The Dark Knight

[avatar4321]

Anyone else excited to see this one? I think it's going to be good.

[dan]

I've heard nothing but great things about it. I'm going with a few friends tomorrow night.

[CockySOB]

I've heard nothing but raves from the sources I've read and/or talked to. I plan on seeing it Friday afternoon. Although I may wait until I know the theater isn't going to be jam-packed. I absolutely loathe going to a show and paying good money when the place is packed with inconsiderate assholes and crying babies. Might even hold off for Monday afternoon matinee just to avoid the crowds of morons.

[dan]

I've heard nothing but raves from the sources I've read and/or talked to. I plan on seeing it Friday afternoon. Although I may wait until I know the theater isn't going to be jam-packed. I absolutely loathe going to a show and paying good money when the place is packed with inconsiderate assholes and crying babies. Might even hold off for Monday afternoon matinee just to avoid the crowds of morons.

Probably good thinking. I've read that this thing is really dark and character-driven, not a typical superhero at all. I think there will be lots of teenagers whining in the theaters tomorrow night.

[Kathianne]

My two sons saw 'a sneak preview' late one night a week or two ago. They loved it. Not my cup of tea.

[Monkeybone]

it was good. i liked it.

[dan]

it was good. i liked it.

Are they paying you by the word? :laugh2:

[dan]

Really good. Really, really, really good.

It was only a superhero movie in the most technical sense. It had more in common with The Departed than it did with Batman.

And, Ledger was undoubtedly the highlight. Such an awesome, complex performance. Aaron Eckhart was outstanding as well.

[avatar4321]

It was literally the best movie ive seen in forever. It was long, but it kept you on your toes every second.

[Abbey Marie]

Not my genre at all, but since my guy is in it, I guess I will have to go see it:

http://www.harry-potter-movie-buzz.com/uploads/uploadForumPhotos/medium_Sirius%20Black-3tzb6iqm.jpg

[retiredman]

very well done. Ledger was brilliant.

[dan]

It really reminded me of Heat, for some reason.

Your guy is great in it, Abbey, he's the one completely innocent character in a very, very dark world.

And, on that topic, this might have been the hardest PG-13 movie I've seen. Not in terms of violence (of which there was plenty) or language, but the the tone and style of the movie is such that I think realy little kids (12 & below, I'd say) would be terrified by it. Honestly, the Joker had a few moments that really freaked me out and I kind of think it should've recieved an R rating just for Harvey Dent's eventual transformation.

[Abbey Marie]

...
Your guy is great in it, Abbey, he's the one completely innocent character in a very, very dark world.
...


Thanks for the info, Dan.

I kind of prefer him to be a dark character, but I'll watch him any way he is.
I think he's one of the best actors to ever grace the screen.

[avatar4321]

It really reminded me of Heat, for some reason.

Your guy is great in it, Abbey, he's the one completely innocent character in a very, very dark world.

And, on that topic, this might have been the hardest PG-13 movie I've seen. Not in terms of violence (of which there was plenty) or language, but the the tone and style of the movie is such that I think realy little kids (12 & below, I'd say) would be terrified by it. Honestly, the Joker had a few moments that really freaked me out and I kind of think it should've recieved an R rating just for Harvey Dent's eventual transformation.

The make up they used for Dent was downright amazing. We were all just kind of shocked how realistic it looked.

[dan]

The make up they used for Dent was downright amazing. We were all just kind of shocked how realistic it looked.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

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As someone with an eye phobia, I could barely even look at his face. That and the Joker's magic trick with the pen at the meeting of the mobsters made for some pretty cringeworthy moments for me. But, how great of an introduction was that for the Joker? It was a great way for them to set him up as a more realistic villain than Nicholson's Joker. And, if you think about it, aside from having a bazooka, the Joker really never does anything that superhero-ish. He's basically a very eccentric terrorist. My favorite small moment in the movie with him is in the jail, when everyone is applauding Gordon or Batman or whoever and they show the Joker in his cell clapping along really slowly. It's just a genuinely creepy moment. And, also, when he's standing in the street and Batman's coming at him in the batcycle and the Joker's just mumbling "hit me, hit me, hit me". As I think all americans know by this point, the scariest villains are those who aren't afraid to die.

[Hobbit]

The make up they used for Dent was downright amazing. We were all just kind of shocked how realistic it looked.

That wasn't makeup. Look at it again and notice how the effects actually sink below the location of the actor's actual skin. That's impossible with makeup. It was CGI.

Nonetheless, yeah, it looked great.

As for the movie as a whole, I'm happy with the direction they're taking. It's sort of a 'back to the roots' approach, similar to Frank Miller's revitalizing of the comics in the 80s. When Batman started out, the comic was dark and creepy, and Two-Face was one of the original villains, first appearing in 1942 (Batman #1 with The Joker as the enemy debuted in 1940). The Joker wasn't a prankster, he was a psychopath with no past (though several origins have been attributed to him over time) who killed people on a whim and just enjoyed watching people suffer. In the 50s, however, comics were seen as solely children's fare and a censorship board decided it was too dark, which resulted in the campyness typically associated with the Batman comics and TV series in the 50s-70s. It took a horrendously dark turn by Frank Miller, who showed Batman being beaten and paralyzed by Bane, followed by The Joker killing Robin and torturing Bat-Girl, to return the comics back to the gritty, dark, dramatic days of its origin, though the movies didn't quite get the message and got progressively more campy until Batman Begins was released.

Now, with a movie centered around the original Batman villain in his full, creepy, scary, psychopathic glory with a story centered around more mature themes of human drama, duality, and the role of heroes, I feel the franchise has truly returned to what made it great, and I sincerely hope it stays here.

[dan]

That wasn't makeup. Look at it again and notice how the effects actually sink below the location of the actor's actual skin. That's impossible with makeup. It was CGI.

Nonetheless, yeah, it looked great.

As for the movie as a whole, I'm happy with the direction they're taking. It's sort of a 'back to the roots' approach, similar to Frank Miller's revitalizing of the comics in the 80s. When Batman started out, the comic was dark and creepy, and Two-Face was one of the original villains, first appearing in 1942 (Batman #1 with The Joker as the enemy debuted in 1940). The Joker wasn't a prankster, he was a psychopath with no past (though several origins have been attributed to him over time) who killed people on a whim and just enjoyed watching people suffer. In the 50s, however, comics were seen as solely children's fare and a censorship board decided it was too dark, which resulted in the campyness typically associated with the Batman comics and TV series in the 50s-70s. It took a horrendously dark turn by Frank Miller, who showed Batman being beaten and paralyzed by Bane, followed by The Joker killing Robin and torturing Bat-Girl, to return the comics back to the gritty, dark, dramatic days of its origin, though the movies didn't quite get the message and got progressively more campy until Batman Begins was released.

Now, with a movie centered around the original Batman villain in his full, creepy, scary, psychopathic glory with a story centered around more mature themes of human drama, duality, and the role of heroes, I feel the franchise has truly returned to what made it great, and I sincerely hope it stays here.

SPOILERS again....








I agree, but it seems to me that they've pretty much run through the only real-world villains available in the Batman franchise. I really hope they don't try to bring the Joker back with a different actor, and with Harvey Dent dead, who can they turn to? I guess Catwoman could work, but I don't see her as a solo villain. Who else is there? The Penguin could work, maybe.

[Hobbit]

SPOILERS again....








I agree, but it seems to me that they've pretty much run through the only real-world villains available in the Batman franchise. I really hope they don't try to bring the Joker back with a different actor, and with Harvey Dent dead, who can they turn to? I guess Catwoman could work, but I don't see her as a solo villain. Who else is there? The Penguin could work, maybe.

I'm ok with having The Joker played by a different actor, and I'm not convinced Harvey Dent is actually dead. He went out too fast. I fully expect to see him in the next movie.

[jackass]

All I can say is WOW!! That movie rocked!! I really didnt think I was going to like Heath as much as everyone said....but I was totally wrong. He really was amazing!

[CockySOB]

Yeah, Ledger certainly owned the character of the Joker and set the bar for supervillians a lot higher than it was. On the other hand, the rest of the movie was for me a bit less spectacular than the Batman Begins movie.

[dan]

I'm ok with having The Joker played by a different actor, and I'm not convinced Harvey Dent is actually dead. He went out too fast. I fully expect to see him in the next movie.

I never read the comics, so keep that in mind with this:

In order for Gordon & Batman to carry out their plan at the end, they would have to hide Two-Face away somewhere. I don't know if I could see Gordon, the only "honest" cop in Gotham, going along with that.

Plus, you do see the memorial for him. Seems like with all this hooplah, and with Harvey Dent being the city's white knight and all, someone would probably want/expect to see a body to prove he was dead.

[crin63]

I saw it with my son last week and Ledger did a brilliant job. I liked the movie allot but then Batman was my favorite show when I was a kid. It was a very dark movie but then it is called the Dark Knight.

I cant imagine anyone else playing the Joker after this movie. I think if they bring back the Joker it should be pulled off as a copycat while the real Joker is in prison or something like that. Some kind of a twist to preserve Ledgers performance.

[Psychoblues]

Did you se all that shit they wrote about Ledger even right here in DP about him when he died?

These homophobes have little mercy on the genius of even the Rock. Sad..........

[dan]

I cant imagine anyone else playing the Joker after this movie. I think if they bring back the Joker it should be pulled off as a copycat while the real Joker is in prison or something like that. Some kind of a twist to preserve Ledgers performance.

Someone I work with mentioned that it might be a good idea to have Harley Quinn as a copycat and having the Joker in jail or something.