Batman "The Dark Knight"

[D]

I do want to see Ledger's performance


I dont recommend seeing movies at Midnight unless u are a night owl

I Mean midnight, 2 and a half hour movie.....


Id be sleepy as fuck tryin to sit through a long ass movie at that time of night.

Which is why Im waiting till today to see it


I think Christian Bale as I said is totally overrated and a boring ass actor and if Ledger wasnt in it *Who I truly loved way before his death* I wouldnt even bother with it.

[Rapunzel]

He was shit in this movie.  The writing sucked, the acting sucked (and I usually enjoy Christian Bale) and it was just a cluster fuck.  To put it simply, I think it was ultimately one of the most banal movies I've seen in this genre.

You do know that Heath is going to be nominated for an Oscar by The Academy don't you?

Once again read the first part of my post..........I think it's absolute shit that this movie is going to get applauded on the fact that Heath Ledger died right after finishing it.  I'll be honest to say I think Ledger was probably the second best thing in the movie behind Harvey Dent (up until he got that retarded looking makeup job).......but that's not saying much.  I thought the movie was utter shit, my opinion.   Of course Ledger's going to be nominated for an Oscar.....everyone loves happy endings. 

The movie is going to be applauded because of Heath's amazing, awesome, mindblowing acting. Full Stop.

There are people who have followed the story of the "Dark Night" for a long time.

[Kujo]

With all due respect to Bill's opinion.

I just saw it tonight and loved it. I am not a fan of Heath Ledger by any means but I thought he was just amazing as the Joker. Believe the hype. This movie is as good as the reviews state. Just my two cents.

[D]

With all due respect to Bill's opinion.

I just saw it tonight and loved it. I am not a fan of Heath Ledger by any means but I thought he was just amazing as the Joker. Believe the hype. This movie is as good as the reviews state. Just my two cents.

Can u compare it to Nicholson's?

I know its a different take etc

[Kujo]

As you stated, completely different take so its hard to compare.
The whole way Christopher Nolan filmed this series is that it could be real, so Ledgers take on the Joker is less comical and more a mentally fucked up person that just wants to see people suffer for his own amusement.

Both great performances, but I prefer Ledgers take. He is doing these horrible things ("I'm going to make this pencil disappear") yet he has these moments of clarity where you think, "This guy is making sense".

[D]

Awesome

and thanks for no spoilers

Im going at 1pm to watch this today.

I may give Batman Begins another watch also

Ive learned sometimes u can watch a movie in the wrong mood or something and it fucks it up. I remember being so depressed that I didnt laugh at Dumb And Dumber one time first time i saw it.


So After Dark Knight, if I think it kicks ass, I may go back and rent Batman Begins and give it another watch.

[Kujo]

I loved Batman Begins. If it suffered from anything it was that it had to establish the characters. Now that we know who Bruce Wayne is and what makes him tick, The Dark Knight can jump right in and establish the new characters without wasting time, which it does. Almost to the point where Christian Bale isnt the star of the movie, just a part of an ensemble.

Oldman is terrific, Gyllenhaal is a huge upgrade over Holmes (Duh) but the character could still use more to do. Caine and Freeman do their thing spot on as normal. Aaron Eckhardt is great as Dent also, but this movie belongs to Ledger, whether he was alive today or not.

[D]

I loved Batman Begins. If it suffered from anything it was that it had to establish the characters. Now that we know who Bruce Wayne is and what makes him tick, The Dark Knight can jump right in and establish the new characters without wasting time, which it does. Almost to the point where Christian Bale isnt the star of the movie, just a part of an ensemble.

Oldman is terrific, Gyllenhaal is a huge upgrade over Holmes (Duh) but the character could still use more to do. Caine and Freeman do their thing spot on as normal. Aaron Eckhardt is great as Dent also, but this movie belongs to Ledger, whether he was alive today or not.

I think my problem was, I really really love Tim Burton's "Batman"  Just the first one and I guess I had a hard time seperating the two and accepting Batman Begins as a brand new movie and take.

I'm still not a big scarecrow fan

The Joker however is the best superhero villain by far in my opinion.

[polluxlm]

Anybody felt Nolan was ripping off 'Heat' in the opening heist? If so, was it good?

[Kujo]

Other than it being a bank heist, I dont see any other similarities.

[bazgnr]

Anybody felt Nolan was ripping off 'Heat' in the opening heist? If so, was it good?

Others might disagree, but I didn't see that at all.  It was a great scene, overall. 

[polluxlm]

I don't know, haven't seen it yet. A lot of talk about it on the Heat board though. Especially the music and photography (that grey/blueish sterile style).

And of course the fact that Nolan himself said he was inspired by the movie while making DK.

[Kujo]

I love "Heat" but that thought never crept into my mind watching that scene. If he was going to use any movie as inspiration though, I'm glad it was that one.

[Bill 213]

Okay so now that I realize it......I may have been a little hard on Heath last night.  I guess what really pissed me off was standing outside and hearing the drones of idiots going, "Oh man, Heath is going to have the greatest onscreen appearance ever, he's the greatest."  C'mon...where were these people when he was playing in that god awful Brother's Grimm movie three years ago.

Heath did okay in his portrayal of the Joker.  The characters were lacking in many ways and that was on the hands of the writers.  Batman came off as ultimately weak in this movie. 

It was okay for me, nowhere near living up to the hype that is surrounding it.  The action was decent, but nothing more than a good summer popcorn flick.  Batman used to be my favorite superhero.....and the two Tim Burton films did so much to turn that comic into a real life masterpiece.  They had everything in them. 

[Kujo]

I still love the Tim Burton films, these new ones just work better for me. Cant really explain it.

I was like you also, I was getting tired of hearing how great Ledger was when nobody had seen the film yet. All of a sudden the guy was Marlon Brando. However I think he did live up to the hype.  We'll just agree to disagree

[bazgnr]

The creepy physical mannerisms and nuances of speech that Ledger's portrayal brought to the character are truly unique, and a testament to his abilities as an actor.     He completely lost himself in the role.   I, too, was getting over-hyped by the press, and was expecting to be let down as a result.   Personally, I'm thankful that it wasn't the case.  Whether or not it lives up to the hype is up to you, but me, I thought it was fantastic.

One thing I will say, however, is that the film is far too complex and thematically dark to be simply relegated to "popcorn movie" or "summer flick" status.   It really does raise expectations for what can be accomplished within the superhero genre.

[D]

Im about to go see this in an hour

I think sometimes audiences can have a negative impact on viewing a movie also, which is why I usually wait a few weeks so i can see it virtually alone.

I remember hating Spiderman 3 mainly due to the audience runing it. Everytime Peter would do something they'd shout and make some stupid remarks, like at the end when he is cryin and goin on over Harry, the crowd behind us were laughing their ass off and it just ruined it.

I find it difficult to truly get into a movie when every seat is filled and u got people u dont know sitting beside u and its packed in front and behind u......

i need some space.

[gilee7]

I went and saw the midnight showing last night. I think I need to see the movie again before I base my final opinion. Every seat in the theater was filled, and all the geeks and fanboys really got on my nerves, clapping after scenes and shouting "Oh, my God!" anytime the Joker or Batman did something cool. I missed several lines of dialogue due to their stupid outburts.

The Dark Knight is definitely the best movie I've seen this year (though that's not saying much considering some the crap that's come out this year). Ultimately, however, I felt letdown by the movie. I still feel really unsatisfied about it. It's still an amazing movie, for the most part, but I think it had potential to be one of the greatest of all time.

At about the halfway point in the film I was seriously thinking, this is going to be one of my favorite movies ever. The movie doesn't feel anything like a superhero or comic book movie. I guess that's why it's being compared to Heat and The Untouchables instead of Iron Man or Spider-Man. The Dark Knight is a crime movie; it just so happens that the good guy dresses in a bat costume and the villian as a clown. Because the mood of the film is so dark and intense, the carnage so unrelenting, the violence unsettling (though all the really grisly stuff happens off screen), that it feels like an R-rated film. This is not some fun, light-hearted, summer popcorn movie--- This is a serious drama.

I still prefer Jack Nicholson's portrayal as the Joker to Heath Ledger's. Always when I think of the Joker, I think of the way Jack played him, which is the way the Joker is supposed to be played, in my opinion. That's how he always was in the cartoons I watched as a kid: always laughing, joking, dancing, playing with false chattering teeth and other toys--- yet still just as menancing and evil. With that said, Heath Ledger's performance is incredible, and all the praise is much-deserved. His portrayal stands on its own, and his version of the Joker is a better fit for Nolan's darker vision than a Jack Nicholson-like portryal would have been. The Joker makes this movie. Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart, along with everyone else the movie, really take a backseat to Heath's performance. The Joker steals this movie; he's mesmerizing to watch, so creepy and disturbing and insane, doing so many horrible things, yet you can't take your eyes off him. He seriously gave me chills in a few scenes. When he isn't on screen, you still feel his presence, and you can't wait for him to return. Heath's performance is what elevates this movie to such a high standard.

Unfortunately, however, we don't see as much as of the Joker in the last act of the movie, since another villian comes into the picture--- And that's really when I feel the film loses everything it's been building toward. I really felt let down and unsatisfied by the last 30 minutes or so. Several things happen near the end of the movie that I didn't agree with, decisions are made (or not made) that I wish had been different. I hate the whole goddamn sonar shit or whatever it was, where Batman could see everything happening in Gotham based on the phones calls and communication. Morgan Freeman's stance on the abuse of technology is so obviously political commentary on the Patriot Act. The movie's suddenly saying "it's okay to take away people's privacy and to spy on people when there's someone as evil as The Joker (or Osama Bin Laden) on the loose." I also hate the whole "will the boats blow up one another?" scene. And then there's the whole thing with Batman seeing everything through the digital blue screen, like he's Neo from the Matrix or something.

I don't want to give away anything about Harvey Dent, but let's just say I don't like how they handled his character near the end of the movie. I also wish the final confrontation between the Joker and Batman had had a little more oomph to it--- although I have to say that I absolutely loved the Joker's whole upside-down monologue. That was great stuff. Batman and the Joker had a better altercation in the original Batman movie than they do in The Dark Knight, however.

The "twist," if you want to call it that, at the very end of the movie was kinda cool, I guess, though I was still frustrated with everything they'd just botched. I'm actually really interested in the premise of the third movie now, based on how this one ended.

My overall opinon of the movie is that it was on it way to greatness, but stumbled just as it neared the finish line.

[Rapunzel]

This is not some fun, light-hearted, summer popcorn movie--- This is a serious drama.

With that said, Heath Ledger's performance is incredible, and all the praise is much-deserved. His portrayal stands on its own, and his version of the Joker is a better fit for Nolan's darker vision than a Jack Nicholson-like portryal would have been. The Joker makes this movie. The Joker steals this movie; he's mesmerizing to watch, so creepy and disturbing and insane, doing so many horrible things, yet you can't take your eyes off him. He seriously gave me chills in a few scenes. When he isn't on screen, you still feel his presence, and you can't wait for him to return. Heath's performance is what elevates this movie to such a high standard.

That is a really insightful point to make.
Hats off to him. RIP.

[Robman?]

Unfortunately, however, we don't see as much as of the Joker in the last act of the movie, since another villian comes into the picture--- And that's really when I feel the film loses everything it's been building toward. I really felt let down and unsatisfied by the last 30 minutes or so. Several things happen near the end of the movie that I didn't agree with, decisions are made (or not made) that I wish had been different. I hate the whole goddamn sonar shit or whatever it was, where Batman could see everything happening in Gotham based on the phones calls and communication. Morgan Freeman's stance on the abuse of technology is so obviously political commentary on the Patriot Act. The movie's suddenly saying "it's okay to take away people's privacy and to spy on people when there's someone as evil as The Joker (or Osama Bin Laden) on the loose." I also hate the whole "will the boats blow up one another?" scene. And then there's the whole thing with Batman seeing everything through the digital blue screen, like he's Neo from the Matrix or something.

The sonar shit pissed me off too. I dont get why he was using it when he was fighting the joker. Morgan Freeman could easily have given him instructions, or he could have included an on/off function.

Besides that, the only the thing I didnt like was Harvey's cgi face. It just looked cartoony, and not very scary at all. It woulda been cooler if he'd had some excess skin hanging off or some oozing blood, or something.

That said, the movie was good, as was Heath. The big ensemble cast was kinda cool. Batman was more of a minor part of a bigger story. I might see it again.