The Dark Knight

Spoiler alert!

SVreX wrote: I don't think Batman was prepared for anything at all. The whole point was that the Joker was inside his head, and that he was always one step ahead. It was definitely one of the Joker's sick jokes, but the Joker was definitely the one in control.

Good interpretation - on the other hand, Batman was probably aware that his only two choices were to go to one of the two addresses the Joker gave and try to do whatever he could. He wasn't in control of the situation very much, but I can't see what he could have done to take back control.

On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure what outcome the Joker had in mind. His claim he never had a plan was definitely a lie, but given the timing of the explosions, I wonder if he had meant to kill Batman, Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Rachael Dawes at the same time. While it could have been that he'd rigged it so that whoever wasn't rescued first would automatically be blown up, it looked like they'd meant to show both explosions happening at the same time when the timer hit zero.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think about it this way. Have you ever been in love? I think the Joker had a real good idea from when he first met the bat and Rachael was saved then. So he went with, swapped the adresses. Batman unknowing went ahead and went to what he was paying attention to. The woman that he loved. Then the lack of reaction was that there was no time. His only hope was that the police were going to be there to save Rachael.

If I was some sort of maniachal mastermind that messed with peoples heads and wanted them to do certain things, its what I would do..... eerrr.........

I'm pretty sure B-man shouted "NOOOOOO" in that annoying, fake "deep" voice he kept using when he saw Dent and not Rachel. But its not like he's just gonna leave Dent there and go looking for Rach.

BTW, finally saw this last night on IMAX. I really hope they keep shooting movies like this on IMAX, I'll go see every one. For the price premium, I very much enjoy the enhanced experience and I like getting to preselect my seats so I don't have to show up an hour early.

I loved the Joker's line about a dog chasing cars. And the hospital scene/exit was superb.

Hmm, if they are gonna recast the Joker, my vote goes for Willem Dafoe.

I thought he was quite annoying as the Green Goblin in Spidey 3....

Frankly after Heath's performance I think the third movie needs to move in another villian-direction and give the Joker a rest for a bit; I'm afraid anyone else would be a let down.

Well the whole Spiderman movie franchise was less rooted in realism than this new Batman one. Plus as a bonus, Dafoe has already worked with Bale in the super awesome American Psycho.

super awesome American Psycho.

+1. I need to buy that movie.

I just hope they leave it as the jokers locked up. Bring in BANE!

Saw it last night. I spent my youth watching Adam West using his Bat-gadgets and I don't think I've ever read a Batman comic book other than the pulpy stuff. I don't even know who this "Bane" person is.

I do miss the theme song. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BAT MAN!

But other than that, this was a great movie. The Joker was just totally unhinged, and knew it. Well played - it wasn't an actor playing a "crazy" (ie, wacky) guy, it was a complete loon up there with all the unpredictability. Gyllenthall (sp?) did a great job as Rachel as well, a huge step ahead of Katie Holmes. She might not be the babe of the week to some people, but she's got some acting chops. Kinda like Maura Tierney. Bruce Wayne is meant to be a spoiled rich kid, so I think Bale plays him well. I don't like the gravelley Batman voice and I thought the Batcycle was not plausible at all.

Long movie, no kidding. I seriously expected Two-face to be a sequel, but it all wrapped up really well.

Spoiler Ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't read this post if you haven't seen the movie yet.

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Is Two-Face dead, or just Harvey Dent.

They had a memorial for Dent, and they showed Two-Face lying on the ground, but I got the impression that he's still alive, and then Gordon and Batman went on about how if the public saw what Dent had become, that would undo all the good he has worked for.

It just seems like Two-Face was too major a character in the Animated Series (I never got into the comics), so I was shocked when I saw that he was "dead"

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^Not to mention they left the coin un-screwed-up side up.

Anyone else see that Johnny Depp signed on for the third one?

Oh yeah... i called it.

Good question, but if he lived through that they'd have to discretely lock him in an asylum somewhere. I doubt he'll be around for the sequel.

Captainzib, I was also left with that question. As for Bane(Bain?) in the comics, he ended up breaking Batmans back and leaving him parelized

[SEMI-SPOILER]

Going on the Joker's complete craziness... although my favorite moment with him was the hospital scene. "Hiiiiii..." {shiver}, My second favorite was shortly after the pencil, where the crime boss accuses him of being crazy. His muttering of "I'm not... I'm not crazy..." there was just something about that.

[/SEMI-SPOILER]

Duke wrote:

2) If you enjoyed the movie, you owe it to yourself to find your local comics store and buy the graphic novel compilation of Frank Miller's original "Batman: The Dark Knight" 4-part-series from ~1987. Don't worry, lots of other people will be too, and the comics guys won't bite you. Yes, this is the same Frank Miller that did Sin City - and pick that up while you're at it.

For those who didn't try to buy these comics when it was "first rumored" they were coming out. I was 15 at the time. You had to send in money to reserve a copy. I waited almost 4 months I think to get mine. I was super peeved since I also got the 2nd edition where we were promised the 1st edition. Wonder how much my Dark Knight comics are worth now after this movie

Salanis wrote: [SEMI-SPOILER] Going on the Joker's complete craziness... although my favorite moment with him was the hospital scene. "Hiiiiii..." {shiver}, My second favorite was shortly after the pencil, where the crime boss accuses him of being crazy. His muttering of "I'm not... I'm not crazy..." there was just something about that. [/SEMI-SPOILER]

"Nooo..... No. I'm not."

Urggggg... eeekkkk....

i felt my balls try to migrate back up.

Man, I guess I just don't get it. While I do think Ledger had some great moments, (see earlier post,) I just didn't think the performance was all that spectacular. To put it into perspective, when Danny Devito played the penguin, I completely forgot that it was Devito in a penguin suit. I was aware that it was Ledger behind the makeup throughout the movie. The majority of his scenes just felt sort of "forced." Maybe it's just because the guy has always seemed like an "over-actor" to me. This is the only movie I've seen him in where he was tolerable.

The only reason i knew it was ledger was because i had heard previously that he was playing it.

If i blocked that out of my head, i would have had no clue it was him. Didn't act like him, didn't sound like him, didn't look like him.

I hope that was mostly sarcastic. Heath Ledger "over acts"? I'm not sure I've ever seen Heath Ledger play "Heath Ledger". Maybe in some of his earlier comedies (10 Things I Hate About You; Knight's Tale). But his latest characters are all distinct and not him.

Danny Devito played "Danny Devito, with slimy teeth". Just like he always plays "Danny Devito".

I was thinking about how The Joker did not seem like a totally consistent character in all parts of the movie. Which made it all the scarier. The Joker shouldn't keep the same personality.

Other Joker moment that scared me (not a spoiler) was him sitting in the jail cell clapping for Gordon. You couldn't tell to what degree he was mocking him or not.

In my mind, there was the question of whether the Joker really is insane or not, or has actively chosen to abandon all rules. About the only thing consistent about him was that he was a sado-masochist.