The Dark Knight (MiceChat Reviews)

[<3WillTurner]

This movie was so incredible. It was amazing. I can't find a word to define how spectacular it was. Heath Ledger was a very, very talented actor. Very. The movie was so intense. I feel so horrible about Heath, I feel like he had to have had some of his own issues to be able to play that role SO.. amazingly. lol. I'm sad he couldn't be here to see the finished product either.

[GhostHost2]

I'm really, really surprised that the tagline for the 5 rating wasn't "It makes Batman Begins look like Spider Man 3." Because whether you enjoyed Spider Man 3 or hated it, I would still consider Spider Man 3 to be the weakest of the trilogy and one of the weaker BIG superhero movies to come out over the last couple of years.

IMO, Spider-man 3 is the worst comic book movie ever. Sure, Superman IV and Batman and Robin are horrendous God forsaken disasters, but at least they aren't as flat out boring as Spider-man 3. Peter Parker's dark side was the most poorly executed and cheesey plot in any comic book movie ever.

And after 6+hrs of sleep, I STILL loved it. Tho' Maggie Gylen-whatever was IMHO, the weakest actor -- should've been someone else playing that role. She just seemed out of place.

I'm glad she got the rule this time instead of Katie Holmes. Katie Holmes was okay in Batman Begins, but the material for Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight required a better actress than Katie Holmes.

I hated it.

You have no idea how much I wanted to love this movie. How much I love Batman. And there were aspects that I liked. Gary Oldman slipped twice and talked with an accent. The music was wonderful, much better than the first soundtrack. And Heath Ledger's acting was amazing.

But I hated the story.

Spoiler

It really was too dark for my taste. I didn't like how many people died in cold blood. I didn't like that 300+ people voted yes to blow up the other boat. I didn't like Rachel's character at all and I didn't like Batman's reaction when she died. I thought Harvey Dent was over the top. And two-face was too creepy for me to really watch. I didn't like that Gordon was willing to let Batman do whatever he wanted. I didn't like that the Joker storyline wasn't resolved. Now what are they going to do with it? And I hated the ending.

The Batman comic books are very dark. The closest the live action films have come to the feel of the comics before The Dark Knight was Batman Returns. Even then, Batman Returns had much more whimsy and fantasy than The Dark Knight.

But there was also a first.. ever kinda get hit on in the theater? I sat down, girl next to me goes "hi." It was kinda creepy actually in a safe way but she offered me popcorn and all that kind of stuff. Totally bizarre.

This is the kind of thing I wished happened to me.

Back on topic, I definately think Ledger and Eckhart were Oscar worthy. Those are quite possibly my favorite performances of the decade.

I'm going to see TDK again tomorrow.

TDK, along with Wall-E, don't just show the potential for the comic book and animated film genres, they also show the potential for commercial film making in general. Very often, commercial Hollywood films play to the lowest common denomenator, but TDK and Wall-E prove that commercial movies can be just as deep and complex as other types of films and still be extremely successful.

[<3WillTurner]

Back on topic, I definately think Ledger and Eckhart were Oscar worthy.

I agree with you on this. I sincerely wish Ledger was alive to be awarded for his amazing talent.

[Ginarella]

And after 6+hrs of sleep, I STILL loved it. Tho' Maggie Gylen-whatever was IMHO, the weakest actor -- should've been someone else playing that role. She just seemed out of place.

Just got back from seeing it tonight and my sentiments exactly on Maggie Gyllenhaal. I like her as an actress but she didn't fit the bill on the Batman screen, IMO. I kind of envisioned maybe Kate Beckinsdale in this Batman movie.

I really enjoyed the movie overall and the music made the scenes very intense.
Some parts I didn't understand that maybe a hardcore comic fan might answer. I seriously didn't get the whole Harvey two face role and why he backstabbed commissioner Gordon. Just didn't make sense to me.

Heath Ledger was great as the Joker. He had such a charismatic role and he will certainly be missed.



Liane- let me know your thoughts on the IMAX viewing.

[Maverick]

I liked Maggie as Rachel Dawes. I think Aaron deserves at least a best supporting actor nom, but who knows that may be a little far off.

Heath... what is there to say? If he doesn't get at least a best actor nom all hell is going to break loose on the academy!!!

[Rapunzel]

I was sitting between 4 teenage boys who were literally jumping up and down waiting for this film. Their excitement made me worry that I would be disappointed.. but it really is an amazing film.

And I have to admit Heath Ledger's Joker scared the crap out of me. I can watch Rambo, but for some reason when the Joker pulled out his knife I was freaked out. I think that had something to do with the unexpected pencil trick and the awkward response of everyone in the theatre. Knifes are more freaky than guns.

All the 6' 5" 250lbs 18-year-old football players I was with admitted they were scared too.

[GhostHost2]

Just got back from seeing it tonight and my sentiments exactly on Maggie Gyllenhaal. I like her as an actress but she didn't fit the bill on the Batman screen, IMO. I kind of envisioned maybe Kate Beckinsdale in this Batman movie.

I really enjoyed the movie overall and the music made the scenes very intense.
Some parts I didn't understand that maybe a hardcore comic fan might answer. I seriously didn't get the whole Harvey two face role and why he backstabbed commissioner Gordon. Just didn't make sense to me.

Heath Ledger was great as the Joker. He had such a charismatic role and he will certainly be missed.



Liane- let me know your thoughts on the IMAX viewing.

You need SPOILER tags in your post.

Spoiler

Harvey Dent blamed Commissioner Gordon for what happened to him, because there were potentially bad cops in his unit, these bad cops (or at least some of them) are the ones that kidnap Dent and Dawes

The reason Maggie Gyllenhal was chosen for this film, is likely because Nolan wanted a respected actress instead of mere eye candy. I don't think her performance was as outstanding as most of the other leads, but she did a respectable job. Her acting was light years ahead of Kirsten Dunst in the Spider-man trilogy.

Kate Beckinsale isn't a bad actress, but she isn't exactly highly respected by critics.

[GhostHost2]

All the 6' 5" 250lbs 18-year-old football players I was with admitted they were scared too.

I found the film to be very tense, but I didn't find it nearly as scary as alot of people seem to have found it. That being said, I am very used to violence and scariness. I'm an enthusiast of Japanese movies, and I have seen things that wouldn't dare be shown in an American neighborhood multiplex. You know things, like the uncut version of Ichi the Killer.

[Rex Dopey24]

I was sitting between 4 teenage boys who were literally jumping up and down waiting for this film. Their excitement made me worry that I would be disappointed.. but it really is an amazing film.

And I have to admit Heath Ledger's Joker scared the crap out of me. I can watch Rambo, but for some reason when the Joker pulled out his knife I was freaked out. I think that had something to do with the unexpected pencil trick and the awkward response of everyone in the theatre. Knifes are more freaky than guns.

All the 6' 5" 250lbs 18-year-old football players I was with admitted they were scared too.

Man the joker was really creepy when he came out with his knife.

[The Dark Lady]

Great cinema is still alive and strong. The Dark Knight gives me new hope for our visual storytellers.

I find it amusing that some people are complaining that a movie about Batman was too "dark." Perhaps the Joel Schumacher technicolor dream-spectrum of humor and color was more what they were expecting? To put it bluntly: if you can't handle the dark, then the Dark Knight just isn't your superhero. Doesn't that make sense?

Ledger. Was. Brilliant. His Joker was everything I was hoping for, and even more. Psycho killer clowns really do it for me, but he brought it to a whole new level. He freaked me out, he attracted me, he repulsed me, he made me fall in love with him, and he did it all while making me laugh uproariously.

Bale was excellent, as always. The role definitely could've been given more opportunities for him to really compete with Ledger's performance, but that's just the way it always is. Villains are naturally more interesting than the heroes they star next to, and that's just the way of things. Couldn't ask for a better Batman than Bale, though.

Eckhart really blew me away. I never liked that guy as an actor before, and I was expecting to hate him in this role, but he really did ****ing floor me as Two Face. I wasn't expecting him to be that damn good, but he was. He actually made me fall in love with his character, and as a result, I have a newfound respect for him as an actor. I really hope his character makes a return somehow, because I want MOAR.

I hate Rachel Dawes' character, and I love Maggie Gyllenhaal as an actress, so what I got from her in this movie was good enough for me! No complaints about her performance at all, just the crappy character she had to play in the first place.

Everyone else was awesome. Caine, Freeman, Oldman -- they were all perfect. Love 'em.

I'll definitely be seeing this movie again soon.

Edit: full review went in my blog. Didn't think anyone would wanna read through the whole thing here.

[Maverick]

Great cinema is still alive and strong. The Dark Knight gives me new hope for our visual storytellers.

I realized this just by being in a theater full of people that were just so excited for this movie, and just the way the theater reacted. Applause and cheering when Gordon came back was just chilling.

[Rex Dopey24]

I realized this just by being in a theater full of people that were just so excited for this movie, and just the way the theater reacted. Applause and cheering when Gordon came back was just chilling.

I know everyone in the theater applauded for gordon and everyone was all relief. it was chilling.

[lazyboy97O]

Spoiler

I was really hoping for a movie with Two-Face as the main villain, but I'll settle for this

.

Spoiler

I do not think that is entirely out of the question. The memorial service and destruction of the Bat Signal were sort of like visualizations for what Batman was saying would and has to happen.

Spoiler

It really was too dark for my taste. I didn't like how many people died in cold blood...I didn't like that the Joker storyline wasn't resolved. Now what are they going to do with it? And I hated the ending.

That is the whole point behind the Joker. No motive. No resolution. Even his past is multiple choice. The Joker is Batman's great, constant foe. Neither one kills the other in an endless game of cat and mouse.

[Coheteboy]

Ok, this movie lived up to everything I wanted it to be. I really loved it. That being said, I have a few things I didn't like.

1. Christian Bale's "Batman Voice". It seems like he really overdid it this movie. I could hardly tell what he was saying a lot of the time.

2. Maggie Gyllenhaal. I really wanted to like her. I actually wanted to prefer her over Katie Holmes. But to be quite honest, she really didn't deliver for me. Not horrible, but not great.

3. I'm torn about the length. I didn't want it to end but it seemed a bit long. I realize that makes NO sense.

That being said, spoilers begin here. I don't want to use spoiler tags, so stop reading if that's a problem.






I didn't realize how big of a role Two-Face would play in the film. I thought it was going to be similar to the ending of Batman Begins. Harvey gets disfigured,Joker gets locked up or killed, then Two Face kills a few people Gordon tells Batman "Hey, better get this guy!" Bam, end of movie. But no, if the first half of the movie belongs to Joker, then Two-Face at least gets the second half. I was really hoping for a movie with Two-Face as the main villain, but I'll settle for this. Aaron Eckhart in this movie will probably be one of the most underrated performances of the year, completely over shadowed by Ledger's Joker.

I'll go on record right now and say that I did not like the first Batman movie. It was too corny and Nicholson's Joker, was seriously very unimpressive. It was just him in make up, being himself.

Ledger plays it the way it should be played and its very well done. However, I'd be very surprised if this whole Oscar campaign goes through. Yeah, it was good. But not Oscar worthy.

But yeah, I voted 5 stars, two thumbs up, whatever. Great film that needs to be seen on the big screen.

Your top 3 issues were exactly mine as well. It was actually annoying to hear the Batman voice. A whisper quiet voice would have been more convincing most of the time.

Maggie played the part well... but hehe, she's not as attractive as she should be to be so wanted by both Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent.

I'm also not a big fan of the older Batman films.

[krystledm]

2 complaints

Bales "scary" voice was annoying

And why are bad dogs always Rottweilers? My Rottie is a sweetie pie....

but anyway, great great movie. i'mgonna wait a few days to really discuss so I don't cause a spoiler.


And Tui, that "this is so long...but i don't want it to end" is not so weird or uncommon...

I am reminded o Return of the King and it's multiple endings. At the midnight showing it was 3:?? am as we watched the first ending. at this point, we were exhausted, and drained and it was so long, but i was still saying, "no! don't be over!" everytime it faded to black.

I do have one thing i'm sure to forget...

Spoiler

I really, REALLY liked the good/bad boat thing. I love that the normal, good people would kill and the people who havn't made the best choices in life wouldn't. I think that little bit bthere reflected the whole theme of Two face. No one is all bad or all good. It also proved Jokers statement on peoples true colors coming out when they are about to die.