The Dark Knight spoiler thread(only for those who have seen the movie)

[ihatetimthomas]

But I still didn't think it lived up to the hype.

I think when movies like this become so hyped, they really never live up to the expectations. Its like when people were anticipating the whole Miami v Lakers Kobe v Shaq thing was going on. There was so much hype for the game, but did it live up? Not even close.

And Heath Ledger's performance was good. It was really good. But why is his review so much better than that of Batman (see, I can't even remember the guy's name!). I mean yeah, the Joker had some unique twists, and some craziness, but Batman really kicked some a$$ at the end of the movie.

Joker's role is a much more over the top role. He had to be in a much more different element than Batman. Batman was good, but I enjoyed Ledgers role much more bc of how bizarre they made the Joker. Christian Bale, acted well, but still played essentially the same role all batmans have been. Also, the Jokers character totally over shadowed a great performance of Bales, which is also why he doesnt get much recognition.

I still see no reason for the Joker's makeup to be so far removed from classic Joker, either. Ridiculous.

I think Batmans dep raspy voice is more ridiculous. Sounds kind of forced many time when he talks.

[blasian]

Some things I didn't like.... I predicted two face the moment I saw a guy named Harvey flipping a coin. Very predictable. Also.. the Joker is alive at the end, but Ledger is not. Why did they end the movie this way? Also, the Joker was already taken into custody earlier in the movie and it resulted in the police station being blown up, and the DA nearly killed while his fiance WAS killed. So why the hell should we believe that this time locking up the Joker is no big deal?

That wasn't supposed to be a surprise. Anyone familiar with Batman knows that Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face. The suspense lay in how the transformation came about. Kind of like watching the Star Wars prequel and knowing that Anakin eventually becomes Darth Vader. And what could they have done about the Joker? Ledger died after the movie wrapped. Obviously they didn't expect him to die so they had the Joker live with a possible return for a sequel in mind. The whole point of the Batman/Joker relationship is that Batman refuses to kill the Joker, so its good that they let him live. That's the point of the line "You and I will be doing this forever."

[KempSonics]

Ledger died after the movie was filmed Einstein.

[DeuceWallaces]

Mathius isn't too bright.

I like how he saw Two Face coming. You mean, like the posters of him, teaser trailer with him, and the articles about him didn't tip you off? Of, course and why did they leave Joker alive?

[Mathius]

Joker's role is a much more over the top role. He had to be in a much more different element than Batman. Batman was good, but I enjoyed Ledgers role much more bc of how bizarre they made the Joker. Christian Bale, acted well, but still played essentially the same role all batmans have been. Also, the Jokers character totally over shadowed a great performance of Bales, which is also why he doesnt get much recognition.

See, I disagree for the simple fact that unlike the other Batman movies prior, this one at least gave some origins to his martial arts skills. The other Batman movies just took Bruce Wayne, stuck him in a suit, and all the sudden he was invincible. This one at least gave him some background and credibility. Granted that didn't take place in this movie, but I think it certainly carried over, with the use of Sonar technology.

Also, if you stop and think about how Batman cleared that whole building, managing not to kill a single SWAT member, but saved all the hostages, and managed to kick all the "doctors" asses. Then proceeded to not only kill the Joker, but possibly even circumnavigate his bombs on the boat (he seemed AWFUL sure that there was no possibility that the bombs would go off)..... I mean that's all pretty damn masterful in itself, but people just overlook it as hollywood special effects and overlook the great storyline and the buildup of the character.

I think Batmans dep raspy voice is more ridiculous. Sounds kind of forced many time when he talks.

True, but that was already brought up since the first week the film came out, and I went into it knowing that. I made fun of it in the theatre a bit, but you just get used to it. It really wasn't as big a deal as people made it out to be.

Ledger died after the movie was filmed Einstein.

What the hell does that have to do with anything? The lead actress from Queen of the Damned died before the end of the film, but they still completed it.

Brandon Lee died during the filming of The Crow, and it's one of the greatest movies of all time, IMO.

Do a little research before you run your mouth off.

Mathius isn't too bright.

I like how he saw Two Face coming. You mean, like the posters of him, teaser trailer with him, and the articles about him didn't tip you off? Of, course and why did they leave Joker alive?

Well, fool. Since I don't watch t.v. and had no intentions of seeing the movie before hand (I said that above if you bothered to read my post) I wouldn't know about any teasers or trailers.

And I don't know WTF that statement about the Joker is supposed to mean? Sarcasm based on the other stupid answers that Ledger died after the filming?

That doesn't even matter in hollywood anymore. They can pretty much film a whole damn movie with you not acting one bit if they cared to. I cited some pretty damn good examples above.

They completely set themselves up for failure or mediocrity in the next movie, because Ledger is damn near legendary now, and anyone who comes into the part for the next movie is pretty much setup for failure. The alternative is just to pretend the Joker is locked up for the next film, which is mediocre as well.

I love these little discussions we have. You don't like me, so you look for any reason you can to put me down. Ain't it a b[COLOR="Black"]it[/COLOR]ch how it backfires at least half the time?

Mathius

[v-unit]

Starting January 26th, they will be re-showing The Dark Knight in theaters to help their chances of reaching over a billion in sales and to help Heath win an Oscar, which begs to show this poster...

[Posts Penyeach]

I don't know whether I've already posted in this thread or not, but DK isn't just the best action flick ever, it's a sophisticated, complex, bottomless artistic/literary masterpiece as well. I think in 50 years when people are talking about the literary voices of our era Nolan is going to be one of the first names mentioned and they're going to say things like, "nobody saw the insight and power between the lines, all they could talk about was Heath Ledger and how much money the movie made." It's inconceivable how well Nolan combines epic sweep and art-house statement.

I was hesitant to call it my favorite movie ever, because it's got Kobe Bryant syndrome in that masses of people like it for the wrong reasons and that spoils the fun. But now I'm over that. It's just too good.

[brantonli]

What I lovd about the Dark Knight was that it didn't even feel like a comic book film, like Superman Returns did, I mean in that, you would know, ah there's Lex luthor, there's lane, there's his parents, in the Dark Knight, you have no idea what to expect, and it made you feel like you were watching American Gangsters or something like that. That's what I loved the most.

Wow, are they really going to do a second release? I thought the DVD is going to be out this december anyway?

[RidonKs]

I was sure I posted in this thread last night. That's weird.

Anyways, I watched it again last night, so it's kind of funny that this thread got bumped back up at the same time. It's now certified itself as one of my favourite movies of all time, perhaps even top five. Certainly the only action flick that can come close to challenging it is The Matrix, which is more Sci-Fi anyways. Every other movie similar to it pales in comparison.

I will say with regards to Bale's voice that I didn't find it nearly as bad as everybody else. The absolutely only time I actually noticed it and found it a little bothersome was right after the final fight between Bats and the Joker, and Bale really turns up the emotion in his voice, but has to maintain the scratchy element. Mixing those two just doesn't work, and makes the dialogue seem really forced.

Other than that though, I liked it. And it actually makes sense in the context of the movie, because when Bats asks Rachel is she's okay after the fall, he uses his regular voice because she knows who he is. I'm just trying to remember which voice was used in the conversation with Fox over the sonar-telephone thing (which was completely pointless by the way, and most likely my least favourite element of the entire plot).

Also: Every time I watch it, I become more and more convinced with Dent's turn. His actions actually fit the character, whereas when I first saw it, one of my main qualms was that they turned Dent bad too quickly. Having seen it more though, you get a better look into his regression from White Knight to Stained Knight.

That final monologue by Oldman, to go along with the intercutting between Fox and the future and some of the most epic music I've ever heard, was incredible by the way. Last night I rewinded it and watched that part (from after Batman falls to the end) three times.

I think I might watch it again tonight.

[blasian]

Who's the fool that gave this thread 1 star?

Anyway, I'm wondering what the Oscar chances for this film are. I mean yeah, the academy could face losing some "credibility" by giving this flick an Oscar nod, but TDK is certainly better than Crash...

[bada bing]

i actually saw this movie last night again after my practicals. This movie is soo good. It has so many things and there is so much going on. I just loved the joker and how he was shown. Its deep and just gets to you. i loved how they showed both batman and harvey dent getting affected by the joker yet batman stays good while harvey lives long enough to become the villain.

I would really like them to bring back Harvey Dent for the next one but from what I am hearing is that they killed of Harvey Dent and thats his end.

[RidonKs]

Lose credibility? I highly highly doubt it. Every single critic in the known universe gave it positive reviews. It's already got the Best Supporting all but locked up. Christopher Nolan has the reputation of an incredible filmmaker, so that gives it more cred than if it were the same movie produced by, say, Michael Bay. This isn't the equivalent of Spider-Man 3 or Pirates of the Caribbean where it grosses like crazy, but isn't as well-received by the guys who matter. It had the best of both worlds.

It's got a Best Picture nomination in the bag, that's for sure. And while it wasn't so good so as to think that anything else winning would be a travesty, the fact that it was (will be I suppose I should say) nominated warrants its placement among some of the best films of all time.

And let's look at the other movies in the running for nomination:

The Wrestler
Revolutionary Road
Wall-E
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Gran Torino
Milk
The Reader
Mongol
Frost/Nixon
Seven Pounds
In Bruges
Iron Man
Australia
Doubt
The Dark Knight


That's the list at the moment, as far as I can see. And while only a very select few have actually seen all (or even most) of these movies, we can make a reasonable judgment of which are likely to be nominated based on trailers we've seen and critics reviews we've read. I think the list can be trimmed to something along these lines:

The Dark Knight
The Wrestler
Milk
Revolutionary Road
The Reader
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire

Australia and Curious Case could be there as well, but it looks like they might be a small notch below. Now from that list, what are the chances TDK doesn't get a nomination? Slim to none. The first three listed appear to be locks. After that it becomes a little more of a toss-up.

So what's my point with all this? I guess to say that TDK missing out on a nomination would be close to a travesty. Certainly if you base it on the outcry that would surely ensue if such an event took place. Still, the predicted reaction from the public will probably make the Academy think twice about naming it "just a comic book movie". Although I think that point is secondary to the fact that it's just a fantastic freakin movie that has earned all of the accolades it's received so far.

i loved how they showed both batman and harvey dent getting affected by the joker yet batman stays good while harvey lives long enough to become the villain.

Nolan has a habit of placing "clues" throughout movies, particularly in the dialogue. Nothing that really allows you to figure out what the twist will be, but he throws in all sorts of statements from his characters that make you go back and say "oooohh yeah", once you know what the twist is. The Prestige was littered with them, Memento has a few, and The Dark Knight does the same thing quite a bit. What you pointed to, "die a hero or live long enough to become a villain" is just one example of many from the movie. It gives the movie a lot of rewatchability, because with the knowledge of what happens in the end, you can watch for the clues and then relate back. A lot of writers and filmmakers do it of course, but it's somewhat of a trademark for Nolan, at least in my opinion.

[bada bing]

i hear slumdog millionaire is a lock. Oscar folk love movies like these...look for slumdog millionaire to be in the mix to win the best movie.

[blasian]

I put credibility in quotations. Regardless of the film's tremendous critical and commercial success, the Academy has still been very reluctant to nominate "fan boy" movies like the Dark Knight, with the notable exception of the LOTR series. A lot of old and out of touch people vote for the films, and many might not be able to get past the fact that the movie is based on a comic book. Incredibly superficial but its something to think about.

[RidonKs]

I put credibility in quotations. Regardless of the film's tremendous critical and commercial success, the Academy has still been very reluctant to nominate "fan boy" movies like the Dark Knight, with the notable exception of the LOTR series. A lot of old and out of touch people vote for the films, and many might not be able to get past the fact that the movie is based on a comic book. Incredibly superficial but its something to think about.

I suppose it's something to think about, and I understand where you're coming from (there's been a ton of discussion on that exact stance anyway), but I think chances are slim of that being the problem it comes down to. I'd bet a good deal of money on it being nominated. Like you said, it's critical and box office success is matched by very very few movies, and I think that like LOTR, it'll be recognized. Hell, every single LOTR movie was at least nominated for BP, even if only one of them actually won.

And like I said, TDK wasn't so incredible so as to warrant blowing away every single one of those other films I posted above. It not winning BP won't be indicative of the "out of touch" Academy not wanting to give due based on the medium from which it was adapted, it'll be indicative of it being one of the best movies of the year, but not the best, at least according to those who matter. I think that, because of the predominant response from the critics, the movie will be regarded by the academy not as simply a glorified comic book movie, but instead as one of the most artistic and thoughtful action movies of all time. Which is exactly what it is.

Of course it's impossible to say how the Academy will react and respond with their nominations, but really the only precedent that has been set by similar films (in concept) is the LOTR. A fantasy movie made perfectly, and it got its rightful due. I think the same thing will happen with TDK.