The Dark Knight (2008)

So here's my story:

I saw the Dark Knight this summer on opening night and, of course, loved it. I think the movie is probably going to rank very high in the movie hall of fame because frankly I find that it's a work of art. My favorite part though wasn't a scene or character, but a line that caught my attention and hasn't left my mind since the second I heard it.

"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

That line just seems so...real and haunting. I was wondering if there are any hardcore movie buffs out there that know if the line was part of the movie or if it was taken from some philosopher or writer? If anyone could help me that'd be fantastic.

THANKS!

I said it back in '76..or was it '86...either way I coined it.

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Who the Hell who were you talking to?

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I thought that line was really cheesy, in fact I thought everything batman said to be really lame.

How is that line cheesy? I thought the screenplay was really well done, for a comic film.

I knew there was a person out there that didn't like that film. I guess you are him.

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Martyrofevil already proclaimed his dislike for the film a couple of months back. That makes two, I guess.

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Batman has a lower voice than Bruce Wayne, so when Batman talks it sounds so funny. Plus when the dialog explains what you are supposed to get out of the film, it makes me believe that the screenwriter thinks it's audience is stupid. Therefore it is cheesy There was so much in the plot that the themes contradicted them selves. It seemed like one huge melodrama with only one straight forward theme; You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I don't like any of the superhero movies, they stick to specific conventions. I have seen the whole "good guy mistaken as a bad guy, but in reality he is a good guy" situation in alot of superhero series.

But, I would say that it is probably the best superhero hero movie I have seen.

Fair enough. Although I disagree about Nolan pandering to his audience. I thought he avoided that quite a bit, and this was a screenplay in which Nolan present multiple complex issues, and yes, multiple themes in a way that only occasionally threw the audience a bone, in comparison to a lot of the fare we see these days.

I clearly see multiple themes being explored in this film, though.

1 - The aforementioned theme of hero vs. villain you mentioned above.

2 - The climate of fear, post 9/11, that runs rampant through our society, and the changes in perspective that have been created, as far as which lines can be crossed to insure the safety of the masses.

3 - Human nature is explored when considering Batman's misreading of the Joker, and his being forced to reassess his categorization of the criminal element in his adversaries after Alfred calls him out on his incorrect assessment of The Joker.

4 - Order vs Chaos is also explored, although admittedly, in a somewhat heavy handed way. Still, The Joker's enjoyable but somewhat anvil-like speech aside, I think the rest of the film does a good job showing us this concept, rather than telling us. There are some gratuitous exposition problems with this one, but, it isn't TOO bad, so I can deal with it.

Also, I can't agree that "sticking to specific conventions" is inherently bad, because it isn't. As long as there is a fresh twist on the convention, and the idea is worth exploring, conventions are just fine.

RE - Batman's voice - He had to disguise his voice, as he interacted with people Bruce Wayne knew very well, almost constantly, and disguising his voice is absolutely necessary to pull off the dual identity.

The theme of human nature was very contradictory. The joker was trying to prove that any good person can be changed into a horrible person, but when I saw the boat scene, where everybody turned out to be good person and they all were saved, the theme totally contradicted itself because later in the film Harvey Dent became evil. I don't know what Christopher Nolan was trying to say.

When things stick to conventions of their genres it really bores me. It feels like I have seen the movie so many different times before.

There was so much hype about Heath Ledger as being the joker. It's almost like they wanted the joker to be godlike by the lack of exposition on his character, yet he was captured twice. The movie would have been a lot better (to me anyway) if he wasn't captured at the end.

I think brining back a character after they supposedly died, like James Gordon, is a huge slap in the face, not an original twist. Really lame.

I know he had to disguise his voice, but it was really funny to me for some reason.

It was a good Hollywood-esque film, but not worth all the hype.

Plus Batman is kind of gay.

*waits for Adi to come in...*

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Pfft, that doesn't mean Batman is gay.












This means Batman is gay.

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Suspect's Reviews

I gave Dark Knight 5 out of 5, too!

http://valeriewriter.wordpress.com

Remember folks, take it with a bag or two of salt...

I feel its my civic duty or perhaps I'm just driven to try and get people to get their facts straight and try to pay a little more attention. Trust me you'll thank me later.

@ Brandaddy, Batman didn't say that line. Harvey Dent did. Some of the other things you're complaining about are a little off as well. Perhaps you should go and watch the movie again and this time instead of spending all your time text messaging your "Homies" you could actually try watching the movie.

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brilliant,well found,check out utube video "how superman should have ended"for an obvious but amusing batman dig.

First off, I don't have a cell phone. Second, I don't care who said it in the movie, it doesn't make a difference. I still think it wasn't a great movie. I have a right to my own opinion. Thirdly, you can't judge someone you know nothing about. I didn't offend you in any way. I was simply sharing what I felt.

Gee whiz, you're absolutely right and I should be chastised for having my own opinion. Oh wait, I have a right to my opinion as well then right? So I say who cares if I know you or don't know you. What difference does that make? I didn't offend you either I was just sharing what I know about the movie. Dig?

No, you made a direct insult. There is a difference.

If that qualifies as an insult then I guess I better hurry up and get right with Jesus because that was pretty low key. Alright then, this time I'll try to be less insulting. What were you doing instead of watching the movie then?

Because (and again this is just my opinion) you missed a pretty damn good flick while you were busy thinking up your relatively inaccurate and negative things to say about it.