(Spoilers)

For those who haven’t seen it, the prologue is basically a stunning set piece that serves as an introduction to Bane as our new villain. A scientist (Dr. Pavel for those who are following the TDKR’s viral campaign) is being handed over to CIA custody/protection, along with 3 hooded prisoners who we are told were caught trying to kidnap Dr. Pavel, and work for “the masked man”. Once the plane is airborne, CIA agent Tommy Carcetti begins interrogating the prisoners about Bane. After faking an execution on the first prisoner, the third hooded man speaks. Its Bane, (but come on, you already knew that) who announces his plan is to crash the plane, leaving no survivors. What follows is a rather incredible heist sequence wherein Bane, aided by anotheraircraft (and guys who can only be from The League Of Shadows) tears the CIA plane apart, plants a decoy scientist corpse, and escapes with Dr. Pavel.

Like the beginning of The Dark Knight, the purpose of TDKR’s first 6 minutes is to introduce us to our primary villain, Bane. The Joker’s grand entrance was of course a stunning, ‘Heat’ influenced bank heist that perfectly established the villain’s modus operandi; Daring, unpredictable and of course, a taste for the theatrical. There are similarities between the two prologues here. Both feature masks (an important thematic element throughout Nolan’s Batman films), both feature daring heists, executed fearlessly, and both our villains utilise henchmen whose sole purpose seems to be their expendability. In a recent issue of Empire magazine, Christopher Nolan talked about the importance of having a villain who is a totally different archetype to the Joker, and despite the aforementioned similarities, it is clear that with Bane, we are getting a different kind of adversary, one that is cunning, brutal and very importantly, has a plan.

The whole sequence is pretty breath taking, with the plane heist being one of the most memorable action sequences I’d seen all year. One of the best consequences of Christopher Nolan’s success with the Batman films is his advancement of the use of IMAX technology in high budget films. Scenes like this are what IMAX is made for, and in my opinion IMAX (not 3D) needs to be recognised as the future for big studio releases. The level of immersion you get is beyond comparison to any other format, and really is currently the best way to experience a film.

One of the big talking points in recent months has been Bane’s voice, and the unavoidable fact that a lot of people are having trouble understanding it. I had seen the trailer beforehand and Bane’s line, “When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die” was perfectly audible to me. However, when watching the prologue, it was admittedly very difficult to make out what exactly was being said. I have re-watched the prologue a few times since seeing it in the IMAX and once I knew what he was supposed to be saying, it became perfectly audible. So yes there is a slight issue here but I’m not in any way agreeing with the people who want a total re-recording of the dialogue. The suggestion of subtitles is actually not a bad idea but I still think it’s a somewhat hasty suggestion. Bear in mind, the prologue does take place on a plane, in mid flight, with half of Bane’s dialogue spoken while the plane door is open, and the other half while the tail end has been blown off, not the most acoustically friendly environment for a bit of dialogue. I think a couple of tweaks to some sound levels and the issue’s with Bane’s voice will for the most part be cleared up for release day. Sound levels aside, I think Bane’s voice is brilliant; a kind of refined, mechanical dialect, both intimidating and charismatic. I’ve been a big fan of Tom Hardy since the release of ‘Bronson’ back in 2008, and this looks like yet another amazing performance to follow up his roles in Inception and Warrior.

Speaking of Warrior, Hardy is supposedly using the same physique in TDKR (fucking jacked) so anyone complaining that Hardy isn’t big enough to play Bane, check this film out first. In fact I urge anyone who didn’t see it when it was out in cinema’s (which is a lot of you judging by box office figures) to see it whenever you get the chance as it really is a fantastic film.

So, for me personally, all is good on the Nolan front. The little teaser montage we got at the end also threw up some really exciting moments, the most interesting being the incredibly chilling shot of Bane carrying the Bat’s shattered cowl, before casually discarding it in the rain… July 20th cannot come quick enough.

- Jacob Milligan

Here it is the second teaser trailer for the third and final Christopher Nolan Batman movie which will be released in the summer next year. The first 6 minutes of the film is being shown this week in BFI IMAX just before screenings of the new Mission Impossible film. I will be seeing this myself on Thursday and will write a post in this blog about it on Friday once i’ve seen it. I know this website is about the classic 1960′s series of Batman but I do respect and enjoy the darker portrayls of the character. So far, in my opinion, it looks like Nolan will complete a perfect film trilogy!

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I just want to share with you all my new bat-purchase, a Batman view master set. Bought off of ebay for £13.50 (bargain) arrived yesterday in fantastic condition. The set came with a book which tells the story of the “Purr-Fect Crime/Better Luck Next Time” episodes with three picture reels – I also got my first viewmaster with it aswell! (All pictured above, obviously couldn’t scan the actual viewmaster!) Also click on an image above to enlarge.

I am amazed with it, when you look into the glasses the picture actually looks 3D. The best way of describing it, is its like looking through a window and watching the story unfold right in front of you, Catwoman just standing just a few centimetres away- very cool! If you do not have one of these I seriously suggest you go search for it on ebay, as this item is a right treat!

Scott Sebring has actually made a flash version of the viewmaster story, using the same pictures and text from the book. The pictures used are screencaps though, seems like 3D internet has not come around yet! =P You can see this here : http://www.batfriend.com/splashes/gaf/viewer.swf

Again, thanks for visiting!

In previous posts I have so far reviewed both Adam West’s and Yvonne Craig’s online stores/features. Recently I gave Julie Newmar (Catwoman’s) online store a go and have found that she has the best online service going!

I ordered photo #12 from here online shop (http://www.julienewmar.com/shop_photos.php) on the 29th November, which made a speedy arrive to me today on the 4th December. Best of all postage on her website is 100% FREE. The photo cost $30 (about £15) which is signed and personalised for no furthur cost. To purchase from her website you will need a PayPal account, which again is free and completely safe to use. Set-up for account only takes about 5 minutes max. So here is what I purchased:

Now I have Adam, Burts, Yvonne’s and Julie Newmar’s autographs up on my wall and am very pleased. If you were like me and never had any of the casts autograph photo’s I seriously recomend you think about giving these online shops a try as I am very pleased with my purchases.

I am thinking of setting up a webpage displaying the links to all the stores and help with purchasing the products so stay tuned! Also aswell I will be changing the front splash webpage to my website bringing a more chritstmas feel to it.

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I have done many updates to; Catwoman (Julie Newmar), Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Penguin and Joker’s webpages. With more pictures plus new information and trivia!!

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I have just updated Lee Meriwether’s Catwoman webpage with more information and pictures as it was pretty bare before.

Also I have placed a few more ads on my website but not much more as I do not want to plaster/ruin my site with ads. They are all safe as they are monitored by Google, they also contribute to my hosting fees which is important that I have them.

Again, thanks for visiting batfans!