Film: The Dark Knight

[ugly]

To me the Joker is a living embodiment of the dark soul lurking inside every one of us. He is an archetype. To see him as human diminishes his power.

In my opinion, Heath Ledger "is" The Joker in this film.

I've heard more than one person in my life opine that this roll killed him.

I can see how that might be true.

I have heard the same thing, and in fact, I believe it could be true. The Joker killed Heath Ledger.

 

[L2R]

christian bale is not going back for a third, and they're already auditioning a replacement. my little scarlett chimed in a superb effort.

she can even hang from the ceiling!

 

[randycaver]

he's not? where did you see that?

 

[Unglued]

i think he was kidding

(at least i hope!)

 

[His Name Is Frank]

christian bale is not going back for a third, and they're already auditioning a replacement. my little scarlett chimed in a superb effort.

she can even hang from the ceiling!

That cat looks pretty pissed and would make for a horrible Batman. Catwoman maybe, but Batman? Come on, guy. Be reasonable.

 

[undead]

just saw this tonight. it was everything i expected and then some. i'm sure that SOME (not much though) of heath ledgers performance in this movie is as highly praised as it is due to his death... BUT... let it be known that despite that fact... he was absolutely amazing as the joker and nothing could convince me otherwise. the acting IMO of the entire cast was brilliant, but he really stole the show. i also LOVED aaron eckhart he gives a virtually flawless performance.

5 stars for sure.

 

[Solitude_within]

*please see post below*

 

[Solitude_within]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I see The Dark Knight as being mediocre at worst and decent at best.

Batman Begins had such a unique and tangible energy; the dark imagery and direction made for a fantastic movie experience. I thought that the producers of the sequel would have no problem in recreating the magic of Begins, and I went into the movie with high expectations.

I kept waiting for The Dark Knight to really accelerate, but that never happened. While the work of Heath Ledger (and the other cast, to some extent) was excellent, the rest of the film was largely meandering and unfocused. Sadly the movie lacks even in the action department, as poorly executed action and fight scenes are aplenty. Considering today's high standard for quality-shot action, it's hard to believe the makers missed this crucial point. All of this together makes for a sluggish progression of the storyline, and an anticlimactic "climax" and conclusion.

I think part of what made Batman Begins so awesome is that it wove the tale of Batman from a comic book story into a raw and realistic present-day society. It did all of this while still retaining a legendary air to it, and that's what made the first movie so intoxicating and visceral. With The Dark Night, the result is a step back into comic book land. And while this is a place that is (understandably) favored by many a Batman fan, it's a step backward for the quality of the series.

 

[L2R]

i think he was kidding

(at least i hope!)

of course i kid. all except the bit where i say that my persian kitten will play batman in the next film

 

[undead]

solitude_within... i think your synopsis is very well worded and obviously, you know what you like and if this movie wasn't up to par with you, that's perfectly fine, but i disagree with a lot of what you said. :D

i'll elaborate later if need be, but i have to head to work in about 2 minutes.

 

[Noodle]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I see The Dark Knight as being mediocre at worst and decent at best.

Batman Begins had such a unique and tangible energy; the dark imagery and direction made for a fantastic movie experience. I thought that the producers of the sequel would have no problem in recreating the magic of Begins, and I went into the movie with high expectations.

I kept waiting for The Dark Knight to really accelerate, but that never happened. While the work of Heath Ledger (and the other cast, to some extent) was excellent, the rest of the film was largely meandering and unfocused. Sadly the movie lacks even in the action department, as poorly executed action and fight scenes are aplenty. Considering today's high standard for quality-shot action, it's hard to believe the makers missed this crucial point. All of this together makes for a sluggish progression of the storyline, and an anticlimactic "climax" and conclusion.

I think part of what made Batman Begins so awesome is that it wove the tale of Batman from a comic book story into a raw and realistic present-day society. It did all of this while still retaining a legendary air to it, and that's what made the first movie so intoxicating and visceral. With The Dark Night, the result is a step back into comic book land. And while this is a place that is (understandably) favored by many a Batman fan, it's a step backward for the quality of the series.

I disagree.

As in life, there is no plot or series of progressions reaching to an ultimate climax. That is action movie formula fluff in my opinion.

I think this film was more a psychological character study than anything else, which is why I think it surpassed the other film in interest for me.

I liked both films for different reasons. To subjectively compare the formulaic strong points of one film with the divergent focus of the other misses the point of their differences.

 

[steinanwine]

I know I'm in the minority on this, but I see The Dark Knight as being mediocre at worst and decent at best.

Batman Begins had such a unique and tangible energy; the dark imagery and direction made for a fantastic movie experience. I thought that the producers of the sequel would have no problem in recreating the magic of Begins, and I went into the movie with high expectations.

I kept waiting for The Dark Knight to really accelerate, but that never happened. While the work of Heath Ledger (and the other cast, to some extent) was excellent, the rest of the film was largely meandering and unfocused. Sadly the movie lacks even in the action department, as poorly executed action and fight scenes are aplenty. Considering today's high standard for quality-shot action, it's hard to believe the makers missed this crucial point. All of this together makes for a sluggish progression of the storyline, and an anticlimactic "climax" and conclusion.

I think part of what made Batman Begins so awesome is that it wove the tale of Batman from a comic book story into a raw and realistic present-day society. It did all of this while still retaining a legendary air to it, and that's what made the first movie so intoxicating and visceral. With The Dark Night, the result is a step back into comic book land. And while this is a place that is (understandably) favored by many a Batman fan, it's a step backward for the quality of the series.

Solitude_within, I agree with absolutely everything you had to say about TDK. Your critique of the film is exactly what I wished to say about the film but was unable to. We might be minorities in our opinions but you justified the mediocrity of the film very well.

 

[undead]

i don't need to elaborate on my last post now because noodle hit the nail right on the head.

especially this part...

As in life, there is no plot or series of progressions reaching to an ultimate climax. That is action movie formula fluff in my opinion.

 

[undead]

Solitude_within, I agree with absolutely everything you had to say about TDK. Your critique of the film is exactly what I wished to say about the film but was unable to. We might be minorities in our opinions but you justified the mediocrity of the film very well.

you're not only the minority... you're wrong.

just messin of course. opinions can never be wrong, but mine is always right.

 

[steinanwine]

^ Yeah ... 8)

 

[undead]

you know i'm kiddin! :D

same thing i said to solitude_within goes for you, it's perfectly fine that you didn't like the movie, and the fact that you guys have validated your opinions with good structured reasoning makes me perfectly fine with it.

i still think it kicked MAJOR ass though. :D

 

[His Name Is Frank]

Speaking as someone who has never even read one Batman comic and only liked Tim Burton's first Batman and Batman Begins, I have to say that the one star vote on The Dark Knight has to be someone's idea of a joke.

Hell, the second time I saw it, I had two senior citizens sitting next to me and they loved it. Not caring for it I can understand. But the one star vote pretty much means you hated everything about the movie. I just don't see that person existing here on bluelight. Of course if you would like to prove me wrong, feel free one star voter.

 

[tribal girl]

and only liked Tim Burton's first Batman and Batman Begins

What, no Batman Returns?.

 

[undead]

omfg TG... when i was a young boy, that was who i pined for the most. michelle pfieffeireiureireure (sp?) in the cat woman suit. i was still young enough that sears catalogs got me hot and i had to hide my pictures of catwoman cause i thought my parents would make fun of me. how embarrassing!

but i'd still hit that.

 

[cravNbeets]

i was pretty impressed, but honestly if you take heath ledger out of this movie i think batman begins is heaps better. unlike most sequels 'the dark knight' didnt take one plot line and drag it out basically stalling for the 3rd installment. infact i felt like it did just the opposite, too much going on. also as others have said in this thread the fight scenes seemed kind of slow and clunky.

those are the only negative things i can say about 'the dark knight' unbelievable acting from all the major players in the cast. although i do find gyllenhaal vaugely annoying, she's nice to look at. gary oldman was awesome as per usual. heath ledger's performance was eerie and amazing. he was the perfect joker: hillarious, terrifying, despicable, and vulnerable all @ once. this is one performance that i dont find over-hyped in any way. truely remarkable.


5/5