The Dark Knight - **Spoiler Thread**

[eyetrip]

Sill need to see what other people think about the following:

Come to think of it, there was one scene that bothered me. When Joker and gang crash Bruces fundraiser, once he has dropped Rachel out the window that scene just kind of ends with them landing on the car.

So the joker didn't continue looking for Dent? And why didn't Batman race back up to try and catch Joker?

And also, the part where the first capture Joker, Batman is going to run him down but can't bring himself to so skids around and bangs into the truck. Was he pretending to be unconscious so that Gordon could make the arrest?

Or was he actually supposed to be unconscious? Just didn't seem like he hit the truck very hard.

 

[jrodga2k5]

Very strange scene indeed and something that made me go didnt know to think about it. I dont think he even knew Gordon was alive to be fair and that was the death that kinda pushed him to the whole "il give myself up" idea!

 

[C64]

Good film but the Ledger joker performance is way way way overrated only because he passed away (no disrespect) are they bigging it up I was very underwhelmed, not a patch on Nicholson's effort and I can think of a tonne of actors that could do much better such as christopher walken.

 

[Richeh]

Good film but the Ledger joker performance is way way way overrated only because he passed away (no disrespect) are they bigging it up I was very underwhelmed, not a patch on Nicholson's effort and I can think of a tonne of actors that could do much better.

Completely disagree, but hey your opinion

 

[Naffa]

I don't think I've ever disagreed with anything so much before. But as said above, it's your opinion I suppose.

 

[Stoddy]

It's a great film but make no bones about it, this thing is all about one man, Ledger is THE reason to see this movie.
With all this talk of him getting an Oscar for his performance i was all "yeah yeah, give the dead guy an award you suck ups" but really, his portrail of the Joker is near perfect, he deserves a nomination at the very least.

I can't disagree with that post at all. I felt the same as you before I saw the film about the Oscar talk. Ledger's performance blew me away to be honest. Fantastic film.

 

[NokkonWud]

Question is, who's next?

Gary Oldman, talking in an interview about whether they could use the Joker again brought up the swap of Maggie Gyllenhall for Katie Holmes and said they could do it for Heath Ledger, something he believed Heath wouldn't have been against.

Then he said that it wouldn't necessarily be necessary because 'there is always the Riddler'.

Also, before seeing TDK I watched both Batman Begins and Batman (89 version) beforehand, Nicholsons Joker isn't in the same class as Ledgers, Heath gave an absolute masterclass in that role, the clicking of his mouth, the playing with the scar, his movement, his facial expressions, his accented words and the full character portrayal were mindblowing - those saying it isn't a hard role to play - no, it's not if you want to give a standard performance, but doing what Heath Ledger did was anything but easy, he WAS the Joker, not an actor playing, he lived the Joker in his life, he was clearly in a dark place, total method acting and as a result it's the best performance of a villain in any superhero movie for me.

As for TDK, brilliant film, not as good as Begins for me though, I felt TDK should have been darker in tone, more akin to Begins. As a result, only a 9.5 out of 10 from me.

 

[feelintherage]

Saw this movie today and wow, it was good. Firstly i feel they stuck to the comics feel and made it as real as possible. As has been mentioned before the jokers story about how he got his scars was a nod to the comics, Arkham Asylum they mention the joker is at a point where he makes his own past every day its different. Then moving to the joker imo you couldnt give him a back story firstly he doesnt have one and this would be a mistake to give him one especially a hollywood movie rather than dc comics. Secondly thats a massive part of the joker/batman saga the joker not having a back story, no history it totally adds to what makes him and not knowing where he came from crops up a lot in batman comics in that it taunts batman to some extent imo. I thought ledger played the joker amazingly and i would still say the same if he was alive infact i wish he was here to do the 3rd film (also thought he was awesome in brokeback).

um im still excited that i saw it today and i will come back to this more than likely

 

[sarutobi]

Just back from seeing it.

Brilliant film. Almost perfect. There were a few niggles here and there (the cheesy one liners were out of place). But everything else was great. The acting was top notch (Ledger is the man).

The main thing wrong with it was; it didnt feel like gotham. It just felt like a random city. The whole point of GOTHam is the gothic architecture and feel of the place.

 

[SS-89]

What a great film, just got back from seeing it with friends and I have to say Heath has done himself proud. He definitely deserves a nomination at the very least for his portrayal of the joker.

 

[Deep]

Also, before seeing TDK I watched both Batman Begins and Batman (89 version) beforehand, Nicholsons Joker isn't in the same class as Ledgers, Heath gave an absolute masterclass in that role, the clicking of his mouth, the playing with the scar, his movement, his facial expressions, his accented words and the full character portrayal were mindblowing - those saying it isn't a hard role to play - no, it's not if you want to give a standard performance, but doing what Heath Ledger did was anything but easy, he WAS the Joker, not an actor playing, he lived the Joker in his life, he was clearly in a dark place, total method acting and as a result it's the best performance of a villain in any superhero movie for me.

# To prepare for his role as the Joker, Heath Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's psychology, posture and voice (the last one he found most difficult to do). He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker's thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. He was also given Alan Moore's comic "Batman: The Killing Joke" and "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" to read. Ledger also took inspiration from A Clockwork Orange (1971)'s Alex and Sid Vicious.

Taken from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/trivia

Just shows how into the role he got, i hope they release the diary i would LOVE to see how he felt!

 

[Naffa]

Matt Damon was Christopher Nolan's first choice for the role of Harvey Dent but turned it down. Before Aaron Eckhart was cast in the part, other actors considered included Hugh Jackman, Ryan Phillippe, Liev Schreiber and Josh Lucas.

I can't imagine Matt Damon playing Dent. Jason Bourne vs Batman would be orgasm material for me though, as the Dark Knight and the Bourne Ultimatum are my favourite films of all time.

I'm quite glad Eckhart played the role in the end though.

 

[Calabi]

The movie was good, Ledger was genius. I've seen so many films I'm used to the bad guy conventions. But the Joker was something else, I did not like him, the character was completely reprehensible no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He was a force of nature, anarchy personified. You couldnt reason with him, threaten him, frighten him. You were never sure what he would do but that it would be the worst possible thing.

As others have said the fact he has no back story and appears out of nowhere just adds to his notoriety and makes him untouchable.

I didnt think much of batman or the action sequences though, I wish they'd take some cues from martial arts movies.

Edit: I just read how he scared Micheal Caine, proof of how good/bad he was?

 

[Belmit]

Film of the year. Too tired to add much more right now! There's a lot of points I agree with in this thread though.

 

[Nitefly]

Just back, what a superb film. One of the best I have seen in recent times, thats for sure.

My only gripe was that bullet fingerprint scene. I know that this is fantasy, but... meh.

5/5 from me. Not sure out of ten.

 

[sarutobi]

5/5 from me. Not sure out of ten.

um, not to be a maths nazi, but surely 5/5 = 10/10 ?

 

[ten80p]

7/10, I enjoyed DK and it's a decent pretty solid movie but despite this I feel it's overated and not deserving of all it's acolades, it's also 10-15 mins too long too.

It's def better than most hollywood blockbusters of recent times and certainly better than the likes of Spiderman, Hulk, Iron Man etc,etc but when I read comments like comparing it to classics for eg Godfather etc I just have to laugh tbh.

Seems to be one of those events where hype spirals out of control and it can do no wrong, If you take out Heath's version of the joker theres really nothing amazingly standout, new or different in the movie that should have the critics going as wild over it as they have.

That said, Heath's performance is very very good, I say performance as opposed to acting, his entrance scene is one of the most memorable scenes of a character in any film I can think of, his screen presence throughout is captivating and his portrayal of a deranged, wierdo, thats thoroughly unpredictable is as perfect as I can imagine.

I like Bale, but his role doesn't look difficult in all fairness, Caine and Freeman seem to be used for no other reason than to promote the fact that two iconic stars wanted to be a part of the movie to somehow add a touch of class or weight to the look of the film (I thought this about Caine in Begins too)

I thought the last act got a bit pretentious and the movie went a bit up its own a***, its batman lol

Would watch again, mainly for the joker, some truly memorable scenes with him and not just dialogue and action, his body language too

 

[laiman]

Just back from seeing it, really amazing film which I will defo see it again!
Some real nice twists and surprises (yeah the Bat Bike). Excellent performances from a quality cast with Ledger obviously on top. Really happy with the Jokers lack of back story and the way it was different every time he told it. I know nothing of the comics but got the feel he wasn't supposed to have one or perhaps didn't know himself. Some genuinely funny moments (whole cinema laughing) and nicely setup for the new Batmobile aswell. Some nice set pieces aswell; I'm thinking of the arctic truck definaitly bit of wow there. The CGI was pretty good but a litle Two Face looked a little dry?, general set etc was nice too.

As mentioned above some weird dialogue in the SWAT truck. Although it seemed a bit off I think it was possibly trying to sell the audience the bluff that the driver was a clown, had me thinking that for a bit.

Plot didn't always feel joined up and I'll be looking for a few answers when I see it again, sonar was a bit WTF where did that come from. Felt it would have been beter just localised as it was first revealed.
The batsuit didnt look right in a few places the gloves and the boots in particular looking cheap and tacky in a few shots. Certainly not like the hi-tech stuff its meant to be (and no I'm not confusing it with the copycats). City definaitly only felt like gotham during nightime scenes, I think theres probably a little to much glass architecture? Seemed ok in Begins but probably due to the narrows?? blah blah blah more nitpicking...

Anyway really happy with it and just picking holes in an excelent movie!

 

[Nitefly]

um, not to be a maths nazi, but surely 5/5 = 10/10 ?

I don't be dealling with any decimal points. Its worth a 9/10 for sure, there for it can be rounded up to 5/5.

But I'm not sure if its above 95/100. So I can't give it 10/10.

If that makes any sense. I'm not one for useless and meaningless decimal places. Its either that awesome, or it isn't.

 

[Deep]

Really happy with the Jokers lack of back story and the way it was different every time he told it. I know nothing of the comics but got the feel he wasn't supposed to have one or perhaps didn't know himself.

From what i remember in the comics you never find out about the Joker, and where he came from.
There are different versions but no "correct" version.

I'm sure the accepted version is that he was a failed stand up comic, whose wife and kid died (or left him) and then fell into a vat of acid when trying to make some money with some burglars.

The film is fairly true to the comics. Especially the bit at the end with the Joker telling the Batman that neither can kill each other. That is what happens in the comics.

Its been 24 hours since i saw it and i am still amazed by how good it was!