introduced us to The Joker. So how does The Dark Knight Rises begin? Unfortunately the press was asked to keep the details light, but Superhero Hype has a great write-up:
Even though the opening shot takes place immediately after The Dark Knight and features Commissioner Gordon speaking at Harvey Dent's funeral (and is shot in 35mm), the footage moves immediately to IMAX and the events that transpire during the hostage situation discussed in the viral documents. There, we're treated to a hostage transfer and the reveal of Bane aboard a private plane and an ensuing fight that takes every advantage of the IMAX frame. Think less The Dark Knight and more Inception or, even closer, an IMAX version of a James Bond film.
Though the response from the crowd was overwhelmingly positive, there was much discussion about Bane's voice. Muffled by his mask and featuring a British accent, it's difficult to fully understand exactly what he is saying (but likely intentionally).
At the conclusion of the footage, there's a rapid montage of shots, all in IMAX, that feature a lot to excite fans, the most intriguing of which is Bane carrying a shattered half of Batman's mask.
Update: Interested in an even more detailed report? Check it out after the break...
WB logo
Ice. Cold. Crystalized imagery and a very familiar logo of a Bat.
Jim Gordon at Harvey Dents funeral gives a eulogy, a few words about
inspiring others...
CUT---
An unnamed mountainous region.
A jeep rides along the landscape. Hooded men in the back of a jeep are
driven to a small plane... the jeep is met by an armed CIA agent who
takes into custody a political VIP, who is traveling with these hooded
men... or is he? The CIA Douche learns that one of the hooded men is
BANE?!
The hooded men, along with the political VIP are loaded onto the plane.
The plane takes to the air as the CIA douchebag interrogates those
taken on board. One of the hooded men is dangled outside the plane and
questioned/threatened and when the CIA agent doesn't get what he
wants, he fires his weapon (next to the hooded man's ear, he is not
killed) and then begins to question the other hooded man. That hooded
man is unmasked and revealed to be... Bane!
CIA DOUCHE: Was it your plan all along to be captured?
Suddenly, a much larger plane overtakes the smaller plane occupied by
CIA Douche, Bane and hostages. Operatives from the larger plane
descend onto the smaller one--
Bane in all his Ventilator glory is revealed....CIA DOUCHE: If I take
this off, will you die?BANE: No. But I will be in a lot of pain.
BAM!
Operatives from the larger plane fire upon the interior of the plane
interrupting the interrogation.
The larger plane has ahold of the smaller one as it pulls it by wires
throwing all the passengers downward in a disorienting fashion.
After quickly overtaking the plane, Bane's operatives bring in a man
with inside a body bag. This man is dead or looks barely alive. Bane
then takes the VIP political prisoner and inserts a tube and transfers
blood from the body bag man. (It's confusing as to why this is
important.)
AND THEN... in a scene that no words will be able to do justice, a
hole is cut from the smaller plane and a wire takes Bane and the VIP
politico through the rear of the plane as the smaller plane is ripped
apart and is destroyed while members of Bane's team sacrifice their
lives going down with the small plane. (Again, it should be stressed,
this description pales to what you will actually see, it's a true
spectacle.)
The chant can be heard at the end... Deh-Shay! Bah-Sah-Ra!
The scene is followed by a montage that includes many images we've
seen, the most striking includes the Bat-copter chasing down fatigued
Batmobiles down the streets of Gotham, and a final shocking image of
Bane tossing away a shattered and torn Batman mask into rubble...
The only complaint about the 7 minute prologue was echoed by all in
attendace: Bane's dialog is very difficult to understand. Imagine
Darth Vader with a very thick accent. Hopefully this will be fixed in
the final film.
Overall this opening scene is confusing, epic, and will leave
audiences speechless. All in a good way.
To read even more articles about the prologue, click on the source links below. If you want to see the prologue for yourself, click here for an official list of theaters that will be showing it.
SOURCE: Superhero Hype, THR, Empire, IGN, Collider
