TGITDNMAR (7/20/12)

It’s that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It’s The Day New Movies Are Released.

Yes – as evidenced by the Comic-Con images and Facebook posts you might have seen, I am alive.  Now, I’m back with TGITDNMAR in what might be the least necessary week for such a feature ever (but in a good way; most times I’d say something like that, it would be because there were something like three films out in a weekend, all starring Jennirine Heiglston).  Indeed, if you know me at all, you will already know the percentage at the bottom of this entry…

The Dark Knight Rises
On the all-time list of Most Anticipated Films, TDKR is…probably not number one (I’m thinking that spot is reserved for The Phantom Menace, but let me know if you can best it), but it’s got to be pretty high up there.  Chris Nolan’s reborn Batman series started seven years ago and was/is so successful and influential that it just might prove to be the death knell to comic book film series, where filmmakers attempt (and fail) to capture the intensity and realism that Nolan and his screenwriting brother have delivered.

The weight of expectations that the film bears, on the other hand, just might be even heavier than those that TPM faced.  After all, Return of the Jedi was no Empire and, more importantly, TPM came some 15 years after Jedi, with nary a directing credit to Lucas’ name since the original Star Wars.  Nolan’s only wedged in The Prestige and Inception as the meats on his triple-decker sandwich of films since 2005, giving him a run of four films prior to TDKR that have to rival the greatest four-film stretches of any director ever.  All highly subjective, I know, and there are plenty of Nolan detractors out there, but on the whole it’s pretty safe to say that the guy’s on a roll.  And that Rises HAS to deliver like nothing he’s made yet.  The Prestige and Inception?  Larks made in between the monumental Batman films, arriving with (albeit strangely) low expectations and managing to catch audiences off-guard.  TDKR must not only be a great film, it must eclipse the storm of hype that was built around The Dark Knight in 2008, and this time, there’s no buzz-worthy performance (let’s face it – we’re all excited to see Tom Hardy as Bane, but have you really heard anything great about his job yet?  Cause I haven’t) to mask any of the films weaknesses.

Go big or…well, going home’s not even an option.  Just go big.  And please be fanfuckingtastic.

Dylan’s Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 100%