WELCOMETOLEVEL: LET BATTLE COMMENCE! 'THE DARK KNIGHT RISES'

Brute force! Bane (Tom Hardy) takes on the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale) for supremacy of Gotham City in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Images: WARNER BROTHERS.

We're only a mere few weeks away before the Dark Knight- Batman- emerges from an eight years on-screen absence to begin his final battle against the mighty armies of scum and villainy led by the accursed terrorist Bane, in what will surely be Christopher Nolan's epic genre mixing action/drama fest swan song to his now iconic and box office gold re-imagining of the Gotham City super-hero vigilante, which began with BATMAN BEGINS and now reaches its anticipated and exhilarating closure with THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, blasting into UK cinemas (and IMAX) from July 20th. Will this be the pinnacle of superhero movies, as early US press screenings have indicated? And will anyone dare try and continue the Batman legend's film-life after Nolan's tremendous work in re-energising the character and his backstory/adventures has proved so successful and indomitable with audiences?

Here's a few more images and video clips to get you in the mood...

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES | Official Site – Trailer, Gallery, Downloads
Two More Banners for The Dark Knight Rises - ComingSoon.net
The Dark Knight Rises - Behind the Scenes HD - YouTube
'The Dark Knight Rises': IMAX poster and trailer revealed - Movies News - Digital Spy
Anne Hathaway Talks Catwoman
New posters for The Dark Knight Rises | Den of Geek