"The Dark Knight" movie review and discussion (SPOILERS)

[SShoreFan 2.0]

Blew me away.

Only complaint was there were points were the music drowned out the script.

Literally had me cringing, laughing and sitting on the edge of my seat.

I have to see it again at the IMAX.

[nickagneta]

As for the next film in the series I say go sign Leonardo DiCaprio or Sasha Baron Cohen to play the Riddler and make the Riddler a villianous OCD special assasin/cleaner/problem solver that the Mob hires to not kill Batman, but to frame Batman and then expose him.

A simplistic idea but my sons and I got to the theatre early and struck up a convo with a couple of guys about who and how the could work the Riddler in in the next movie.

I've decided that the malfunction and bad atmosphere in the theatre last night might have tempered my enthusiasm for the last part of the film so I'm going to go back and rewatch it in Imax.

[Montrossity]

As for the next film in the series I say go sign Leonardo DiCaprio or Sasha Baron Cohen to play the Riddler and make the Riddler a villianous OCD special assasin/cleaner/problem solver that the Mob hires to not kill Batman, but to frame Batman and then expose him.

A simplistic idea but my sons and I got to the theatre early and struck up a convo with a couple of guys about who and how the could work the Riddler in in the next movie.

I've decided that the malfunction and bad atmosphere in the theatre last night might have tempered my enthusiasm for the last part of the film so I'm going to go back and rewatch it in Imax.

rumor has it the accountant who knows Batman's identity is lined up to be the Riddler.

[Brickowski]

I don't plan to see it.

[Schupac]

This was by far my favorite super hero movie.  I'd actually give it a 5 out of 5 stars, and I am a very harsh movie critic, especially of "blockbusters". (I'm quite the snob, actually)

Firstly, because the writing for the joker was excellent and Heath Ledger pulled off the character as I never hoped.  He was convincingly crazy.  Not typical hollywood CUCKOO CUCKOO crazy, or I-hurt-people-because-I'm-evil crazy.  He seemed like a legitimate psychopath.  Heath Ledger managed to portray the Joker as when he was at his absolute best (ex: the killing joke).  I was not a fan of Heath Ledger's but after seeing this movie I find myself actually a little saddened he can't act in the future.  His Joker is possibly, in my opinion, the greatest portrayal of a psychopathic villain in a film (of course, temper this by the fact that I was the movie about 18 hours ago... let's see if it stands the test of time). 

Probably my favorite aspect of his portrayal was how unfunny I thought he was.  He was saying dialogue that was written humourous, but his inflections and facial expressions made it the opposite.  I was a little peeved at people laughing at every single joke - not sure if I'm being an elitist but I got the feeling they were giving the cheap laugh to something that wasn't made to be funny.  It was the complexity of the dialogue and performance that these were funny jokes, told in an unfunny manner.  I think some people didn't get that.  (EDIT - yeah, I do sound like an elitist).

Secondly, Christian Bale continued to impress showing Batman as he was written by Frank Miller, at his best - truly dark and brooding, but a hero.

The plot moved at a good clip, the action scenes were entertaining, and the small touches really made it work (come on... the diversion was a fire truck--- on fire! perfect joker!).  The jokes were a bit too much, but they were honestly funny. 

I would complain that at many times the dialogue was more than a little ham-handed with two-face pretty much narrating his downfall.

I can't wait to buy it on DVD and decide if this movie can crack my top 20 all timers... I'm optimistic.

As far as the sequel - it's very sad we can't see another Joker.  As good as, for example, Johnny Depp is, he could not follow up this portrayal.  They would be foolish to incorporate him.

I think the best option would be The Riddler, as characters like Mr. Freeze or Poison Ivy don't really fit into this realistic portrayal.  The Riddler seems a natural choice.  I hope it isn't catwoman I can't see her working in these versions... nor the penguin, really, not unless they completely changed his character.  I remember Rad Al Ghul had a daughter in the comic books, that might work.  And I wouldn't put it past anyone to bring Two-face back.

Side note - I kind of wish they hadn't made scare-crow into sort of a "b level" villain in these films.  He has the capability to be an awesome villain.

Bane is a distinct possibility, but I never liked his character myself.  I hope it is The Riddler (thought - per the rumor post, I don't think the accountant could be recast... these films draw far too big name stars for their main roles, and I have no idea who played the accountant).



WOW... long post... I really loved this film.

[LarBrd33]

As for the next film in the series I say go sign Leonardo DiCaprio or Sasha Baron Cohen to play the Riddler and make the Riddler a villianous OCD special assasin/cleaner/problem solver that the Mob hires to not kill Batman, but to frame Batman and then expose him.

A simplistic idea but my sons and I got to the theatre early and struck up a convo with a couple of guys about who and how the could work the Riddler in in the next movie.

I've decided that the malfunction and bad atmosphere in the theatre last night might have tempered my enthusiasm for the last part of the film so I'm going to go back and rewatch it in Imax.

rumor has it the accountant who knows Batman's identity is lined up to be the Riddler.

You know I kinda believe this already.   I don't think the Riddler will be done as a guy in a green suit.  They could almost do the 3rd film as more focused on Batman's detective abilities and make the whole thing a mystery.   Some people have already mentioned.... MR. Reese = Mysteries.  The accountant could very well end up being The Riddler.  But did we just blow the climax of the 3rd film?... not sure.  I wouldn't rule it out though.

[LarBrd33]

Schupac ... those funny parts were funny.  I'm not sure why you felt they weren't.   He had several one-liners that were intended to be funny and a lot of his behavior is dark humor.   I agree that he was excellent though.

And it seems that most of the negative feedback is about Christian Bale and his sorta ridiculous Batman voice.

[bbc3341]

despite Bale's voice, this was the best comic book movie ever! That's actually pretty significant given recent films like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and X-Men...

[Ace_Geraci]

The Dark Knight was a great movie. 4 stars out of 4, easy. I hate to lump it into a "comic book movie", but I'd say it's easily the best comic book movie ever. I loved Batman Begins, but The Dark Knight movie had so much more to it. And the reason for that was the villains had more to them than Begins did. While I love the characters Ra's al Ghul, Carmine Falcone, and Scarecrow, they didn't have as much detail and resonance that Ledger's Joker or Eckhart's Two-Face had during Dark Knight.

While the pace/storylines sometimes seemed too frenetic, overall it worked greatly. There were so many layers to this movie and the acting was top-notch. Ledger deserves an Oscar nod and this crap about him getting it because he died is nonsense. Ledger's Joker is the Joker. I think his performance trumped Nicholson's by a mile, and I thought Jack was a great Joker, by the way. So I see no possible way the Joker role can be reprised. So that leaves a few problems for a 3rd film. Nolan has said repeatedly that his vision will be a trilogy, but with Ledger's death & no Joker, and Two-Face's death(there's no way that his death is implied, Two-Face is dead, funeral and all) what can be done for a 3rd film? Making a 3rd one could be impossible because how can Nolan top Dark Knight? I see a couple scenarios.

1.Center the story around The Riddler. I've seen some rumors and even posts on this site that the accountant will become The Riddler, which I think is ridiculous and people are reading too much into that. The Riddler will be portrayed by a big-time actor. I think Daniel Day Lewis would be a superb Riddler and has the type of acting ability where he could easily put up a Ledger-type performance that would help with the absence of Joker. Maybe Riddler uses Reese's knowledge in his plots and schemes. That's the only way I see Reese being used in the next film.

2.Ra's al Ghul comes back. If you notice in Begins, Nolan focuses in on Liam Neeson closing his eyes for about a good 3 seconds before the train crashes. Also, Nolan has mentioned several times that he wants a female villain in the 3rd one. I don't see Cat-Woman fitting, so maybe the storyline of Batman and Ra's' daughter Talia al Ghul will be introduced. I really believe Nolan wanted his female villain to be Harley Quinn but without the Joker, I don't see this as being possible.

[Schupac]

The Dark Knight was a great movie. 4 stars out of 4, easy. I hate to lump it into a "comic book movie", but I'd say it's easily the best comic book movie ever. I loved Batman Begins, but The Dark Knight movie had so much more to it. And the reason for that was the villains had more to them than Begins did. While I love the characters Ra's al Ghul, Carmine Falcone, and Scarecrow, they didn't have as much detail and resonance that Ledger's Joker or Eckhart's Two-Face had during Dark Knight.

While the pace/storylines sometimes seemed too frenetic, overall it worked greatly. There were so many layers to this movie and the acting was top-notch. Ledger deserves an Oscar nod and this crap about him getting it because he died is nonsense. Ledger's Joker is the Joker. I think his performance trumped Nicholson's by a mile, and I thought Jack was a great Joker, by the way. So I see no possible way the Joker role can be reprised. So that leaves a few problems for a 3rd film. Nolan has said repeatedly that his vision will be a trilogy, but with Ledger's death & no Joker, and Two-Face's death(there's no way that his death is implied, Two-Face is dead, funeral and all) what can be done for a 3rd film? Making a 3rd one could be impossible because how can Nolan top Dark Knight? I see a couple scenarios.

1.Center the story around The Riddler. I've seen some rumors and even posts on this site that the accountant will become The Riddler, which I think is ridiculous and people are reading too much into that. The Riddler will be portrayed by a big-time actor. I think Daniel Day Lewis would be a superb Riddler and has the type of acting ability where he could easily put up a Ledger-type performance that would help with the absence of Joker. Maybe Riddler uses Reese's knowledge in his plots and schemes. That's the only way I see Reese being used in the next film.

2.Ra's al Ghul comes back. If you notice in Begins, Nolan focuses in on Liam Neeson closing his eyes for about a good 3 seconds before the train crashes. Also, Nolan has mentioned several times that he wants a female villain in the 3rd one. I don't see Cat-Woman fitting, so maybe the storyline of Batman and Ra's' daughter Talia al Ghul will be introduced. I really believe Nolan wanted his female villain to be Harley Quinn but without the Joker, I don't see this as being possible.

Welcome to Celtics Blog Ace.

Now that you've mentioned it, I think Harley Quinn might still work.  More of a Joker copy-cat than sidekick.  I would really like to see Harley Quinn and The Riddler as the villains... they both fit perfectly into these films continuity (not cheesey, no superpowers).  The penguin could in theory work, something akin to Danny Devito in Batman Returns (misshapen, hating the world).

Now that I think of it, Hush might be a great villain for the next film.  He was a late addition to the cannon but a great character.

Schupac ... those funny parts were funny.  I'm not sure why you felt they weren't.   He had several one-liners that were intended to be funny and a lot of his behavior is dark humor.   I agree that he was excellent though.

And it seems that most of the negative feedback is about Christian Bale and his sorta ridiculous Batman voice.

Yeah I'm not sure if this is something I'm just good to pick up on, or more I was enthralled by Ledger's performance and I'm making it up.  Many of the jokes people laughed at were legitimately funny, so I wouldn't blame anyone for interpreting it differently than I.

Of course, for some reason the midnight show I went to was flooded with highschoolers and they definitely did have a sort of "look at me" mentality going on, people rushing to be the first to laugh at jokes... which of course led to some not-so-quick individuals laughing at what wasn't jokes ;-)

edit:  So, kinda funny I talk about "not-so-quick individuals" and then type in broken grammar.  What WEREN'T jokes.

[Montrossity]

1.Center the story around The Riddler. I've seen some rumors and even posts on this site that the accountant will become The Riddler, which I think is ridiculous and people are reading too much into that. The Riddler will be portrayed by a big-time actor. I think Daniel Day Lewis would be a superb Riddler and has the type of acting ability where he could easily put up a Ledger-type performance that would help with the absence of Joker. Maybe Riddler uses Reese's knowledge in his plots and schemes. That's the only way I see Reese being used in the next film.

The accountant as the Riddler isnt based on fanboy speculation, but rather on quotes from some of the actors if I recall write.



and I realize I have yet to comment on the movie yet.  Movie is absolutely spectacular and calling it a superhero movie seems like an insult, and Im kind of a comic nerd.  The characters were so intricate, complex and delicate.  Overall, this film just blew me away.

[nickagneta]

Considering how closely that Nolan has formed his story's characters around the late 1970's darker version of the story-line, I doubt that Mr. Reece is suddenly doing to transform from a dumpy accountant to a long legged, well dressed, bollar hat wearing Edward Nygma.

The Riddler will definitely be a big name Hollywood actor and not the near unknown actor who played Mr. Reece.

I like the Daniel Day Lewis suggestion if he channels some of the same psychotic energy he showed in Gangs of New York. Nolan, however, has seemed to go off in an unexpected direction with his casting at times. So an unexpected route wouldn't surprise me.

One way of that happening, I think,would be  having Nygma possibly being a family member of the the African-American gangster Gambol and be black would be a cool contemporary twist with Jamie Foxx as the Riddler.

I also think DiCaprio and Baron Cohen could play the part as well as both have the range of character that portraying the Riddler would require.

[SShoreFan 2.0]

Bravo to all of for the great summaries.  I went to see it with my brother prior to him having to hop on a plane so my ability to sit and download has been somewhat muted.

In my mind, without a doubt the next villan will be a female, just from a plot standpoint they need a female counter part and now that Rachel is gone the logical choice is a female villian.

I have all along hoped that Liam Nielson would be brought back somehow and by having the Tailia character added to the mix accomplishes both the femme fatale and Nielson.

Definately need to see it at the Imax and to focus on the script more.

But wow, what a ride!!!

[zerophase]

i just wanted the movie and i must say wow. i've seen every batman movie and i grew up on the animated series of batman on cartoon network. i've never see such a realistic, demonic joker. the new batman series really entices me because its more like reality, where a criminal isn't so easy to stop. the joker is really a joke in the animated series and in the previous movies.

the movie however is extremely long, with many plots and subplots. it can almost be made into 2 movies. its better than the 1 villain and done movies though.

i'm real excited bout the next movie. i doubt harvey is actually dead and i'm glad the scarecrow made an appearance too. i hope its not another 3 years before i get another one of these. i can watch these all day.

i really do agree about the riddler comments. but these series of batman has brought more unusual villians in such as ra so maybe a lesser known villian might be brought it. as we can tell, the villians aren't like bane who are just after money. the villians are more true to their evil, and are a lot more cerebral. riddler works...

killer croc could be a side villian... scarface? those might be some to add to the mix with the riddler. btw... when are we going to see robin? i personally don't want to see him. he kills the batman image.

[Celtic_E]

I have been a long time Batman fan and what I can truly say about this movie is wow. It truly took all the bad taste away in my mouth for the previous 4 Batman films in my book. Burton's versions got the dark tone but was a little too cartoonish in my opinion. The next two after Batman Returns just took silliness to the next level. They were too silly that it was such a shame that they almost destroyed the whole franchise. Thank God for Christopher Nolan and his vision for the franchise.

As for the movie itself, I could really say that this has the potential to be the best comic book movie of all time and that's coming from a big Spiderman fan. The level of realism in this film is so fantastic that I could say that this is how the Batman and the Joker would be in real life if they really existed. Ledger's Joker just took craziness to a whole new level and his way off the rockers performance was a perfect match to Bale's fragile stance on being a hero or just another plain vigilante.

After seeing the movie, the whole thing kinda reminded me of the Long Halloween storyline from the Batman comics. It had the same core, Harvey Dent-Jim Gordon-Batman trio teaming up to clean up Gotham, but this was just tailor-made to fit into the Batman universe that Nolan started on Batman Begins. The Joker was a minor character in the Long Halloween but am glad it was not the case on The Dark Knight. The Long Halloween was one of the best Batman stories I've ever read and I highly recommend it to all Batman fans.

As for the third movie of this trilogy, I leave it all up to Nolan's hands as he proved very capable of pulling this one off for two films in a row now. There are a ton of possibilities for the next villian but I agree with the consensus that the Riddler could be the next. Talia al Ghul, Ra's daughter, could also fit in this scheme that Nolan created. Whoever turns up for the next film, I am very confident that Nolan and Bale would pull it off once again. With that said, I can't wait for the third act.