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Review of "The Dark Knight"
***MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!!*** DON'T READ ANY MORE! The filmmakers have a very, very tough decision ahead of them in regards to what to do with The Joker, clearly envisioned as a multi-film villain (when we last see him, the cops have caught him for the umpteenth time but we have no idea what they do with him). Now that Ledger is no longer with us, this is a big, big problem, particularly given that the other villain introduced in the film (Two Face) dies at the end and given that The Joker is responsible for the death of Wayne's true love, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal ... and damn if she wasn't good, but is it wrong to have wished that it was Katie Holmes getting blown up instead?). At this point there's really nowhere for them to go with all of the setup from this film ... Batman wants revenge on The Joker for taking down Dent and killing Rachel, but without Ledger they'd be insane to have the character appear in another film. Seriously, NOT a good idea. Sure, Scarecrow is still running around but he's a punk compared to The Joker. If they want to preserve the integrity of the character, they're going to have to retire him and bring in a new villain, which means starting from scratch. True, if anyone can do it, it's these guys. But it is a shame that the momentum from this installment will be lost. Agreed? Yes? No? Submitted by on Wed, 2008-07-16 22:03.  Wha?Submitted by
Tess (282 points) (65 posts) on Sun, 2008-07-20 01:50.Christian Bale was fantastic in The Prestige, I thought. And as far as I'm concerned, he should just play Batman for the rest of his life, even if his bat-voice is a little ridiculous. Eh, to each his own. Still, I thought the movie and, in particular, the acting all round was excellent. But can someone explain to me why on earth Cillian Murphy (love of my movie life) was there and apparently trying to help Batman? Maybe I'm wrong, it is possible I totally misread the situation - my one complaint about this movie was that so much happened so fast that I got a little confused from time to time.
 "Look, I'm an Actor!"Submitted by
afhickman (3720 points) (771 posts) on Sun, 2008-07-20 06:18.afhickman "It takes a village (to make Village People)" Christian Bale was a revelation in "American Psycho." Maybe it was the accent. I "met" him one night in Leicester Square at the Premiere of "I'm Not There." It had been rumored that Heath Ledger might appear. Bale was very gracious, and he signed a slew of autographs--I didn't ask--but the best part of the evening was that he brought along his costar Ben Whishaw, whom I hadn't heard of at the time but who plays Sebastian in the remake of "Brideshead." Both actors stayed for the Q & A with director Todd Haynes. There are certain actors I just don't "get." Likeable as he is, Steve Martin ruins any film he's in for me. The same goes for Mark Wahlberg. I think the problem is, I can see them thinking on screen. They never seem to make a spontaneous move. I thought the same thing about Bale when I saw him in "Velvet Goldmine." He just barely registered as one of the six Bob Dylans in "I'm Not There," yet I have read at least one critic who thinks he was the best of the lot. For my money, the best acting in that movie was turned in by the ever-reliable Bruce Greenwood as a reporter who haunted the Cate Blanchett Dylan. Blanchett and Heath were the best Dylans. By the way, I saw "3:10 to Yuma" and thought that Bale seemed too young for his part. Of course, he didn't stand a chance up against the showier role played by Russell Crowe. I haven't seen the first Bale Batman, and I will see the second one only with great reluctance, in honor of Heath's last performance. Will the real Bob Dylan please sign in:
And an actor I can't get enough of, Bruce Greenwood:
 Terrific contrastSubmitted by
Joseph (7150 points) (1457 posts) on Sun, 2008-07-20 12:33.Bruce Greenwood is one of the best and, sadly, unheralded actors out there today; watching him act--subtly, without artiface and "technique"--is a dazzling experience. Conversely, Bale is the most joyless actor in film today: his entire approach for every role is to not poop for months, and thus look constipated, mistaking this for (said with your most sonorous tone) "GREAT ACTING!"  Spot-on description of Christian BaleSubmitted by
 Being a "lead" actor in a movie looks so easy--"it's CHARACTER acting that's hard!"--until you see someone, like Christian Bale, do it badly. Then it becomes really, really labored and self-conscious and leaden.
Read my books! Explore "Brent's Brain" at http://www.brenthartinger.com Average (1 vote):  Looking Forward To Seeing ItSubmitted by
Booker Guy (149 points) (24 posts) on Mon, 2008-07-21 13:11.Will see it sometime this week. Check out Internet Movie Database Top 250 and see The Dark Knight at #1 with an average rating of 9.5 out of 10, followed by The Godfather (had been #1 through the entire history of IMDb) and The Shawshank Redemption. (avg. 9.1)
2 More Massively Overrated MovesSubmitted by
Joseph (7150 points) (1457 posts) on Mon, 2008-07-21 18:10.I've never understood the adoration for The Godfather--a very good film, but not the greatest film ever, as it's claimed to be. And The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most ridiculously silly films ever made. Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/  Liked Batman, buuut...Submitted by
Dane Hill (804 points) (190 posts) on Mon, 2008-07-21 14:18.
it fell into the same ol' Batman movie trap. Why have two villains??? This movie should have been solely between the Joker and Batman. No need for Two-Face and Dent. Not if you pull together a true Batman/Joker tale. I would have loved to have just seen J & B pulling & tugging & one-upping & angsting against one another for 2 hours. I wanted more of a trigger that sets off the Joker against Batman. Instead, all we got was that he wants to just pull off some fun hijinx for the local hoods.  Saw it on SundaySubmitted by
JBE (2667 points) (534 posts) on Tue, 2008-07-22 05:13.and thought it was probably the best Hollywood movie I have seen this year (not a big accomplishment I know). It was the most adult "super-hero" movie I have ever seen, and I have seen quite a few because my partner loves them (love does come at a price). Heath Ledger's performance was chilling, probably the best portrayal of a murdering pyschopath since Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of The Lambs" (although Jude Law in "Road to Perdition" was pretty good to). Cheers JBE |
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Impeccable.
I can't even begin to tell you how much I agree with this. Usually when watching a film based on a graphic novel, you don't expect to come out thinking there was Oscar worthy performances. I went to the midnight showing and every single time the Joker was onscreen there was silence. In a theater you're supposed to have silence, but not the case where I was. Only when he was onscreen did we experience that. And as soon as the scene ended, you could hear soo many people whispering about how creepy and amazing he was as the Joker.
After Heath did Brokeback, there were so many naive people saying that he would never be known other than the "gay cowboy" role. He was so heartbreaking, real, brutally honest and gritty in that film, so I agreed that it would be hard to make another performance as memorable. He was flawless in the role and he was flawless in this one. Kudos.Kudos.Kudos. haha, I'm done, I sound like such a dweeb. It would be an insult not to have him nominated at the very least.
The Same Coin
The movie was excellent,
The movie was excellent, Heath Ledger was amazing, flawless as the Joker. It was finally the Joker brought to life in the true sprit of the comic book character. I loved it. It is sad that there really isn't anywhere to go from here.
I'm also disapointed they didn't bring Harley Quinn in, another thing they probably couldn't do anything with because now sequels are uncertain to say the least. However, I would have loved to see a nod to that character. For all that can be said about Harley Quinn being a pretty misogynistic character that panders to fanboys, she's hot and completely submissive, which isn't a representation of women that I agree with, I can't help loving the dynamic between Harley and the Joker. Its so messed up and wrong, but its so enterianing. I wanted that on screen or at least a nod. Like at the end they could have had the Joker in a cell and have her walk in, "I'm Dr. Quinzel" while wearing a name tag that said her full name. The joker look ups at her and says something like "can I call you Harley?" I just wanted that moment.
Why So Serious?
I think storytelling wise it was brills. For someone who hadn't known the story, when Harvey plays with the coin, it's a very good introduction to the character. And from White Knight to the ending Dark Knight, how neat is that.
Heath Ledger gave me a couple of chills but that's it. I think I might have gone to see the movie with an unrealistic expectation. I thought he would be more eerie. But disturbing, he is, very much.
On every scale, I have to agree this could very well be the best of all superhero movies. The development and compactness of storylines, struggles between the very thin line between good and evil, is all one could expect. And maybe more. Perhaps that's why I didn't feel satisfied because there's this hole in me that wants to be filled (mind the pun) with more.
Are y'all on crack or something?
I just got back from seeing The Dark Knight. It could very well be the most life-suckingly awful 2 and 1/2 hours I have ever spent in a movie theater. It was like watching a mean-spirited child plunk the same key on a piano over and over and over and over.... For all the praise for Ledger--aside from the great views of Chicago, the only somewhat good thing about the film--why hasn't anybody voiced the obvious: the reliably constipated Christian Bale deserves a Razzie for Worst Actor...?
Christian Bale almost always sucks
Read my books! Explore "Brent's Brain" at http://www.brenthartinger.com Average (1 vote):