The Dark Knight Discussion **CONTAINS SPOILERS**

[Double Eights]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

What an absolutely amazing performance by Ledger. He made this movie.

Overall, it was an excellent experience. I think I might go see it again this weekend with a different group of friends.

[Kashanova]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Spoiler

I thought about the bombs being reversed while that final scene was playing out. I figured one boat would pull the trigger and it would really show the downfall of morality throughout Gotham

I need to see the movie again to get a concrete definite opinion on it, and where I place it with all the other great comic book/movies period.

But for some people to say that this is the greatest cinematic experience they've ever had the joy of being apart is a bit.... over the top.

I saw the movie at the midnight showing last night and have waited a little bit for it to soak in before I posted any comments on it. I'm still pretty much where I was at when I walked out of the theater.

The first thing I said to my buddy was, Heath Ledger was a genius. But about the whole movie, I didn't know. I know I liked it... But that's all I can say about it.

I had to pee so badly throughout the final hour but wouldn't leave my seat. I thought my bladder would burst, but it kept me tuned in the entire time. I didn't even consider leaving my seat, the only thought I had was if the people next to me would notice if I used my empty soda cup to help me out... (JK...)

I definitely would have preferred the ending as far as the Joker's character to be wrapped up a little better than it was. It left me hanging.

Spoiler

pun intended

I do think my concentration was for sh*t when the final scene was up and Gordon was giving his speech. I tried to concentrate but at that point I really thought I was going to piss my pants.

Spoiler

I would have enjoyed a little bit more of the Joker and Batman dueling, especially once BM flipped the 18 wheeler with his bike and they were out in the middle of the street. I felt that scene was finished prematurely.

The movie was 2 and a half hours, another 20 minutes worth of viewing I think could have actually helped it out. Shockingly

aw man im hoping they do this for the Bluray and have to versions like T2, have a theatrical version and a version with all the scenes like a 180 mins. If this happen I'd cream my pants on first sight

[Blzer]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

aw man im hoping they do this for the Bluray and have to versions like T2, have a theatrical version and a version with all the scenes like a 180 mins. If this happen I'd cream my pants on first sight

According to this:

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080416k.php

It was originally around three hours. I hope we get that edition!

But wow, now I have to wait five more months for that. I can't wait that long!

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

adAnyway, I figured I'd post my impressions in some kind of constructive manner rather than simply repeating holy freakin' crap a million times - though I think that would get my point across just as well.

Oh. My. Goodness. That's basically all I can sans spoilers other than FREAKING GO SEE THIS MOVIE AND GET BACK IN LINE AS SOON AS THE CREDITS ROLL!

Spoiler

Since seeing Gordon flip over the Joker card in the closing moments of Batman Begins at the theatre three years ago, I have been looking forward to The Dark Knight with a great amount of anticipation.

This anticipation led me on information hunts for anything - any bit of rumor, news, picture, ANYTHING regarding the cast, crew, and script previews for The Dark Knight. The anticipation turned me into a rabid fox hound looking for tracks after its first kill. There was an excitement that Batman Begins created which simply re-watching and re-watching could not fill.

During filming, I tried to keep up-to-date with set reports, grainy YouTube footage of the production, Joker pictures, the on-going debate on SHH.com regarding whether or not The Joker was truly bleached white or painted on, not to mention the entire viral marketing of the film which took my anticipation to a solar level. Seeing the film being shaped piece by agonizing piece only fueled my eagerness for this film to be released to the point where it was truly an addiction for every bit of information regarding the film no matter how relevant or minor.

To say I was hyped for this film would be a vast underestatement. During production I breathed The Dark Knight. Once production came to a close and the viral marketing kicked in, I was glued to a computer screen, waiting for something to happen on whatever site the Joker was terrorizing at that moment and eating it all up as this was truly The Joker's character being brought to us straight from the comic pages.

Fast forward to today. A kid at Christmas time couldn't have been more excited. It was like I was down-stairs by myself, Christmas tree lit up, and mountains of packages surrounding the tree and covering the floor. It was close. Viewing Batman Begins was an obvious try at some kind of thirst quenching, but whats an ounce of water when you crave gallons of it.

Then it all happens. Next thing I know I'm not at home anymore. I'm sitting in a theatre seat seeing the logos I've longed to see again for three years.

To begin impressions of the film without Heath Ledger's name in the first sentence is a great disservice to his performance. Heath Ledger was nothing short of brilliant as The Joker. There is no competition between his Joker and Nicholson's Joker - Ledger's Joker is everything the Joker has come to symbolize and represent over the course of his history in the Batman comics. The Joker was written exceptionally well - scratch that, he was written perfectly. His actions, motives, back-history (or lack of), everything is perfect and what I've come to expect from the Joker from reading the Batman comics and even from watching Batman: The Animated Series. Ledger's performance only completes the perfect puzzle of the greatest villain (film and comics) of the past ten years and possibly ever. He is unable to be calculated in his demeanor as he goes all over the board in his emotions and actions, graciously swaying from being completely insane and being completely in tune with his surroundings. From this, The Joker creates tension in the scenes he is in because he is simply unable to be pigeon-holed and is not expected to do anything rational - when the Joker says he doesn't have a plan, you believe him and its one of the few honest responses the Joker has in the entire movie because he is anarchy and chaos personified and it all comes from within Ledger.

The Joker is one of those few villainous characters where you're honestly hesitated to say you like him - he's a true guilty pleasure because he's completely out of the box in terms of traditional villains that he has no redeeming good qualities or sympathizing back-story. He simply is. He stays with you, leaves you craving for more of him and can't help but wonder what he's up to when he's not on the screen. Of course The Joker wouldn't be complete without his twisted sense of humor and, like his other qualities, is really a masterful performance of black-comedy by Ledger. His first trick had the audience laughing, but not in the side-splitting laughter that possible repeated reviewing will create. No, this laughter was the type of laughter that hesitates at first and then comes trickling out quietly and somewhat slowly because of the context of the trick on display. There are multiple instances of this during the movie, such as the awkward walking away from the hospital in a nurse's skirt, and the laughter comes about hesitantly each time because The Joker just is - he's a true villain that you don't want to like because he is pure anarchy, chaos, and evil, but you know on the inside you love him because of his pure enjoyment as his role as an agent of it all.

I do not want to discredit to the rest of the cast, who all (with a minor exception) perform their roles masterfully, its just that Ledger's role was so far above the bar and so far above the hype that its just awe-inspiring as no word will ever really do him justice in this role.

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent and later Two-Face was an excellent performance and quite honestly the second best performance in the film as far as I'm concerned. As the White Knight of Gotham, despite the corniness of it all, you truly believe in Harvey Dent. He is confident in his ways to find justice and prosecute the criminality of Gotham - no matter the cost. His confidence and optimism are completely believable and it creates a sense of hope for us all, which makes his transformation into Two-Face an even greater tragedy. It is as Two-Face where Eckhart truly shines. His pain, rage, and shattered faith in the system he pushed so hard to represent and clean up is channeled so well that I think his face was burned from the elements that were boiling inside him. The fact that his justice system now relies on the flip of a coin only emphasizes the broken nature of Harvey Dent's mind and combined with The Joker as the main villain underlines Dent's inability to turn into a complete villain without motives or a sense of justice - no matter how twisted.

Christian Bale turns in another great performance as the three-part role of Bruce Wayne/Batman as his struggles between all three are magnified even more. There is a sense of tension in Bale's performance where it seems like he could snap, lose all sense of hope and rationale and be completely submerged in any of his character's aspects. There are points in the film where it is completely possible for Bale to completely turn into The Batman as evidenced in the interrogation scene where he truly considers killing The Joker and crossing the line between man and monster as well as points in the film where Bale could turn away from the cowl and try to live some form of normal life.

Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine continue to amaze me in their respective roles. Gordon and Alfred are perfect representations of the comic book characters. Everything about Oldman in the Batman films is complete, 100% Jim Gordon - he is Jim Gordon, just as Caine is Alfred. All three do a wonderful job serving as Batman/Bruce Wayne's mentors and power-checkers/balancers. Morgan Freeman is, again, purely fantastic as Lucious Fox. There is a genuine smerk in his smile when he knows he has the upper-hand and I enjoy seeing it. His and Alfred's concerns on Batman's limits felt genuine, as well. Batman Begins laid a nice framework for all of these characters, especially for their moral code, and The Dark Knight continues to shape that moral code, contrasting it to the darkness that fills Gotham.

As with Batman Begins, my main problem is with the Rachel Dawes character. While I think Maggie Gyllenhaal was a definite improvement over Katie Holmes, the switch hurts the continuity of the character. Maggie's Rachel is more mature, sophisticated, and confident portrayal compared to Katie's. The character is written the same, but when Katie tried to show a little fight and courage, she came across as being weak, innocent with no true threat or idea what she was doing. With Maggie, her confidence makes her feel stronger and more capable of defending herself. I am glad the Nolans did not resort to the whole love-triangle angle between Rachel, Dent, and Bruce. I felt with the ending of Batman Begins, Rachel removes herself from Bruce as a true love interest and she doesn't go trasping back into his arms. Bruce obviously had feelings for her, feelings that were for her but also because he saw her as a gateway to a return to a normal life, but I don't think she ever intended to be with him because she knew he couldn't just give up Batman.

The critics were right in saying this is a dark, dark movie. While I was actually watching the movie, I didn't think the movie was overly dark or grim. There are obvious moments in the film that are triumphant, optimistic and the right use of comedic relief to ease the tension. Once you leave the theatre, I believe the film gets a lot darker and more grim because that is what sticks with you the most. The ending is nothing short of a masterpiece to the testament of Batman's willingness to sacrifice for his city and the accompanying dialogue by Oldman makes it a sad reality that Batman is now a targeted man. The part that sticks with me the most isn't the obvious privacy issues the film raises with Batman watching every citizen of Gotham to locate the Joker and while the small remark by Dent about Chinese produced items was a nice little jab, the thing that stuck with me and will continue to haunt me is the ferry scene.

Batman's faith in his people proves true, yet I'm not sure I can say the same for our society or world today. I know I wouldn't have been able to detonate the other ferry, but I cannot honesty say I would trust others not to do it and that is what makes this film so dark and grim to me. Not that the film itself is so overly dark and grim, but because it reflects back to me exactly what these times have created within us. A sense of a paranoia and fear of each other and as a result, a sense of mistrust. The Joker was very much right in his assessment of society and it is that reflection of our society in the movie and all the implications it represents a truly dark and grim experience.

To say I was exhausted after seeing this would be an accurate statement. Its not the kind of exhausted after seeing a film that is too long (it ended too soon as far as I'm concerned), but rather the type of exhaustion that comes from being a part of something that is much more than a simple film - something that is more than cops and robbers, good vs. evil. Its the exhaustion that comes from being completely held at the edge of your seat, ears and eye-lids pinned back so you don't miss a single minute of it. Once the credits roll, its the type of exhaustion you want to experience again immediately after the next showing.

Holy crap. This will definitely stick with you awhile. Just. Words cannot accurately describe how I feel about this right now.

[Beantown]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Absolutely....brilliant way of putting the movie, man.

[Herky]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Man I cannot WAIT to see this. I got my tickets online for the 4pm show and am loving all the positive comments.

[Blzer]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Jesus, Fresh! I thought you had already seen this by the way you were replying to our comments.

Great post. If only I had the energy to write one long post... instead I like to jumble-em-up a bit. Good job, man. Put that **** on IMDb or RT.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

What an absolutely amazing performance by Ledger. He made this movie.

Overall, it was an excellent experience. I think I might go see it again this weekend with a different group of friends.

i keep hearing Joker made the movie.....cant wait

[Flyboy]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Spoiler

Dawes character would have benefited from having Maggie cast as Rachel in Batman Begins. There are moments in Batman Begins where Holmes tries to muster up some courage or, as Blzer puts it, fight like Maggie does in TDK, but she just comes off as being a weak, innocent child that has no idea what she's doing. I didn't think Rachel's character changed that much. I think Rachel was written the same for both movies, just that Maggie herself seems more mature, stronger, and sophisted than Katie. Batman Begins we see Rachel remove herself from Bruce as a true love interest at the end and I'm actually glad that she didn't fall back into Bruce's arms and there wasn't this big love triangle thing in TDK. Bruce obviously had feelings for her, feelings that were for her because also because he saw her as a gateway to a return to a normal life, but I don't think she ever intended to be with him because she knew he couldn't just give up Batman. She was still definitely Rachel Dawes and I personally thought Maggie did a better job than Katie did. Rachel was still the weakest character of the cast, but she wasn't as glaring a weakness as in Batman Begins.

Eh... I think an ex-friend of mine said it best when he said:

Spoiler

"Basically, I felt that Katie Holmes had better chemistry with Bale in BATMAN BEGINS than Maggie Gyllenhaal does in THE DARK KNIGHT. But Maggie seemed a better fit to compliment Aaron Eckhart. The scenes with Maggie and Bale didn't "feel" right but any time she was interacting with Eckhart, it was perfect. It was only during Gyllenhaal's scenes with Bale that deep down I pined for Holmes. Katie's nowhere near on Maggie's level as an actress but she's got a certain "something" that's only in her, something you can't "act" or "manufacture" that Maggie doesn't. I can't say which I'd prefer as they both have their strengths."

[Flyboy]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Oh, yeah. Just saw it again in less than 24 hours.

Hey, guess what?

It still rocks.

[BoomerSooner11]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Seeing it tomorrow, Im pumped.

[bjf1377]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

So, I heard the studio conservatively guessed they'd make $90-$100 million this weekend. Someone else in the know said $130. After hearing how many theaters its in, seeing the lines tonight, and hearing how many shows sold out in advance, I'd imagine it'd be closer to $200 million than $100 million

[Blzer]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

I think the newest projection is $157 million, but I expect more than that.

What's the opening weekend box office record?

[Cebby]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

I think the newest projection is $157 million, but I expect more than that.

What's the opening weekend box office record?

Spider Man 3 at $151.

I don't see how people are getting these numbers. I would have figured TDK would be pushing $200 mil.

[The Chef]

Re: The Dark Knight Discussion

Spiderman 3 made 151.1 million its opening weekend, second place is POTC Dead Mans Chest at 135.6 million its opening weekend.

Source...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25725538/