Christian Bale is back to his crime-fighting ways — some good 'ole fashioned sleuthing, tough guy threats and, of course, an intense mission to save a life. We know what you're thinking, so stop right there; it's totally not "The Dark Knight Rises ... Again." Rather, it's Bale's latest film "Out of the Furnace," the first trailer for which just dropped today.

Bale returns to the big screen as Russell Baze, a gritty, greasy mill worker living in the poverty-ridden Rust Belt town of Braddock, Pa. His brother Rodney (played by Ben Affleck's kid brother Casey Affleck) has just returned from fighting in Iraq, which should be the most joyous of occasions, right? Wrong. Turns out Rodney's a little short on cash and joins a crime ring led by Curtis DeGroat (a creepy-as-f*** Woody Harrelson) to settle his debt. Oh, and, Curtis does not play nice, so eventually Rodney ends up missing and Bale's Russell has to put on a brave face and save his brother. How's he going to do this without the bat cape and of those cool Wayne Enterprises' gadgets, you ask? Well, Russell here's an ex-con who has tattoos and lives by the sauce! He does not play, people! 

Zoe Saldana (muy caliente, as always) stars as Rusty's main gal while Forest Whitaker (you know, from "The Butler," or whatever they're calling that flick now), Sam Shepard and Willem Dafoe also appear in the film. Scott Cooper directs, and Leo DiCaprio is one of the film's producers.

Also new, Entertainment Weekly revealed the first poster for "Out of the Furnace" and a few more images yesterday.

The mag caught up with Bale and he dished on his whiskey-chugging, blue-collared alter ego. "It seemed uplifting and tragic at the same time," Bale said about his character's journey. "In the midst of this crumbling town ... which people were deserting, [Russell] was somebody who was staying, and also staying with principles and loyalty that defined his life, regardless of the consequences. And therefore a very memorable individual." How profound, Mr. Bale, and look Toto! We're definitely not in Gotham City anymore.

Peep the other goodies over at EW.com.

"Out of the Furnace" begins limited showings on  Nov. 27 followed by a Dec. 6 wide release ... just in time for Oscar season, of course.