The Dark Knight (possible spoilers)

Registered User

07-18-08

I liked it a lot. I think it's better than Batman Begins. That movie didn't entirely feel like a Batman movie to me -- who in the world is the Scarecrow? At least the Joker and Two-Face have been around before.

Thank God Holden was just lying about that Justice League after credits thing -- I would have been pissssssssssed. I hated that after Iron Man. If I was a superhero, I wouldn't join it. I'd be like, "Yeah, so what? I work alone. I don't wanna drown in a sea of superheros and not be noticed. Show yourselves to the door."

Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

07-18-08

Originally Posted by Sexy Celebrity

They have been around before in Batman movies, yes. I loved that Batman Begins went for two of the great villains from the comics universe, Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow, instead of The Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, Catwoman, etc. who have been in the previous movies and, except Two-Face, in the campy '60s TV show as well. I think it was essential to creating this Batman reboot that they used Batman villains that were "new" to the big screen audience, and new to those like Sexy C who obviously don't know the books. But now that Nolan and company have tackled Batman's biggest signature foe in Joker and also the great job they did with Two-Face and we can see how they too have been reimagined, I'm confident they could pull off any of the other major villains if they set their sights on them.

Well have to wait and see what villain or villains they'll recruit for the next installment, but at least Christian Bale put my mind at ease about one thing (and made me fall in love with him even more, if that's possible): Bale said if the Studio or anybody else tries to force Robin into the films, Bale will bolt. Good for him, and for us. Hopefully we will remain Robin-less.

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Last edited by Holden Pike; 07-18-08 at 03:01 PM.

Sexy Celebrity

Registered User

07-18-08

I wanna see Harley Quinn in the next Batman movie. She hasn't been in a movie yet. But I worry that they'd need The Joker in order for her to make an appearance and I don't wanna see someone else fill Heath Ledger's shoes just yet.

Sedai

A system of cells interlinked

07-18-08

Bale is currently one of my favorite actors to watch. Of course, that means I am also excited about the news that we won't be seeing the boy blunder in these films. I take it you dug the film, Holden? I am mere hours from plopping down in my seat to watch it...

__________________

�It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.� ― Thomas Sowell

chet seven

User that is Registered

07-18-08

Still in awe from last night. wow! lived up to the hype and then some.

but

View Spoilers

WARNING: "Dark Knight" spoilers below

I didn't expect Joker to live, nor Two-Face to die. I thought they were going to have Two-Face in the 3rd installment, as well kill off the Joker because i honestly don't think anybody should take over that role, they'd have some big ol clown shoes to fill. Some talk on other boards say that Dent is still alive but idk. So who could be the villian in the 3rd? The guy who tried to black mail Fox? Reece? Mr. Reece? Mysteries?...

TheUsualSuspect

28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds

07-18-08

I had minor problems with the editing as well. While it is not as obvious as it was i Begins, the main problems arise in the chase sequences, for me anyway.

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Monkeypunch

I'm not old, you're just 12.

07-18-08

Originally Posted by chet seven

Still in awe from last night. wow! lived up to the hype and then some.

but

View Spoilers

WARNING: "Dark Knight" spoilers below

According to Gary Oldman, The Riddler is going to be the villain in the third installment.

__________________
"You, me, everyone...we are all made of star stuff." - Neil Degrasse Tyson

https://shawnsmovienight.blogspot.com/

Sexy Celebrity

Registered User

07-18-08

Something that really got on my nerves with The Dark Knight was Batman's voice! I hated that uber deep, hoarse, strep throat sounding voice he had - it strained me to listen to him.

The Taxi Driver

Yeah I'm fly

07-18-08

Just got back from seeing it and it definitly lived up to the hype

SC I know what you mean I really like Bale as Bruce Wayne but he has some work to do on his batman voice he trys too hard to get it really deep and raspy, doesn't work for me

__________________
"A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theater admission and the babysitter were worth it."
- Alfred Hitchcock

Justin

Decomposing Trees

07-19-08

Good film -- enjoyed it immensely.

Powdered Water

Parm A Shaun

07-19-08

Well that was impressive.

Hey Holden, do ya reckon Heath really could get an Oscar nomination and possibly even a win? It still seems a little early for him to maintain enough steam perhaps to get the win. But I would definitely like to see him get a nomination, wouldn't you? That was every bit as impressive a performance as Daniel Day Lewis's, Daniel Plainview. I was completely lost inside his character. To me anyway, I'm already biased when it comes to this guy and even though the movie was just spectacular I still got a little depressed watching it. Probably more likely he gets the Supporting Actor nod though don't you think?

__________________
We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

TheUsualSuspect

28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds

07-19-08

All I know is that I hope he gets something, I'm sick of seeing every Best Acting nom be for some dramatic role that we see every year. Give us something new, something that actually makes people talk about how great the character and acting was...this is the role.

Powdered Water

Parm A Shaun

07-19-08

The more I think about it the more I think his best chance is for a Supporting role Oscar. Again though, is it too early? Every damn year I see actors and movies get completely forgotten because they were out 6 or 7 months before the Academy starts looking for potential winners.

mark f

Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

07-19-08

Originally Posted by TheUsualSuspect

I think I understand what you mean, but you do believe that the Joker is a very dramatic role, correct?

I think I should mention this. What do you think about Two Face's use of a certain object which Chigurh uses in No Country For Old Men? How are the characters comparable? Do the two films illuminate each other through the use of this object or is it just pure chance?

__________________
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Last edited by mark f; 07-19-08 at 04:57 PM.

Yoda

Administrator

07-19-08

Well, here it is. It's a day later than I'd hoped to have it finished, but here's my review of The Dark Knight.

I've got tons of thoughts I'd love to talk about later, most of which will require the use of spoiler tags, so I'll be back.

The Dark Knight

Most sequels feel that -- in order to meet the expectations created by their first film -- they must give the audiences more. More action, more explosions, more effects. And they're right; squeezing more things into the same world makes for a safe, predictable way to guard against sophomore disappointment. The Dark Knight is an exceptional sequel because it does not simply increase; it expands.

Set after 2005’s Batman Begins (though we're not told exactly when), The Dark Knight opens with a bank heist committed entirely by men in clown masks. It is not particularly clever, but it is bold and ruthless, and cleanses the audience’s palette of any Nicholson-inspired preconceptions they might have about the Joker (the late Heath Ledger).

The film quickly pulls back to show us the broader reaction to the events of the first film; though crime is far from wiped out, the presence of Batman (Christian Bale) has criminals looking over their shoulder for the first time. It has also helped propel the candidacy of one Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) into the post of District Attorney. Gotham is ambivalent about Batman’s unmonitored methods, and attaches its hopes to Dent. Bruce Wayne does the same, seeing Dent as a successor of sorts, and his way out of the existence he’s chosen. The fact that they are both competing for the affection of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) complicates things.

The contrast between these two styles in pursuit of the same goal is emblematic of the divisions found in real-life law enforcement agencies, and underlines why Batman’s vigilantism is necessary in the first place. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) acts as a liaison between the two, which comes with its own pitfalls as his two allies begin to pull him in opposite directions. Both Batman and Dent can make a case for their particular method, though they manage to compromise when the Joker introduces himself to Gotham.

The less I say about the plot’s many machinations, the better. Suffice to say, it is equal parts fantastic and realistic. If you catch yourself feeling underwhelmed an hour into it, as I foolishly did, it is a sure-fire sign that you're about to have your conceptions of the film upended. It lulls us with an intricate, if forgettable series of events that turn out to be the calm before the storm.

What follows is a series of schemes tailor-made to tear down the Batman mythos. The Joker presents Batman with impossible ethical choices that invite Gotham to turn on him -- and each other -- as their symbols of hope begin to fade. As always, Alfred (Michael Caine) is a better gauge of character than Bruce, and quickly detects that this is a villain who can't be bargained with.

The Joker is a disturbing character, not only for the obvious reasons, but because he exhibits an unsettling clarity about what he's doing. He seems to know Batman better than the hero knows himself, and possesses the kind of self-knowledge we don't like to think is possible in psychopaths.

It is often remarked, in big bold letters on movie posters, that certain films “don't let you catch your breath.” With The Dark Knight, it’s not much of an exaggeration. The tension is almost unbearable at times. Enormous credit must be given to director Christopher Nolan, whose gritty style – which favors physical stunts over computer-generated spectacles – makes him the ideal choice for the film. It's easy to suspend your disbelief when so much of what you're seeing is real.

There’s a lot to digest here. The Dark Knight manages to weave a dense tapestry of themes together in a way that will surely reward multiple viewings. The film uses every minute of its 152-minute runtime to resolve and realize its crisscrossing narratives, yet holds together perfectly the first time through.

The performances are, in a word, stellar. Most characters disappear into their roles entirely, and Ledger is positively invisible as the Joker. It would have been all too easy for him to play the character any number of safer, more conventional ways. Instead, he takes a chance with a nearly comical interpretation that he never lets devolve into self-parody. His reward is a likely Oscar nomination, and a place in the pantheon of cinema’s classic villains.

Some ado has been made of the fact that The Dark Knight is the first Batman film not to contain the word “Batman” in its title. Those who have seen the film know why the change was made. The shift from Batman’s name to his most prominent alias is not merely a stylistic choice. It feeds a new understanding into the story which has just been told, and is the film's final commentary on the character's evolution.

Last edited by Yoda; 10-15-08 at 08:16 PM. Reason: GAH! Missing word noticed months later...

Sleezy

In the Beginning...

07-19-08

My pseudo-review from the Tab. A little less forgiving than others', but still high marks.

Originally Posted by Sleezy

The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008)

Whatever could be said about this film has probably already been said, so I won't bother with a lengthy review. I will say, though, that anything worthwhile about this sequel is hinged completely and totally on the Joker's anarchy. Everything else just meets a predescribed status quo. And that includes, by the way, Bale's Batman, which has become so uncomfortably goofy that he's given probably fewer lines than anyone else in the film.

The extremely far-fetched Bat-tech, the transparent "heroism" of Harvey Dent, the insignificant comings and goings of Gothamite whoevers: all of it feels fake, and seemingly exists only to fill in the gaps that Ledger's Joker does not touch. But it's the areas of the film the Joker does touch that suddenly brings everything to life. Things matter. People's lives matter. He fashions dire, sadistic scenarios that doom the participants before they even know they're part of one, and we shudder right alongside them. For once, we don't want lifeless, limp Batman to save the day. We want to feel threatened. We want to feel alive.

I'm not going to say Ledger's performance is the stuff of legends. It is a truly haunting, rigorously rehearsed, genuinely delivered performance. But it's also the formidable writing, and the character itself - the Joker - who makes it all so magical when viewed in direct contrast with the rest of gritty, grimy, dull Gotham. Simply put, Batman just isn't as much fun as the Joker. And as bizarre as it sounds, he isn't even as believable. In the end, Batman is merely the cartoon who we know won't save us from the brutal reality around us. Not really. But it doesn't matter. Entranced by Nolan's The Dark Knight, under the Joker's tricky spell, we can view that darkness in safety, and we can crave it.

Last edited by Sleezy; 07-19-08 at 07:53 PM.

pfiction94

Why's there a gun in your trousers?

07-19-08

I will call ******** on the Oscars if HL doesnt at least get a nomination. I would be bummed if he doesnt win, only because i seriously doubt a movie will be coming out this year that has an actor that can top that performance...Serioulsy, if i didnt know it was him playing the Joker going into the theater, I would have never known it was him. 100% perfect on his part. Plus, how bad ass was he? Not to spoil anything, but for those who have seen it...The magic trick...With the mobster...Good stuff...Good Stuff indeed...

__________________
Check out my DVDs
"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity" -George Carlin (RIP good sir)

Sleezy

In the Beginning...

07-19-08

Originally Posted by Holden Pike

But now that Nolan and company have tackled Batman's biggest signature foe in Joker and also the great job they did with Two-Face and we can see how they too have been reimagined

I'm not so sure either of these characters were re-imagined. The genesis of Harvey Dent's madness has been changed on occasion, but the character has always remained predominantly the same. No exception in The Dark Knight.

As for the Joker, I rather think the Nolans and Ledger crafted a hodge-podge of all the best aspects of the various Joker incarnations released over the years. He's quirky, he's tempermental, he's thorough and remorseless in his brutality, and he's utterly unafraid. If anything, I think the only thing you could say is that he's never been so dirty. That, and he doesn't always go off laughing like a hysterical nutcase... but then, not all Joker incarnations do (eg. Frank Miller's Joker in The Dark Knight Returns, for one).

Holden Pike

One Ornery Sumbitch

07-19-08

Originally Posted by Sleezy

I meant reimagined from the two previous Batman movies featuring those characters, meaning Nicholson's Joker in Batman (1989) and Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face in Batman Forever (1995).

Sleezy