Tagline of the week: Courtesy of Batman Begins

EVIL FEARS THE KNIGHT

That's the tagline for Batman Begins that I just got off the new full length trailer which hit the Apple Trailers site today.

I think its a neat tagline, and there is something very "comic book" about it, it almost sounds like it could be the title of an limited edition issue or something.

As for the trailer itself, after several viewings of this thing I still don’t quite know what to make of it.

Some of you may recall my previous post, Batman Begins: An Evidentiary Analysis where after some deductive reasoning, and weighing pros and cons, I deemed Batman Begins as a promising and exciting rejuvenation of the Batman franchise.

Then along comes this trailer.

All of the footage in England looks much like bits previously shown in the teaser trailer. But now for the first time we also see Nolan’s interpretation of Gotham. I have to say its very difficult for me to let go of the dark art deco surreal Gotham that Burton had created in his first two installments of Batman. The look of the city appears to be part 80’s era New York, part futuristic urban wasteland. I’m intrigued but not yet sold.

The Bat Mobile still looks so out of place to me. It’s blocky, sharp edges make me think of those armored tanks that everyone drove around in, in Aliens. I may never get used to this incarnation of the Bat Mobile, though this may also have something to do with my own personal preference for uber aerodynamic lines on cars.

Katie Holmes performance seems a bit inconsistent based on this trailer alone. Her reaction shot seeing Bruce Wayne for the first time seems sincere, but I wasn’t buying it as much during the intimate seen where they are talking outside.

Bale still looks solid, and the comic beat at the end of the trailer makes me think that he might just nail both Bruce Wayne and Batman in a way it hasn’t been done since Michael Keaton.

We also got a lot more shots of the Batman costume/outfit/uniform, which I think looks fantastic, and that’s not just because Christian Bale is wearing it. Well maybe that has a little something to do with it, but seriously kudos to the costume designer for a clever redesign.

Cillian Murphey portrayal of scarecrow looks like its going to be really fun to watch. A friend of mine and I were talking today about how Murphey’s Scarecrow seems reminiscent of Nicholson’s Joker in that whimsically insane, over the top but still grand way.

There are some very artistic dark images that are used in the trailer that I love. In particular the shots of Bruce Wayne standing enveloped in the swirling bats, and the shot of Batman standing stoically on the edge of a rooftop, cape blowing in the wind, looking at his city beneath him.

It was important for me to see this trailer so that I could accustom myself to the inevitable differences and distinctions of this film versus the other in the first time. Burton’s were terrific, but I have faith in Nolan to do Batman and his legacy justice. I mean who are we trying to kid here – I’ll be there opening night.