The Dark Knight

**mitchables** · 07-16-2008, 12:00 AM

Just got back from seeing this. I loved it so much I think I might cry. Gonna go see it again tomorrow, in fact. THIS POST WILL CONTAIN MANY SPOILERS, so they're gonna be in black. No fancy code for me.

I'll cut right to the chase: Heath Ledger was fantastic. I wasn't creeped out seeing him up there, but I was deeply saddened. Ledger's Joker is sadistic, psychopathic, cold, terrifying and hilarious. He was brilliant. You could really feel the Killing Joke influence throughout the movie, from the many backstories of the Joker (which I loved, by the way) to his overall "everybody is capable of becoming a madman - all they need is one really bad day" theory, though in the film he obviously applies it to Harvey Dent rather than Gordon. The character was just done really well - hell, he was even sympathetic, for small, minute flashes of humanity before he'd flash a twisted smile or start laughing - nay, cackling - or blow something up and remind you this is one dangerous motherfucker.

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman all recaptured their form from Begins seamlessly. Plus, a nice cameo from the good Dr. Crane made the film really feel like a continuation of the story from the first - not just a sequel made for money, but made because there's more to tell. I like the airtime they give to Lucius Fox in this series. Freeman has done an excellent job, but he isn't one of the most lovable old people on film for no good reason.

Aaron Eckhardt was an excellent addition as Harvey Dent. Smooth-talking, successful, but prone to flashes of rage Harvey Dent. The development of the Harvey character and consequent transformation into Two-Face is one of the tragic elements of the character that was so sorely, SORELY missing from Tommy Lee Jones' hamfisted attempt a decade ago, so it's nice to see him done justice (no pun intended). Definite influences from TAS in terms of the set-up and eventual appearance of the character, minus the ongoing psychological B-story. Anyway, it was done really well.

There was only one scene that I had a gripe with. At Bruce's fundraiser for Harvey, the Joker shows up and causes some mayhem and throws Rachel out the window, who Batman dives after to save. The scene effectively finishes with Batman and Rachel having survived a massive fall, Harvey locked in a closet somewhere and the Joker in a penthouse full of scared people. But... the scene never resolves itself? Am I to believe that the Joker just walked out of there and let everyone go? Or that Harvey just made his way out of the closet? And even if he did, why wasn't he confused as to why Bruce assaulted him from behind to shove him in there in the first place? I dunno. There was just something... unfinished... about that scene, but before anyone can really reflect on it, the film keeps going and we chalk it up to suspension of disbelief. BUT, that is a small gripe for a near three-hour long film that otherwise I find very hard to find major fault with.

The story was told well, there were nice twists and turns along the way, excellent special effects, one of the most fitting and engaging scores that I've heard for a superhero flick, and the film was wrapped up in a way that dealt with whatever had been brought forth in the film, but left it nice and open for the next chapter in the saga.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

07-16-2008, 12:00 AM	#11
mitchables bonjour Posts: 27,814	Just got back from seeing this. I loved it so much I think I might cry. Gonna go see it again tomorrow, in fact. THIS POST WILL CONTAIN MANY SPOILERS, so they're gonna be in black. No fancy code for me. I'll cut right to the chase: Heath Ledger was fantastic. I wasn't creeped out seeing him up there, but I was deeply saddened. Ledger's Joker is sadistic, psychopathic, cold, terrifying and hilarious. He was brilliant. You could really feel the Killing Joke influence throughout the movie, from the many backstories of the Joker (which I loved, by the way) to his overall "everybody is capable of becoming a madman - all they need is one really bad day" theory, though in the film he obviously applies it to Harvey Dent rather than Gordon. The character was just done really well - hell, he was even sympathetic, for small, minute flashes of humanity before he'd flash a twisted smile or start laughing - nay, cackling - or blow something up and remind you this is one dangerous motherfucker. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman all recaptured their form from Begins seamlessly. Plus, a nice cameo from the good Dr. Crane made the film really feel like a continuation of the story from the first - not just a sequel made for money, but made because there's more to tell. I like the airtime they give to Lucius Fox in this series. Freeman has done an excellent job, but he isn't one of the most lovable old people on film for no good reason. Aaron Eckhardt was an excellent addition as Harvey Dent. Smooth-talking, successful, but prone to flashes of rage Harvey Dent. The development of the Harvey character and consequent transformation into Two-Face is one of the tragic elements of the character that was so sorely, SORELY missing from Tommy Lee Jones' hamfisted attempt a decade ago, so it's nice to see him done justice (no pun intended). Definite influences from TAS in terms of the set-up and eventual appearance of the character, minus the ongoing psychological B-story. Anyway, it was done really well. There was only one scene that I had a gripe with. At Bruce's fundraiser for Harvey, the Joker shows up and causes some mayhem and throws Rachel out the window, who Batman dives after to save. The scene effectively finishes with Batman and Rachel having survived a massive fall, Harvey locked in a closet somewhere and the Joker in a penthouse full of scared people. But... the scene never resolves itself? Am I to believe that the Joker just walked out of there and let everyone go? Or that Harvey just made his way out of the closet? And even if he did, why wasn't he confused as to why Bruce assaulted him from behind to shove him in there in the first place? I dunno. There was just something... unfinished... about that scene, but before anyone can really reflect on it, the film keeps going and we chalk it up to suspension of disbelief. BUT, that is a small gripe for a near three-hour long film that otherwise I find very hard to find major fault with. The story was told well, there were nice twists and turns along the way, excellent special effects, one of the most fitting and engaging scores that I've heard for a superhero flick, and the film was wrapped up in a way that dealt with whatever had been brought forth in the film, but left it nice and open for the next chapter in the saga. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.