The audience I saw this film with was fucking annoying.
Every goddamn time something happened *clap cheer*.
When the trailer for Terminator ended, a dude yelled "FUCK YEAH THIRTY POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR"
Another guy yelled when the Dark Knight just started "LET'S HEAR IT FOR BATMAN WOO!" Then the theatre cheered. Then he yelled "AND HEATH LEDGER TOO!" And nobody cheered. And another guy across the theatre yelled "TOO SOON!" :lol
The movie was great, very intense up and downs, and mostly moved very well. It was one of the best times I've had in the theatre. Just wonderful cinema right there.
But there is still a lot to be critical of in the film. First off, Rachel Dawes is a terrible character.
I really thought Maggie would do a great job, but she was not any better than Holmes, and I think it's just the way they wrote her. I also didn't feel any chemistry between her or either men (and why was she so ugly in the film? Usually I find her quite attractive). Which brings me to the weak arc that Harvey Dent had, Eckhart was great as Harvey, but when Two-Face kicked in I couldn't buy it. The other plot lines were (mostly) so well done that his turn was very unbelievable.
It was about as convincing as Anakin in RoTS, which was basically the same exact arc by the way, (I expect flames for that), it worked at all because Nolan is a great director, but it was so so weak compared to the rest of the film.
I hope he isn't dead either.
He deserves better.
As for the rest of the plot, the Singapore diversion was mostly unnecessary, the film felt a little long to me, and that sequence was a big reason why, even if it had a nice pay off. The whole cellphone spy thing was also a bit dissapointing. It just felt wrong, he went out his way to set this up, but immeadiately realized the error of his ways and destroyed it.
Meh. Also the Batman voice really really sucks, it just kept getting worse in the film until he sounds like a sick fat kid out of breath in that final scene. I blame Nolan there, do another take for god sakes.
The film was still so great otherwise and built up so well that the multiple climaxes didn't bother me that much even if I was so worn down by the end. It'll be hard to match so much of what the film did right, especially Joker and Gordon, but whatever, if the next one is a drop in quality it'll still be incredible. The film smacked the shit out of BB, so I can't even see them going back to that quality (which was still high). Definitely looking forward to seeing it again.
I hated Rachel Dawes is Begins, loved her in Dark Knight specifically because of Gyllenhall. She brings significantly greater potency to the character, and I feel she put the moral dilemma's of each of the characters in much greater context and in a completely unpretentious way as I stated earlier. MAJOR SPOILER:
That I felt for her death, and it tore me up that Dent had to hear her say yes before the end, is testament to how much she turned the character into a invaluable asset to the film
. /MAJOR SPOILER
I can understand the perspective on the
trip to Hong Kong
, however I enjoyed it and did not feel it was out of place. It was another necessary plot line imo.
And on the end we COMPLETELY disagree on Dent. Without his story arch, the films emotional core is gone. It is the
pact that Gordon, Batman and Dent form and how each one of their goals crumbles so tragically that makes the film what it is.
In the proper geek tragedy tradition we cannot understand the true extent of the corruption until we see someone we can entirely pity. And we pity him BECAUSE of what he represented and what he was. It is impossible to remove him from the film and still have as good of a product as we have now.
We almost had a meltdown of geekdom when the projector quit in the last 15min of the film though (
Joker dangling scene
). They had it restored in less than 3min or so but I'm sure half the audience demanded their admission back. Sure I was miffed, but some people are always looking for excuses.. I think what caused it was the theatre going into power saver mode at 2:30am or something. I kinda figured that because the air conditioning shut off half way through the film too.
Just to add to my previous post...one thing I loved about this movie is that gunshots actually packed a punch. You really felt every shot in your bones...I loved it.
I saw the midnight showing on Thursday night. It was great. I knew it would be good, most likely the best superhero movie ever, but it surpassed all my expectations, to the point where I think just calling it a "superhero movie" is doing it a disservice. Ended up longer than I thought it would be, but despite the length, there's hardly ever a lull or any moments where you're not completely caught up in the action.
Highlights for me included Heath as the Joker, obviously, and Aaron Eckhart did a great job with Dent/Two-Face as well. One of my friends complained afterwards that Batman seemed relegated to secondary status, and in some ways that's true. I actually felt more invested in Dent's storyline at times than I did with Batman, which made
Dent's fall and transformation into a killer
that much more depressing. I thought Maggie Gyllenhaal did a much better job with Rachel Dawes than Katie Holmes did too. (Somehow it's easier to believe Maggie playing an intelligent, independent woman than someone who's given her life to Scientology. )
All told, I was most impressed with how well the movie weaved in the ideological elements in a way that was actually critical to the story, and not used as garnishing like in lots of other comic book movies. I need to see it again sometime this weekend, because there are parts I missed or didn't totally understand the first time around (and admittedly, I fell asleep about 2 hours in for about 10 minutes...cut me some slack, I'd been awake since 6 AM!).
Just popping in to ask the IMAX question again. I don't feel like searching through the thread (and possibly getting spoiled somehow) to see if anyone has mentioned it. Now that Friday night has come and gone, how early would you guys recommend getting to the IMAX theater to get decent seats?
Just popping in to ask the IMAX question again. I don't feel like searching through the thread (and possibly getting spoiled somehow) to see if anyone has mentioned it. Now that Friday night has come and gone, how early would you guys recommend getting to the IMAX theater to get decent seats?
If you didn't preorder in advance you likely wont be able to go unless its at a really weird time. All afternoon/evening imax showings are already sold out here through monday.
I went into this movie thinking Batman Begins was ok.. so will this one. But I was totally blown away. Heath pretty much redefined how crazy the joker was. The only thing I didn't like was Batmans forced deep voice. But it didn't get in the way of me enjoying this film. I will definitely pick this up on blu-ray when it comes out.
So, I saw it a second time, just as good I'm happy to report, might go back tonight :lol
Anyway, good news.
Two of my quibles were taken care of:
1) The monorail from the first movie IS in a few establishing shots here and there in the background. So they didnt just ignore it.
2) I figured out why Wayne Enterprises changed buildings.. a giant train crashed into it and blew itself t Kingdom come. So I'm guessing they had to relocate.
Also, Ive decided the joker didnt have a single scene that was not just completely awesome.
OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. I had some hgih expectations for this movie, but that...that totally exceeded them. What a fantastic movie. Heath Ledger's role as The Joker will go down in the history books. As previously stated, he IS The Joker.
Not only the best superhero movie ever, but one of the best movies I've ever seen, honestly.
I hope Nolan continues to make Batman movies...so, so much.
Just popping in to ask the IMAX question again. I don't feel like searching through the thread (and possibly getting spoiled somehow) to see if anyone has mentioned it. Now that Friday night has come and gone, how early would you guys recommend getting to the IMAX theater to get decent seats?
So, I saw it a second time, just as good I'm happy to report, might go back tonight :lol
Anyway, good news.
Two of my quibles were taken care of:
1) The monorail from the first movie IS in a few establishing shots here and there in the background. So they didnt just ignore it.
2) I figured out why Wayne Enterprises changed buildings.. a giant train crashed into it and blew itself t Kingdom come. So I'm guessing they had to relocate.
Also, Ive decided the joker didnt have a single scene that was not just completely awesome.
I made the mistake of going to a normal theater last night. I'm so used to Alamo drafthouse that doesnt let children under 12 in after 6:00. Crying babies, kids asking their parents whats going on, people text messaging, no ushers anywhere
I made the mistake of going to a normal theater last night. I'm so used to Alamo drafthouse that doesnt let children under 12 in after 6:00. Crying babies, kids asking their parents whats going on, people text messaging, no ushers anywhere
Err.. I think you are right, they had a board meeting in the same one. . I guess they just dropped the ball a bit with the unexplained change in Wayne Enterprises.. maybe rent was cheaper?
everyone needs an Alamo drafthouse. Everyone that goes to Alamo is a movie buff it seems, its such a great environment for watching a movie.. plus beer makes all things better.
I made the mistake of going to a normal theater last night. I'm so used to Alamo drafthouse that doesnt let children under 12 in after 6:00. Crying babies, kids asking their parents whats going on, people text messaging, no ushers anywhere
You know what...those places are nice to go to occasionally. But easily one of the shittiest jobs you can work at and make you never want to go back:lol
I made the mistake of going to a normal theater last night. I'm so used to Alamo drafthouse that doesnt let children under 12 in after 6:00. Crying babies, kids asking their parents whats going on, people text messaging, no ushers anywhere
I saw the movie again at the Alamo drafthouse. I loved the Batman stuff that they played beforehand (like 60s Batman, the Mexican Batman, and Prince's "Batdance")
I saw the movie again at the Alamo drafthouse. I loved the Batman stuff that they played beforehand (like 60s Batman, the Mexican Batman, and Prince's "Batdance")
OMG, Prince Batdance was so much win it wasnt fair.
They also played clips from Gotham Knight and convinced me to never ever watch that.
I went for the midnight showing so they had extra time to kill which involved Allisa Molano (sp?) workout videos from the early 90's
and whatever that cheap knockoff batman was was fucking great. I dont know what the hell was going on, but for anything that ends with Batman, Robin Joker and the Penguin singing in the batmobile is great stuff in my book.
yeah i really don't follow the complaints about that scene.
i think if it hadn't been another country, across the world, people would have felt it more seamless and necessary, but because it's such a departure from gotham it sticks out like a sore thumb for some. but not only was it integral in the plot, but like you said it does help build batman's character and was a good plot line in the film (e.g., joker mentioning how the batman will just go to hong kong and find him).
I will go to say that there is no "better" joker. Each was a wonderful representation of the then-Joker in the comics. As to which one realized the best comic version of their Joker, I'm going with Romero, because he hit the Finger era Joker perfectly. Hamill's joker takes second. Ledger third. Nicholson fourth. Again, this isn't the order I prefer... just the order I feel they brought they're version of the joker to the screen as he appeared in the comics.
As for which I prefer, Ledger, Romero, Hammil, and Nicholson.
Just saw The Dark Knight last night and there aren't nearly enough superlatives to express how grandiose a film it really is.
I would equate watching The Dark Knight to finishing a very satisfying game (say...Metal Gear Solid 4 as that seems more applicable). You don't want to do anything upon finishing it because there's so much substance to soak in, so many memorable scenes to recount that you simply ruminate about the experience afterwards and everything else seems so dead and mundane. The only thing that is there is a compelling force to revisit what you just experienced.
Heath Ledger utterly dissolved in his role as the Joker and he litterally STOLE EVERY SCENE HE WAS IN. End of discussion. He was the (unwoven) tapestry in his scenes as Joker and everything else became loose fodder struggling to tie it all together. If Javier Bardem can get an oscar for his role in No Country for Old Men, then Heath Ledger should be dutifully awarded as such and not because of some posthumous show of face.
Batman Begins was already my favorite comic book themed movie and The Dark Knight somehow managed to shit on that as well (although certain aspects I preferred in Batman Begins). Even though I had a whole night to digest the film, I'm still overwhelmed with the experience so-much-in-so that I would have a hard time trying to convey everything good about the movie to someone who hasn't seen it already (though judging by the numbers everyone and their mama saw it).
I'm trying to sift through this thread and read through peoples' impressions without spoiling anything.
A friend and I just bought tickets for an IMAX showing tonight/tomorrow morning. We're going all the way to New Roc to see it at 4:40 am. :lol Only thing that wasn't sold out in the next week.
Heath Ledger utterly dissolved in his role as the Joker and he litterally STOLE EVERY SCENE HE WAS IN. End of discussion. He was the (unwoven) tapestry in his scenes as Joker and everything else became loose fodder struggling to tie it all together. If Javier Bardem can get an oscar for his role in No Country for Old Men, then Heath Ledger should be dutifully awarded as such and not because of some posthumous show of face.
I'm afraid what'll happen though is that there will be a push to get Ledger nominated and if he wins the award, there will be a backlash of people saying that he only won it because of his untimely death. That'll be real unfortunate if it happens because dead or alive, he deserves it unless somebody gives a better performance some time between now and Oscars '09.
I'm afraid what'll happen though is that there will be a push to get Ledger nominated and if he wins the award, there will be a backlash of people saying that he only won it because of his untimely death. That'll be real unfortunate if it happens because dead or alive, he deserves it unless somebody gives a better performance some time between now and Oscars '09.
I agree with it was well, but Javier Bordems charachter was very reserved and understated.
I think the closest examples of something similarly great to the Joker performance would be Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York or Daniel Plainview. Javier Bordem was creapy and haunting, but the Joker managed to steal scenes he wasnt in. He was like a dark cloud hanging over the entire movie.. even when he wasnt on screen, you could feel him lurking over everything. It was so damn powerfull of a performance and the sense of doom he cast over the movie made it seem like a hopeless situation that Batman couldnt win.
I hated Rachel Dawes is Begins, loved her in Dark Knight specifically because of Gyllenhall. She brings significantly greater potency to the character, and I feel she put the moral dilemma's of each of the characters in much greater context and in a completely unpretentious way as I stated earlier. MAJOR SPOILER:
That I felt for her death, and it tore me up that Dent had to hear her say yes before the end, is testament to how much she turned the character into a invaluable asset to the film
I couldn't disagree more. The sad fact of the matter was Rachel was poorly written in both Begins and Dark Knight, and while I think few will argue Gyllenhall is a superior actress to Holmes, the fact is she was able to add nothing to the character and possibly even detract from proceedings says a huge amount about the scripting. Worse still with the performances Ledger, Ekhart and others turned in it really makes for even worse reading.
Heading out to Coliseum (IMAX) in t minus 3 hrs. Showing up there 3 hrs early, hopefully thats enough to get the good seats. Totally stoked as the OST is playing in my head in an endless loop already :lol
Saw midnight screening thursday(well technically friday) and again yesterday. For the midnight we had a great crowd.
A certain magic trick had everyone applauding. Every scene with Joker in it had me laughing or creeped out. As already mentioned, heath completed buried himself in this character(interrogation scene was incredible) and it's so sad we'll never see him in this role or any other again. Eckhart was also fantastic and really played his part well. When he became Two Face I was pretty creeped out by him as well. I cannot believe this movie is PG -13 with his face alone. This film was also so fucking intense. I don't think I've been that nervous for any movie in a long time. Also, favourite scene was the SWAT transportation chase. So many moments made of absolute win.
All in all, Superb movie, Heath deserves an oscar and if the Nolans come back I think I do want a sequel.
Heading out to Coliseum (IMAX) in t minus 3 hrs. Showing up there 3 hrs early, hopefully thats enough to get the good seats. Totally stoked as the OST is playing in my head in an endless loop already :lol
