'Dark Knight Rises' Trailer: 5 Things We Learned, 3 Reasons We're Worried

Now that the latest trailer for The Dark Knight Returns has been (legally) released, Batman fans and Nolan movie junkies are desperately trying to decode everything they can from the two-minute preview.

Much of what this new trailer show is cause for excitement, or at least some big teasers that will keep fans guessing until July 2012. Some parts of the Batman preview, however, have Dark Knight fans skeptical, or least wanting to know more.

Below, we've decoded The Dark Knight Rises trailer to pick up on five things we learned and follow it up with 3 things this new trailer has us worried about. Then scroll all the way down to see the trailer and decided for yourself.

5 Things We're Excited to Learn in The Dark Knight Rises New Trailer:

1. Bruce Wayne May Already Be Injured

Sure, it could be Alfred leaning on a cane at the beginning, but the fact that we so rarely see Christian Bale doing things in this trailer (except in full-on Batman costume), the fact that Alfred says he hasn't protected him, and the fact that in comics (Spoiler!) Bane breaks Bruce Wayne's back, it's very possible it's Bale who has a limp.

Was he injured in the eight years between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises? Does Bane deliver a crippling blow to the Caped Crusader? And if it is Alfred and not Bruce, will Christopher Nolan kill off Batman's butler in the final installments?

2. Commissioner Gordon is in Hot Water

In the trailer, Commissioner Gordon is being honored as a war hero for his victory over the Joker, but some spectators (silly, silly spectators) argue that since this is peace time, the mayor is going to dump him in the spring.

If Gordon is kicked off the force, he may end up joining Batman in his fight against Bane on the other side of the law. At the very least, he'll likely be out of play when Bane strikes, an important choice by Nolan that distances Gary Oldman's character from the law and makes him a fallen idol just as Batman became a hated vigilante.

3. Catwoman Shows Her Claws

For those of us tired out from Rachel Dawes syndrome the first two movies (and that despite an excellent performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight), Anne Hathaway's Catwoman is showing more promise than anticipated.

When she leans in and snarl-whispers about him leaving so little for the rest of us, the anti-heroine cat burglar becomes more plausible, especially with Occupy Wall Street connotations that come with it. And while Marion Cotillard makes a brief appearance, it's clear Selina Kyle is the woman running the show.

4. Arkham Asylum is Loose (Again)

Audio clips leaked this summer hinted at a mass Arkham breakout, and the clips seen in the newest Dark Knight trailer seem to support this. Are these gun-toting madmen members of Bane's new army? Will we see the return of villains like Scarecrow in the mass prison escape? All we know for sure is that the men with automatic weapons are chanting Rise, which means either the Dark Knight has some surprising new allies or Bane has some terrifying fire power.

5. Has Bane Stolen the Batmobile?

Sure, that could be Commissioner Gordon driving the camouflage tank, but why does it look like the Batwing is chasing it? We know it's Batman in the flying version (leaked photos from the set confirm it) and tanks aren't exactly Catwoman's style, which means it's possible new villain Bane not only has his hands in the CIA but also in the toys at Wayne Enterprises.

Three Things We're Worried About in The Dark Knight Rises:

1. The Football Game

Yes, footage of a disappearing football stadium is amazing to watch. Yes, the haunting anthem at the beginning is a powerful touch. But of all the iconic Gotham architecture Ban could have blown up, why did he choose a sports field?

I'm prejudiced here by the fact that actual football players are present on the field, which smacks of both product placement (a dangerous thing in a movie based on a comic book character) and takes viewers out of the Batman universe and into Pittsburgh, Penn. And let's not kid ourselves: NFL players are nothing but product placement.

2. Bane Sounds Better, But We See Him Less

When Gotham is in ashes, you have my permission to die. Finally viewers can understand Bane's voice, and it's a terrifying and awesome one at that. But compared to the instant impression the Joker left on viewers in the minute-clips they got before The Dark Knight, Bane's villainy still isn't quite there.

Tom Hardy is an amazing actor, and what we've seen of Bane so far is incredibly promising. But after the leaked prologue, there's little of Bane to see in this new trailer, and it's still hard to get a handle on his motivations, his tactics or even why it took him eight years to get here.

These are small quibbles, and we have faith in both Hardy and Nolan that Bane's movie monster physicality will shock and impress audience goers comes July. Which brings me to...

3. The 'Occupy Batman' Message

The idea of a Caped Crusader film that actually dealing with the implications of Gotham's superhero being a playboy billionaire is incredibly intriguing. After all, modern-day audiences can't help but question just how Batman can help improve Gotham while Bruce Wayne spends millions on superhero gadgets. And the Occupy Wall Street protests give it timeliness, too.

Almost too much timeliness. Nolan has always shown a pretty steady hand in the past when it comes to real-life allusions, but if the film plays too heavily on the 1 percent vs. 99 percent dynamic, the Batman storyline could end up getting bogged down. Nor are we particularly comforted by the anthem at the beginning, and the national disillusionment it implies.

If being an Occupier is Hathaway's only motivation, meanwhile, it will take some of the feistiness out of her character and replace it with self-righteousness. And as anyone who loves Batman comics knows, there are few people who hate self-righteous heroes more than anti-heroine Catwoman.

The Dark Knight Rises Trailer: Decide For Yourself