"The Dark Knight" - Sort of less impressed!

[Neil]

I watched the second Batman film over the weekend, and while it's very good, I sort of felt less impressed with it than I recalled... It just sort of felt a little clunky and contrived. Anyway, still a great flick...

[bassman]

The flick has pacing issues and could use a bit of trimming, but other than that I still love it. Sure, some of it seems a bit silly. Particular sections of Joker's Chaos plan makes no sense, but c'mon....its friggin batman, man! I love to occasionally watch both films back to back. Can't wait to add The Dark Knight Rises to that marathon. Could turn out to be one of the best trilogies ever.

[LouCipherr]

Hmmmm, y'know, I could comment on this and point back to my theory about Ledger & the popularity of the film when it came out, but... Oh snap, I just did, didn't I?

[AcesandEights]

Hmmmm, y'know, I could comment on this and point back to my theory about Ledger & the popularity of the film when it came out, but... You'd be wrong? Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is the best thing about that film. It's a good film with some great acting, though I do agree with Bassman that the pacing is off and it could use some trimming.

[LouCipherr]

You'd be wrong? Perhaps some might think that.. I'm not saying his portrayal of Joker wasn't the best thing about the The Dark Knight - I've never disagreed with that point.

[bassman]

Yeah....Ledger's death brought that film to a billion bucks. The same thing happened with the Twilight Zone movie after Vic Morrow was killed ON SET. Wait...no it didn't. That's funny. Why wasn't that film super successful?

[DjfunkmasterG]

Yeah....Ledger's death brought that film to a billion bucks. The same thing happened with the Twilight Zone movie after Vic Morrow was killed ON SET. Wait...no it didn't. That's funny. Why wasn't that film super successful? Cuz it sucked, other than the segment with John Lithgow

[bassman]

Cuz it sucked, other than the segment with John Lithgow I actually like that flick. But yeah...the remake of Terror at 20,000 Feet was superb.

[DjfunkmasterG]

I actually like that flick. But yeah...the remake of Terror at 20,000 Feet was superb. Of course it was, it starred John Lithgow

[bassman]

Of course it was, it starred John Lithgow I like Lithgow and all...but if you haven't seen the original episode with William Shatner, you should check it out(available on youtube). The shat-man's performance in that flick is classic. And the goblin looks hilarious, even for the sixties. I can't recall if the first segment with Morrow is from an episode, but the other three were alright for remakes. 20,000 Feet being the best, Kick the Can second, and It's a Good Life being the least. Good Life wasn't so bad, but the boy just wasn't as creepy as the original.

[wayzim]

It mostly sucked because the wrap to Morrows segment was apparently not as it was meant to be. Was his bigot supposed to be redeemed? Saving those Vietnamese kids? Anyone? While some hated the heavy handed 'Kick The Can. ' remake, it wasn't any worse than the usual Spielberg fare. Personally, I hated the way they pulled the teeth on 'It's A Good Life. ' which terrified me when I read the Jerome Bixby story as a kid. Kathleen Quinlan was nice in that striped top, but sweet didn't quite work for the premise. As for Dan Ackroyd and Albert Brooks? I often use 'Do You Wanna To Something Really Scary? ' for people trying to BS me. Wayne Z "Is that ... ? I Love Creedence. "

[Legion2213]

I'd never even heard of Ledger before DK, I read all the fawning after he died about how he stole the show etc and just thought "yeah, sure...you lot aren't just saying that cuz he is dead are you..." Then I actually watched the movie...and I needed a big serving of "humble crow pie" after it, because he was epic, there's that hollywood soundbite about "chewing up the scenery" or suchlike...I truly understood the meaning of it after watching him in that flick...I got nervous every time he was on screen, he was more unstable than something that is really unstable. Chaos was his co-pilot in every scene! So, yeah, most hollywood BS is just that, pure BS with a thick layer of hype on top...Ledger on the other hand was amazing and proved an exception to the rule for me.

[LouCipherr]

Yeah....Ledger's death brought that film to a billion bucks. The same thing happened with the Twilight Zone movie after Vic Morrow was killed ON SET. Wait...no it didn't. That's funny. Why wasn't that film super successful? One word: MARKETING Cuz it sucked, other than the segment with John Lithgow True dat.

[EvilNed]

I think it's pretty naive to think that Heath Ledger's death didn't have a huge marketing impact on TDK. First off, he was already singled out (before he died!) about how unfit he was for the role and how it wouldn't work. Then once he died everyone started saying how this was his best role, and how sad it was his career was cut short etc. etc, you all remember. We live in a vastly more media and information centered society now than we did in 1984. Everyone's online now. TDK was also a major blockbuster aiming for the high concept. The Twilight Zone was not. Without Heath Ledger's death there's no way this film would've made as much money as it did. If I'm not mistaken it's the third highest grossing film ever? Come on, use your head. And the film is way too long by the way, and not all that exciting all the time.

[Neil]

I think it's pretty naive to think that Heath Ledger's death didn't have a huge marketing impact on TDK. First off, he was already singled out (before he died!) about how unfit he was for the role and how it wouldn't work. Then once he died everyone started saying how this was his best role, and how sad it was his career was cut short etc. etc, you all remember. We live in a vastly more media and information centered society now than we did in 1984. Everyone's online now. TDK was also a major blockbuster aiming for the high concept. The Twilight Zone was not. Without Heath Ledger's death there's no way this film would've made as much money as it did. If I'm not mistaken it's the third highest grossing film ever? Come on, use your head. And the film is way too long by the way, and not all that exciting all the time. Personally I think Heath was excellent as the joker! He came across as beautifully calculating yet chaotic The film does feel like it's trying to find its feet at times, I suspect because it's trying to cover so many different things. It almost feels like they tried to cram too much in? But again, a great flick