Yeah I've seen it twice now and it is truly just amazing. To me, it puts every other superhero movie to shame. Best Superhero movie ever. Heath was Amazing of course. Bale is without a doubt the best batman/Bruce Wayne. The whole cast was great. Just a brilliant movie all around I think. As close to perfect as a Superhero movie is gonna get for me quite frankly. 10 out of 10
Since I saw it 3 times this weekend I am just now letting it all sit in my mind and all I can think is I cannot wait to see this again later in the week! This is far and away better than Batman Begins and that was a movie I thought was great! I'd say the Terminator/Aliens comparision is spot on and the pencil trick was a great way to set the tone for the Joker.
I thought the cast was great with the exception of Maggie Gyellenhal. I don't like Katie Holmes, but I thought she was better as the character, plus I hate it when somebody is recast. Bale was great as Bruce Wayne, but I found there was something off with his Batman voice, like he as trying to hard to make it too distinct. Ledger as the Joker was great. I normally don't like his work, but when they announced him in the role for some reason I just thought it sounded right, which happened with Daniel Craig in the 007 role. I thought somebody else would be good for the role but then they choose somebody I totally forgot about and it just works. Eckhart as Dent was perfect and I think it was another reason I wanted Holmes back as Rachel (after Thank You For Smoking). For me though Gary Oldman stole the movie as Gordon since Nolan gives the character respect unlike every other interpretation. I'm glad they allowed him to step up more than his bit in BB and since I like Gary Oldman it was win/win.
DJ, I haven't seen Ruthless People in more than a decade so the reference flew over my head. Which part was it at?
DJ, I haven't seen Ruthless People in more than a decade so the reference flew over my head. Which part was it at?
When the Joker entered the Party Wayne threw for Dent, he started slapping people around, when he gets to the old man and he gives the joker a hard tiume the joker turns to him and says...
"You remind me of my father... I hated my father" This was something the bedroom killer in Ruthless People used to say to his victims, but what made me laugh is Heath used the exact same expression, body language and tone when he delivered the line.
ALWAYS BET ON DEAD!
Official member of the "ZOMBIE MAN" Fan Club Est. 2007 *FOUNDING MEMBER*
I went to see the film in IMAX yesterday and it was truly amazing. The city shots of Hong Kong and Gotham are just awesome.
As for the film, I agree with Bassman311 that it gets better with each viewing. It is the best film I've seen since "The Departed". It is way beyond just a normal action super hero movie. It's deep and I know this sounds like a cliche, but it works on several different levels. It is a masterpiece. Damn, I want to go see it again! Last night my girlfriend said she could not stop thinking about the movie because she enjoyed it so much.
I also agree with Zombie04 about Gary Oldman. Gordon is my favorite character in the film actually. Oldman is so good that I totally forget it's him playing Gordon. He IS Gordon. Just a wonderful performance, among many wonderful performances in the film.
I can't decide if I want another one from Nolan. This film is so perfect, how could he top it?
I'm going to try seeing for the fourth time later in the week, but I really want to see it in IMAX so hopefully I'll have time to travel to the closest theater. But right now I'm not worrying about another entry in the series. I'll enjoy this one for what it is and if the Nolan Brothers and David Goyer find it necessary to write another one I'm sure it'll be good and not rushed. All I know is there is definitely going to be a rather long cooling off period after this one so the expectations don't drive them crazy!
Im thinking this will be Nolan's "T2". He'll stop, but some schmuck 10 years down the road will do a part 3. But this is truly a great film. On the level of T2, Godfather 2, Dawn, etc etc.
like everyone else i know i agree it was 20 minutes too long but a great movie. heath ledger was great, as expected, but he had been so overhyped i was tired of him by about the last 30 mins, the guy who played harvey dent/ two face on the other hand was brilliant.
still dont like this iteration of batman, he still sounds like a 12 year old trying to put on a "tough big boy voice" but i liked it, i enjoyed hellboy more, but im more of a hellboy fan than a batman fan, still a great movie though, and i loved how every one of the jokers little acts in a crime lead into something exponentially more impressive and crazy, well worth watching in the cinema.
Got back a little while ago. I liked the film, some incredible performances and Ledger was mind bogglingly awesome. The film, however, suffered a little bit in the pacing department, I feel; I've seen longer movies that seemed half as long.
Originally Posted by hellsing
still dont like this iteration of batman, he still sounds like a 12 year old trying to put on a "tough big boy voice"...
I know what you mean with the 'smoker's' voice. A bit over the ol' top.
"Men choose as their prophets those who tell them that their hopes are true."--Lord Dunsany
Got back a little while ago. I liked the film, some incredible performances and Ledger was mind bogglingly awesome. The film, however, suffered a little bit in the pacing department, I feel; I've seen longer movies that seemed half as long.
I know what you mean with the 'smoker's' voice. A bit over the ol' top.
What do you feel they could have taken out? It doesn't feel a minute over 2 hours to me. Every scene is needed to advance the story. I think there are just a lot of impatient people who are just ready for the wham bam thank you ma'am **** without the story these days.
What do you feel they could have taken out? It doesn't feel a minute over 2 hours to me. Every scene is needed to advance the story. I think there are just a lot of impatient people who are just ready for the wham bam thank you ma'am **** without the story these days.
Actually. . I have to agree with Aces here. . .the pacing was a bit off. Every climax had me expecting the end. . .and at the end of the movie I was actually checking my watch. But all in all. . . a most amazing movie
"When the dead walk, we must stop the killing, or lose the war."
Best movie of 2008, best super hero movie ever, so says I.
My in-depth thoughts will come later.
F*ck me swinging it was proper good though, superb stuff!
For those that have seen it, what kind of reaction did your audience give when...
I think it was a shock reaction, I just gasped and thought it was a superb proper entrance for the Joker, if you will.
There was a kid in the cinema when I went today, and when the truck driven by the Joker gets flipped over, the kid just went "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!" really loudly, hehe. (It was awesome to be fair.)
Last edited by MinionZombie; 29-Jul-2008 at 05:38 PM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Without a doubt a solid, great piece of entertainment. Absolutely loads of stuff crammed in there (possibly a bit too much?).
Heath was absolutely great as the Joker - Oscar? Of course not... Aaron Eckhart put out a far better performance for my money...
I would have prefered to have seen Katie Holmes back as Rachel Dawes . She was far more appealling and interesting in the role.
My biggest problem with the film was you just lost the human touch. You didn't particularly care about anyone. Where in the first one you had plenty of moments building on characters feelings & emotions, in this one there was very little of it, and what there was fell somewhat flat. In 'Begins' the shooting of his parents, and the flash backs to his father, gave far more emotional weight to the film, far far more than anything 'Knight' offered.
Did we ever really feel any emotional bind between Bruce and Rachel? Not really... Certainly not as much as we saw in the first on... In 'Begins' time was invested in showing their relationship and the impossible problems it faced...
Even if we look at Michael Caine, Alfred's role in the first film was far more involved, emotional and moving.... In the 'Knight' far far less so...
So all in all, 'Dark Knight' sort of played as an incredibly well crafted action film, but with little concern or investment for the characters involved. Which is a bit of a shame because I ended up not really caring that people were getting killed off or in danger, not really... Because the script didn't give any reason to (unlike Batman Begins).
I guess in summary 'Batman Begins' can be considered to be Bruce Wayne's film, whereas 'Dark Knight' could be considered Batman's film. The first is more human, the second is more brutal and action based...
Things that got on my nerves a bit:-
1) Bruce somehow turning every phone into a 'sonar' - Come on now! Bit unbelievable! Just bugging them all for audio would have been enough!
2) When he went into the final building, PLEASE tell me the sonar system he was using through his vision wasn't from the mobile phones people were carrying... And instead was something just built into his suit?
3) The Joker's plans always just seemed to work just a little too well, no matter how much risk was involved in them, and how many variables...
4) Someone get Bale a throat lossenger - God his voice went strangely raspy/butch whenever he put that mask on...
Now, I'll have to watch the film again, which I will certainly do (on DVD) but at the moment my feelings are:-
Batman Begins - 9
Dark Knight - 8.5 (to 9, dependant upon second viewing)
Does 'Dark Knight' deserve to be #1 at IMDB, of course not...
Is 'Dark Knight' the greatest super hero film ever? For me, I think Spider Man 2 still owns that title... I guess I need that emotional thread through my films...
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. [click for more] -Carl Sagan
I guess in summary 'Batman Begins' can be considered to be Bruce Wayne's film, whereas 'Dark Knight' could be considered Batman's film. The first is more human, the second is more brutal and action based...
[/I]
Actually. . I though The Dark Knight was more Joker's film than anything else.
"When the dead walk, we must stop the killing, or lose the war."
Actually. . I though The Dark Knight was more Joker's film than anything else.
Yes... Batman and the Joker as yin & yan...
Question:-
In the Joker's last video, it looked like Coleman Reese (the guy who'd worked out who batman was)... If so, how did the Joker get him after Bruce Wayne had saved him in the Lambo?
I assume it wasn't actually him?
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. [click for more] -Carl Sagan
I don't understand this "no emotional connection" bollocks one bit.
Alfred - still the loveable, dependable, quick-witted man-servant-cum-replacement-father for Bruce Wayne, how can you not like Alfred.
Gordon - stand up guy, a nice attitude about him, he gets sh*t done and he doesn't take bribes.
When you're led to believe he was killed during the attempt on the Mayor's life, I was genuinely shocked and I think not showing his wife up until the dude comes to tell her Gordon's dead drove home the fact that Gordon was never home, always on some rooftop or alleyway somewhere doing his job - then when Gordon turns out to be alive, and returns home, I thought that was a great scene too - efficient but good.
Rachel - come on, she didn't have much to do in Batman Begins! So I think this perceived gap between BB Rachel and TDK Rachel is garbage, there was much more Rachel in TDK, and I thought Maggie was just as good as Holmes in the role - even though the role isn't particularly meaty.
Also - her and Bruce's relationship is already set up in the first movie, why trudge over old ground all over again in the second movie, when there's far more pressing matters to be getting on with?
Her relationship with Dent is the important arc for her character, and it shows her moving away from Bruce - the fact that she can never be with him whilst he is also Batman, but she still cares for BW. It's a heart stretched in two directions, which is deep in its own right.
Then when Dent and Rachel are both tied up in a building full of petrol, and Batman DOESN'T go for Rachel, and Rachel gets BLOWN UP - again, I was shocked. It was like 24-style gloves coming off, you know. Also, it's a good duality with Batman Begins, because in that one he was propelled by the loss of his parents, and here in TDK the loss of Rachel has another great impact upon him - and indeed, the whole thing with the letter (that Alfred ends up burning to protect Bruce, who thought otherwise) was another interesting spin on the love triangle in the movie.
Harvey Dent - you admire him, and for Eckhart to give such a good performance, how can you not feel for the character? How can you not feel connected?
The most interesting stuff with Dent, for me anyway, was his conversion from good to evil. He goes from using his coin as an excuse to justify his own decisions which he's made up in his mind already, and to perhaps deflect some of the seriousness of his decisions, with the flippancy of a coin. But the coin itself is a cheat - a two-headed coin - but the outcome will ALWAYS be what he believes to be right, which often/always IS what is right.
Then he becomes Two Face (with astonishing effect), and the coin is damaged. So there is a clear divide, which both denotes a true 'heads of tails' aspect to his coin toss, but it also shows how he totally places his entire judgement upon the toss of a coin. He actively doesn't kill people if the coin says no, but will if it does - so he can still make right choices, but for the wrong reason, and obviously makes wrong choices too.
That particular aspect had me and Ben talking half-way back home after leaving the cinema (we then went off on a tangent about surveillance culture after the whole sonar thing in the film).
The Joker - such a powerful performance, it hooks you in, so you care about the character. You want to see more, you get sucked in, and at times think he's so cool - in a bad way - but then other times you think he's so messed up.
His explanations regarding his scars were disturbing stories in themselves, but contradicted each other, which was an interesting spin on his origin - you still don't know what the truth is, but you get an idea of something that might have happened in his youth, and it's disturbing all the same.
When he's on screen, he keeps your attention LOCKED.
Bruce Wayne - he's the hero of the movie, he has a strict moral code, and in TDK he is completely consumed by Batman (as shown in the scene where you see his variety of fresh injuries which he just shrugs off), but also the whole 'the hero that gotham needs/deserves' thing throughout the movie, and Gordon's speech at the end, that had me gripped alright.
He makes tough choices, he struggles, and he keeps on going when his route for escape from Batman is blocked by events in the movie.
And he essentially goes on the run, in a way, pursued by those who he is helping, all so the image of Harvey Dent - the hero with a face that Gotham NEEDS in order to survive - is a powerful motif in itself, it's sacrificial, it's almost Christ-like.
I simply don't buy that you can't get connected and drawn into these characters ... and if you don't, well your too bad then.
...
Anyway, max out the score board for me on The Dark Knight, which I'll fully review later once it's all sunk in.
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. [click for more]
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Originally Posted by zombie04
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