Unless you've been living on Mars, in a cave (not the Bat kind), with your eyes shut and fingers in your ears, you probably know that "The Dark Knight Rises"—the long-awaited, highly anticipated finale to director Christopher Nolan's Batman epic—hits theaters tomorrow, July 20.

To say we're excited is like saying Batman mildly enjoys beating up criminals or using bat-themed gadgets. It's a huge understatement. We've been wearing a utility belt full of power-bars, snickers and paper batarangs for about a month, and while that certainly came at the cost of our blood sugar levels, the sacrifice is worth it to show our excitement for what is sure to be one of the best Batman films in history.

To share in the anticipation—and also geek out like there's no tomorrow—we're listing off 5.2 Reasons to See The Dark Knight Rises... as if you'd need them.

1. Batman Ends
We hit on this earlier, but it bears repeating: THIS IS DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER NOLAN'S FINAL BATMAN FILM! This is it! The big finale! It started with "Batman Begins," continued into "The Dark Knight" and all ends here. And considering Nolan's previous pedigree of mind-blowing movies—like the Academy Award-nominated "Memento" and Academy Award-winning "Inception"—we might as well get the superglue ready to piece our heads back together once it's over.

2. Tom Hardy
Bane carries about him a certain presence—namely that of an insanely intimidating giant of a person who could, well, perceivably break the Bat. There's no question Tom Hardy is a great actor, but if you saw him in something like "Inception," one might question whether he looked the part of Bane. But Holy Massive Biceps, Batman, he certainly pulled it off. Just... just look:



3. Anne Hathaway
When word hit that Heath Ledger would be playing the part of the Joker in "The Dark Knight," almost everyone scratched their heads and said, "Wait... that guy from '10 Things I Hate About You'? You're kidding, right?" When Hathaway was cast as Selina Kyle, a similar reaction went down—except replace "10 Things" with "Princess Diaries." Yet Ledger's performance as the Joker ranks as arguably the best interpretation of the character ever and Hathaway has proven her acting ability—with an Academy Award nom already under her belt. Needless to say, we can't wait to be proven wrong once more.
 
4. Action!
Remember that awesome train scene where Batman takes on Ra's al Ghul in "Batman Begins"? How about the chase scene in "The Dark Knight" culminating with Batman busting out the Batpod? "The Dark Knight Rises" already promises insanely memorably moments, but along with the big budget action scenes, we're also looking forward to Batman and Catwoman kicking butt and the inevitable showdown between the Bat and Bane.
 
5. Fan Frenzy
As fans, we all love incorporating our fandom into everyday life, and with Nolan's Batman films, this happens to a very awesome degree. The Joker costume exploded last Halloween after the "The Dark Knight" burst box office records and "Why so serious?" pretty much become part of everyday vernacular. We can't wait for—and highly look forward to—the same happening with "The Dark Knight Rises." Already there's some amazing street art and more from Spain. Check it out:



5.1 Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Honestly, we have no clue what the deal is with his character or anything. We just think he's awesome.


5.2 The Last Few Minutes
We really can’t say much here, but so much awesome happens in the last few minutes—from references to teases to closure and more—that we wish we had a time machine just so we could go back in time and experience it all over again.


What are you looking forward to most in the upcoming film? And once you've seen it, let us know what you thought in the comments below!