Posted on 07/18/2008 5:43:47 PM PDT by Bodhi1
(Don't worry. There are no spoilers in this review.)
I sat down scared that I had hyped this movie too much, that there was no way that it could be as good as I thought it was going to be. I was right. It was better.
The movie takes place after Batman has been operating for a while, and Harvey Dent, along with Jim Gordon have been cleaning up the streets. Things are going the law's way for once.
Then comes The Joker.
(Excerpt) Read more at allamericanblogger.com ...
Going to see it tonight at a 10:50 p.m. showing...then tomorrow afternoon. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this film and I can’t wait to see Ledger as The Joker.
You won’t be disappointed.
Bale’s the bet Batman yet. I am going to the movie to see him in action again.
This Movie is better than its Press, Ledger got the nod for the little guy and Bale is perfect as BATMAN. Best flick this year for me and best Superhero movie ever period. Pity the fool who plays Joker next.
Completely agree. I can’t think of a better super hero movie.
Superhero movies are generally really bad, but the buzz coming out of this one is impressive. I might check it out this weekend. Did you notice any political agendas?
There were some, but they were more conservative. Stuff like Alfred telling Bruce Wayne to endure the hardships, not to give in to terrorists, sometimes things are bad but you have to keep going on.
Nice!!
...and you have to do what is right, even if the world hates you.
Better than Adam West? I kind of doubt it.
Dirty Harry's Place
The Dark Knight may well be the most conservative movie since 300. There’s just no arguing that the Joker is al-Qaeda and Batman George W. Bush. In between are the citizens of Gotham who have a choice: They can cave to terror, turn on their protector and blame his aggressive crime fighting for the rise of the Joker, or they can understand that appeasing a criminal status quo in their city doesn’t convince the Joker’s of the world to see the light and enroll at community college.
Dark Knight is neither an action or comic book film. What it is, is a stunningly realized psychological thriller brilliantly using familiar genres to comment on the battle between good and evil currently being played out in faraway deserts, but more importantly, right here at home. It’s a film that fundamentally understands that the war will either be won or lost in the souls of those who inhabit our own Gothams.
Good to hear. Thanks for the info.
These psycho-spiritual-social forces resonate inside the frame and, of course, in the world outside. But there is little hint of the political correctness that mars parts of X-men plots. Here, Heath Ledger appears to be tapping personal suffering in portraying the Joker's anomie. As a result, a comic book story become truly operatic—and humanly tragic. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan and other Gen X directors can thank Mel Gibson for paving the way on how to turn action-movie eye candy into a purgative meditation for the soul.
My son love it.
I thought it was a tad too long.
But Ledger was great.
http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/reviews/darkknight.html
Spoilers alert. Steven Greydanus loved this movie. His take is that it realistically portrays the various moral imperatives that we are facing today, tomorrow and for always. And, as you say, this film is complicated.
I am definitely going to see this.
Frank
So, it was good?
There are too many Jungian’s pregnant with meaning these days. It results in too many unwanted archetypes, that must be raised by the collective unconscious.
Hehehe. Sweet dreams.
I saw it earlier tonight to a packed house.
Ledger was excellent. He played the part almost too well. Ledger wasn’t there, it was the Joker himself, evil personified.
Maybe the Joker took over the personal life of Ledger..who knows?
Christian Bale is Batman. Period. Excellent portrayal.
As for kids, yep, too dark for them to understand the underlying themes, and there were plenty of them.
Do what is right no matter the cost, even if it kills you. Sacrifice for what is good.
Now if only Sen. Leahy was as brave standing up to real terrorists as pretend ones!
The only one I noticed that could have come from an outside agenda is an issue that was raised regarding surveillance. They do raise moral issues with it, and I don't believe that either the way it was used or resolved has anything really to advocate in the outside world.
I didn’t notice so much of a political agenda. It was more like a pretty obvious parallel to where we are as a country right now.
Aside from the good vs. evil theme it was said during the movie that there are some criminals that you cannot talk to or reason with. Their motivation isn’t money or power but just to watch the world burn.
A few references to not giving in to evil (terrorism) and standing strong against evil.
The survellance scene was very relevant to our times now but I believed it showed that although it wasn’t something that they wanted to do it needed to be done. I think perhaps that was the most political moment for me. But they didn’t seem to take a side one way or another there. It just was what it was. Batman was shown a couple of times during the film listening in to conversations and noise to help locate a criminal.
The ending had both me and my husband thinking of Pres. Bush. It was all about how sometimes someone has to be the hidden hero. They take the slings and arrows and suffer them as a sacrifice so that good can prevail.
There was one part of the movie that I felt a “learning” moment was approaching. That was the ferry situation. I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone but I’m still not sure what message that was supposed to have sent. But there definately was supposed to be a message there.
Loved the movie. It was long but worth the sore back.
Bale is still great, as is the supporting cast. The gadgets are cool. But Ledger walks away with it. I don't want to go to near to spoilers, but Ledger in the "nurse's outfit" just made my skin crawl and the audience reaction seemed to be equally creeped out. And his "pencil trick"...wow.
Definitely the best superhero film ever made, and one of the best movies ever too. I'd rank it right up there with The Godfather, The Godfather II, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, Heat, Tombstone. Immediately made it onto my personal top 10 list - not sure what gets shoved out of that list, but something does. I need another viewing or two just to absorb it all. The film is relentless, it hits you in the guts with a sledgehammer for 2 1/2 hours. I highly recommend it to anyone.
No political agenda that was overtly discernable. There’s a bit of a squabble over some “technology” (don’t want to give spoilers) that Batman wants to use to find The Joker, but both sides are given kind of equal time. Other than that, I would take it actually as a more conservative film than liberal if I had to really be pushed one way or the other.
Political correctness mars X-Men? What could possibly be politically correct about a tale that is an overt gay allegory?
OMG, Iron Man kicked major butt!
I was very blessed to see Dark Knight in IMAX at 10am this morning.
I have to say that in 46 years of watching movies, I have never had a better experience (even better than when I saw the original Star Wars in 70mm).
The movie is unmatched. Understanding that it was shot with IMAX cameras, it filled the screen floor to ceiling and side to side. With total digital sound, it was hard to distinguish whether something (like someone clapping) was coming from the audience or the soundtrack. You literally felt this movie. The sub woofers made the sound rumble your seat. And not a little. It made people jump with every explosion.
Heath Ledger is genius at this role. How he got the tongue jutting and neck ticks that those treated with the Psych drug Haldol tend to have as a side effect, is beyond me. After the years I had working with Psych patients, I will tell you, his acting creeped me out from the first time i saw him. He is amazingly psychotic.
If anything, I saw more of a role that GWB had in Batman himself. See it and you'll know what I mean.
This movie is brilliant.
>> And his “pencil trick”...wow. <<
My entire theater gasped.
Are you serious? I thought Batman Begins was the greatest adaptation of a superhero movie in history.
I am so glad Nolan rebooted this franchise from the crappy 90s versions.
Did you see it yet, my FRiend?
It’s amazing....
I'm serious. You may find this new film will drop Batman Begins to number two.
No, I’ll see it this week during a matinee when the billion teenagers are doing something else.
I like Steven Greydanus’ movie reviews. He nailed a bunch I saw including “No Country for Old Men.” That is definitely a nihilistic movie; my nephew and I have gone back and forth on that but he is seeing my side now.
I liked the first in the Christian Bales’ series of Batman movies and plan to see this. The only other movie I MUST see is the next “X-File.” Sorry, I’m an addict of that show and a Gillian Anderson “groupie.”
8-0)
Frank, himself
Greydanus ranked this with “The Empire Stikes Back” and “Godfather II.” The latter means a LOT to me. That is a true, true classic movie.
Didn’t know you were a psych nurse at one time! Always learning...Maybe Ledger’s part consumed him...literally. Evil is not just a state of mind, if you know what I mean... Fr. Corapi just spoke about that on a re-run a few weeks back.
Now it is ranked the Number one movie by fans at iMDB.
Well, you could argue that, but with multiple traditional romantic story lines going on, it’s tough to make a convincing case for “allegory.”
Worth seeing once, but I’m not in a rush to see it again.
Darn—who slipped you the script for the sequel?
“I would take it actually as a more conservative film than liberal if I had to really be pushed one way or the other.”
You don’t have to push me.
Batman is symbolic in many ways for the US role in the war on terror.
I thought that greatly with Batman Begins.
Even more so for this one.
And I think some of it is intentional, though they could never admit.
Hollywood doesn’t make pro war on terror movies you know.
>>I MUST see is the next “X-File.” Sorry, I’m an addict of that show and a Gillian Anderson “groupie.”<<
OH my Goodness!
X-Files is my other must see. My nephew surprised me with season six and I was glued to the tv for hours reliving the show!
And I was an Office Manager for the Head Psych of a hospital in Cleveland. Spent a lot of time on 3 North-the Psych ward, delivering charts, finding my boss and his wife, the head nurse. I was truly amazed at Ledger’s performance and from all that I read, he did NOT spend time with Psych patients for this role. Finding those movements on his own is almost scary to me.
And see Dark Knight in IMAX if you can. It is actually the first commercial movie FILMED with IMAX cameras. Before this, movies were adapted for it. Visually, it will blow you away.
I make a standing offer to anyone in Hollywood - give me a budget of fifty million, give me total control of production, approval of a truly conservative script that I will find, final cut, and I'll deliver a guaranteed $300+ million return. Anybody in Hollywood know *why* Passion of the Christ made $600 million? Nah, didn't think so...
This is because Hollywood actually isn't a business, it's a propaganda factory for ultra-left-wing ideological pablum. What else justifies umpteen lunatic fringe left wing anti-war (Rendition, In The Valley of Elah, Lions For Lambs, etc) films being released over just the last couple of years, with each of them going down in flames at the box office, yet Hollywood keeps green lighting more of them? Answer: ideology trumps box office or business common sense when it comes to Hollywood.
Batman Begins is a better film than The Dark Knight. TDK is a very entertaining film, but BB remains the best of all Batman films IMO.
PLEASE DO NOT POST SPOILERS TO THE THREAD WITHOUT A WARNING.
I have asked the mod to remove your post. It’s not fair to those who have not seen this film.
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