The Dark Knight - reactions and opinions

Smiley

I just got back from the theater. It's almost 4 am. I've been up since 6 am. I'm gonna sleep like the dead. But before I crash, I want to give my impressions while they're still fresh.

This movie is outstanding. It really is so much more "real" than any other superhero adaptation that's come out recently. I mean that the technology and the settings, and the situations the characters are thrown into, are believable on a whole other level than you would expect from a comic book movie.

All the actors inhabited their roles so well. Heath Ledger was the Joker that I recognized from the pages of "A Death In The Family". Bat shit crazy and violent, killing almost on a whim and reveling in chaos. He forced ordinary people into making decisions that would drive people insane, he manipulated an entire city to the brink of anarchy, and he did it with panache. He was menacing and scary. I'm even more saddened by Ledger's death now; his Joker was the perfect foil for Batman. If he doesn't get a posthumous Oscar nod for this, it's a crime.

Eckhardt was a shining beacon of virtuousness as Dent and every bit as corrupted as Two-Face. Not corrupt like a villain, but when you see how he falls and what he does, it's really a startling transformation. And can I just say that seeing him talking was grotesque and sobering. I mean it, his face was just obliterated. The makeup and effects guys on this show need proper credit from the Academy as well.

It was paced well. A little bit of downtime in the first third of the film, but it never felt like I was sitting there waiting for something to happen, because the movie is so much like a real-world crime drama, but with an extraordinary crime fighter. I'd compare it to Heat. It really did look and feel like that kind of movie.

Bottom line, go see it. I'm out.
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Azrael · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:41 am Post subject:

Oh, you saw it, too? My reaction;
The Dark Knight > All the other movies of '08

Spoiler:

"Let me show you a magic trick... I'll make this pencil disappear!"
*WHAM*

Ta-da! IT'S GONE!

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Married to SpideyGirl.

Frost · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:25 pm Post subject:

Simon_Says · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject:

This film succeeded on so many levels.

Bigger review in a while, maybe.

But replacing Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal was I feel a big mistake. She looks absolutely horrendous.
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Daffy D · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:46 pm Post subject:

Tom won't let Katie off his porperty. Besides, Gyllenhaal's not that bad looking.

In reaction to this film, all I can say is: TAKE THAT Joel Shumocker!
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Frost · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:17 pm Post subject:

I do have to wonder how in the HELL Gyllenhaal still gets decent work occasionally. She is a terrible actress.
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scissors cuts paper... Kiff, we have a conundrum. Search them for paper... and
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Aurelyn · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:39 am Post subject:

Azrael · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:33 pm Post subject:

And don't forget Donnie Darko.
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Only the strongest will survive.

Married to SpideyGirl.

Blaster · Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:00 am Post subject:

Well, it was good, but not great. It kind of sucked that they tried to fit so many story lines into the movie, leaving an overall bloated effect. I kept wondering when exactly the plot was going to resolve itself while being bombarded with new developments.

Spoiler:

Was it really necessary to introduce and then kill Two-Face within the span of an hour?

And another thing...Spoiler:

at the beginning of the film, Batman has Fox make him a new suit so that he can be faster and more agile, but then he seems to move just as ponderously as he did before in his fights. Additionally, I noticed that most of his enemies fought him in the classic action movie "one at a time" style rather than ganging up on him, and almost nobody ever shot at him despite that fact that almost all of his foes carried guns.

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cfos · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:43 pm Post subject:

In reply to Blaster:

Spoiler:

I think it was necessary to kill two-face. Look, if he wasn't "killed" he would likely have gone on doing what he was doing. Not exactly "white knight" material. Sooner or later, it would have come out that he wasn't as good as people thought -- the chick cop is the only one left alive (aside from Gordon and family) that know the truth about Dent. So, if he wasn't killed, then Batman doesn't take the wrap for the 5 dead cops and isn't really "dark knight" material. I think this movie served as a vehicle to demonstrate the "good" in batman while also accepting that the character has to shoulder a great burden -- being accused of things he didn't commit, allowing the cops to "chase" him, etc. Granted, this is definately a turn away from the campy batman's of the past, but it also allows for future development of Batman and Bruce Wayne as a person.

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Simon_Says · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:09 pm Post subject:

Cfos, there aren't enough kudos in the universe.
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Alternate Spideygal · Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 9:31 pm Post subject:

Aramor · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:27 am Post subject:

Plus Katie Holmes was way hotter.
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Sal · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:58 am Post subject:

i have to wait till Sep 8 for it to open at theatres back here. can't wait.
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cfos · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:43 am Post subject:

cfos · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:47 am Post subject:

I disagree with the Katie lovers. For those that want more katie and Aaron, I highly recommend Thank you for Smoking.
Perhaps, because of THAT movie, Tom didn't want to risk losing Katie to the far greater Aaron..?

I wasn't impressed with Katie's version of Rachel. She lacks "brainy" and I can't take her seriously. Maybe it is because of Dawson's Creek, I dunno. I think Mags was a better actress. I didn't feel that she overacted.
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Azrael · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:02 am Post subject:

Katie Holmes' Rachel seemed more innocent, while Maggie Gyllenhaal's take seemed more confident and level-headed. But they both have very different faces, so the change was not subtle.
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Only the strongest will survive.

Married to SpideyGirl.

Simon_Says · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:52 am Post subject:

Not subtle, and I just kept picking up this vibe that Maggie was simply trying to be sexy, and not actually a character. Spoiler:

It may be because of the fact that she's of little or no importance to the film besides being an object of desire for both Wayne and Harvey.

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cfos · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 12:45 pm Post subject:

Aramor · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:06 pm Post subject:

Damn it! My mind almost obliterated every last brain cell that holds the knowledge that George Clooney once tried to play Batman... thanks for reminding a bunch of my other brain cells. Now I gotta destroy those as well.
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cfos · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:18 pm Post subject:

You struck me as a sort of Adam West Batman man, Ararmor. lolz.
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"If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak."

Aramor · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:41 pm Post subject:

I prefer Micheal Keaton actually.
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Lunabella · Gender: Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 420

Forumgoer Unavailable · Gender: Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 316 Location: Not here

Well, I can't say much other than OH MY GOD THAT WAS GREAT.

The characters were all radically redesigned, making them gritty, terrirfying, and believable.

One of the greatest things about the movie, in my opinion, was that the Joker didn't seem all that happy most of the time. He was just nucking futs. Just the way I likes it.
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Aurelyn · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 5:58 am Post subject:

What's with all the Maggie hate here? I thought she was great. Maybe she was only there to be sexy, but as Simon pointed out, that is the character's only role in the movie. At least she was sexy, as opposed to Katie Holmes, who was just bland.
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