The Dark Knight (SPOILERS)

[Thom_Serveaux]

Since someone will eventually bring it up... (or not)   Rather than worrying about the Star Wars Saga in 3-D, how about :

"TDK in 3-D!!!!"

[The Dark Knight]

The Dark Knight has 261.2M so far racking in 23.3M Friday and will be the highest movie this weekend considered that the estimation for Step Brothers and X-Files aren't even close to that.

[Variety of Cells]

Well, maybe I just don't think everyone feels the need to make a political statement in everything, and I don't feel the need to look for political statements in every movie I see.  Sometimes I just want to enjoy movies for what they are on the surface, and not think too hard about the "deeper meaning" of every line of dialogue or every image.  My point is that you can find anything you want to in a movie if you look hard enough.  Take of a movie like "Shaun of the Dead".  You could say it comments on how fickle people are, and how easily people abandon their moral standards when faced with adversity, and how stubbornly we revert to the status quo once an adverse situation is under control, or you could say it's just a really funny and all-around well-crafted zombie movie.  Which one is closer to how its creators intended it?  My money is that it's probably closer to the second one than the first.  But that's just my opinion.

Sure, if you look hard enough you can find parallels to politics in a lot of things.  However, you can also look at Animal Farm as a cute little story about talking pigs.  But if you do, you are missing a big part of the story.  

I've never heard your argument before.  And i'm pretty surprised actually.  I could possibly understand how you would be annoyed with people who try and make you think about a film if you just want to enjoy it... like if a teacher was making you write a paper about it.  The thing is... no one is forcing you to think about it.  And it seems to me that you are demanding less for your money.  It's like you are complaining that your watermelon has all this red squishy stuff beneath the pretty green skin.  It's hard for me to believe that you are actually asking Hollywood to put less into the films they make.  

The point is, I don't really care if you see the political parallels or not.  You don't have to.  Feel free to get as little out of the film as you like.  But why argue against their existence?  For a lot of people, it's a very cool thing that a big blockbuster is politically conscious in an unbiased way.

(Also, in your shaun of the dead example, I don't see how accepting both of your interpretations at the same time wouldn't make it a more timeless and important film.)

EDIT: I'm making it out as if Batman was some huge political allegory.  It's not, the political relevance is just a quick aside.  Sorry for making it out that way.

[Fortis]

1.  At the very beginning what was the Scarecrow and the fake Batmans doing?  Had they turned good?  Later we see the one fake batman is killed by the Joker and the tape reveals that he wore the batman costume to prove you didn't have to be afraid of scum.  Also Batman tells them that he doesn't need their help.  So has the scarecrow and his gang changed?  His whole inclusion in this film confused me.

I looked at the credits, and it said Scarecrow was Cillian Murphy, so it was at least the same actor.

2. Hopefully Robin doesn't show up at all, I find him lame IMO.

Christian Bale has been quoted in saying that he won't do any batmans that have Robin in them. I just can't find the quote.

[RoninFox]

1.  At the very beginning what was the Scarecrow and the fake Batmans doing?  Had they turned good?  Later we see the one fake batman is killed by the Joker and the tape reveals that he wore the batman costume to prove you didn't have to be afraid of scum.  Also Batman tells them that he doesn't need their help.  So has the scarecrow and his gang changed?  His whole inclusion in this film confused me.

I looked at the credits, and it said Scarecrow was Cillian Murphy, so it was at least the same actor.

Scarecrow was dealing with problems the dealers had with the drugs he was selling, the fake Batmen were "trying to help" Batman's cause by shooting people.  Since they didn't have the same morals when it came to crime fighting (don't f'ing try and kill people) Batman put them down with the rest of the criminals..

2. Hopefully Robin doesn't show up at all, I find him lame IMO.

Christian Bale has been quoted in saying that he won't do any batmans that have Robin in them. I just can't find the quote.

I believe what he said was if they did a movie with Robin they'll be doing it without Batman, because he'll have chained himself to a radiator in protest.  Something along those lines anyway.

[Doctor Who?]

Robin can be a good character when done right.

You just need to get people to stop thinking about Burt ward when you think of him the same way you had to get people to stop thinking about Adam West when they thought about Batman in the 80s.

For me Robin has always been one of the things that seperates batman from his Villains.

Most of Batman's villains work alone but Batman has friends who can help him out and tell him when he goes to far.

Also i think Nolan could do a really good version of Robins origion story.

Also the fact that in his younger year Bruce has to look after Robin gives Bruce something to do when he isn't Batman and gives him a good reason not to let Batman become his whole identity.

[OmegaR!]

It didn't sound to me like Fox proved or disproved Reese, actually.  I doubt that even if Fox had been quick on his feet and come up with a reasonable answer as to the missing funds, he still wouldn't have been able to convince Reese that Wayne wasn't Batman.  Fox simply questioned if Reese thought blackmailing somebody whom he thought was the infamous masked man who took out criminals his own way and didn't answer to any kinds of authority, was a very smart thing to do.  He neither confirmed nor denied Reese's claims; he just undermined him, which was probably the best possible way to deal with Reese.

After the Joker added Reese to the hit list, Bruce Wayne saves him, then there is eye contact and a nod between the characters,
reading between the lines, I think there is an understanding between the characters which puts to an end the Reese story arc...

That's my opinion anyway....

[RoninFox]

It didn't sound to me like Fox proved or disproved Reese, actually.  I doubt that even if Fox had been quick on his feet and come up with a reasonable answer as to the missing funds, he still wouldn't have been able to convince Reese that Wayne wasn't Batman.  Fox simply questioned if Reese thought blackmailing somebody whom he thought was the infamous masked man who took out criminals his own way and didn't answer to any kinds of authority, was a very smart thing to do.  He neither confirmed nor denied Reese's claims; he just undermined him, which was probably the best possible way to deal with Reese.

After the Joker added Reese to the hit list, Bruce Wayne saves him, then there is eye contact and a nod between the characters,
reading between the lines, I think there is an understanding between the characters which puts to an end the Reese story arc...

That's my opinion anyway....

That's what I read into it too.  As greedy as someone might be that encounter told Reese a few things.

1-Yeah, Bruce is Batman.
2-Bruce just risked his ass to save my life.
3-If I betray or blackmail him...he's still Batman and I don't think I want to piss him off.

So either in the interest of self-preservation or gratitude Reese is going to keep his mouth shut now.

[Doktor Sleepless]

Well...its time to add my take on this movie..........I love villains, I love deep and complex characters. Its what makes me like some movies other people don't like. Lady in the water for instance, I like it becuase of its characters.

But....they accomplished the impossible here. You see, there are special criteria for a villain to be good and interesting. Here are a few of the options...

misunderstood - used way too much, but can make for some good villains (Voldemort)

able to be redeemed - the villains that in spite of their evil...can still make the right choice (Darth Vader)

Godlike power - These sorts of villains usually don't have a view point and we don't usually see them, but we know how powerful they can be (Sauron)

Downright Evil - Have such hate and rage that they go after the hero relentlessly...these are usually pretty 2D characters (Ganon)


And then...we have the villain that Joker is. This kind of villain is never done...because its very hard to write a villain like the Joker. It is very hard to write a villain that has NO motivation, none whatsoever. Usually these villains are boring, because everyone needs to usually have the motivation. Unless the audience hates the villain, which makes things interesting, but again, this doesn't work if we hate the villain so much we can't stand to see them on screen.

But they accomplished every writers dream of the perfect villain. A force of nature, one that has no rules, no motivation, one that you hate so much, but is so interesting you crave to see more of it. A villain that makes a hero almost become a villain himself to defeat him.

Guys...I've been trying to write a villain like this in one of my books...and its extremely hard, I mean, incredibly hard. I don't think I have the skill to do it, but I was in awe at what the Nolan brothers were able to write, and what Heath Ledger was able to portray. I was giddy as a school boy to see the villain I've always wanted to create, on screen...(though after watching this...I realized that my villain just isn't as interesting as the Joker...oh well. I'll think of something)


Also, everybody's performances were great, especially Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. They were simply incredible. Gary Oldman and Micheal Caine are always fun to watch, and the soundtrack was also great. I love James Newton Howard, and even though I don't really like Hanz Zimmer...his contribution mixed well with James Newton Howards.

All in all, I give this movie a ten out of ten, for making a writer almost piss his pants in glee.

^^?

This the one, scamp?

Yes what about it? I told you that this review was me saying the writing was great, not saying exactly what i read in other movie reviews.

....

Yeah I think around this time when I told you how this was one boring film in my opinion you asked me for my favorites and I decided to give you the all time favorite. I did, and you never replied.

I'm going to go with I won't reply to that post because it's umm...well simply put "it's brilliant how you make a bad guy with no back story." Yeah though, oldboy. Check it out.

[Fortis]

Well...its time to add my take on this movie..........I love villains, I love deep and complex characters. Its what makes me like some movies other people don't like. Lady in the water for instance, I like it becuase of its characters.

But....they accomplished the impossible here. You see, there are special criteria for a villain to be good and interesting. Here are a few of the options...

misunderstood - used way too much, but can make for some good villains (Voldemort)

able to be redeemed - the villains that in spite of their evil...can still make the right choice (Darth Vader)

Godlike power - These sorts of villains usually don't have a view point and we don't usually see them, but we know how powerful they can be (Sauron)

Downright Evil - Have such hate and rage that they go after the hero relentlessly...these are usually pretty 2D characters (Ganon)


And then...we have the villain that Joker is. This kind of villain is never done...because its very hard to write a villain like the Joker. It is very hard to write a villain that has NO motivation, none whatsoever. Usually these villains are boring, because everyone needs to usually have the motivation. Unless the audience hates the villain, which makes things interesting, but again, this doesn't work if we hate the villain so much we can't stand to see them on screen.

But they accomplished every writers dream of the perfect villain. A force of nature, one that has no rules, no motivation, one that you hate so much, but is so interesting you crave to see more of it. A villain that makes a hero almost become a villain himself to defeat him.

Guys...I've been trying to write a villain like this in one of my books...and its extremely hard, I mean, incredibly hard. I don't think I have the skill to do it, but I was in awe at what the Nolan brothers were able to write, and what Heath Ledger was able to portray. I was giddy as a school boy to see the villain I've always wanted to create, on screen...(though after watching this...I realized that my villain just isn't as interesting as the Joker...oh well. I'll think of something)


Also, everybody's performances were great, especially Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. They were simply incredible. Gary Oldman and Micheal Caine are always fun to watch, and the soundtrack was also great. I love James Newton Howard, and even though I don't really like Hanz Zimmer...his contribution mixed well with James Newton Howards.

All in all, I give this movie a ten out of ten, for making a writer almost piss his pants in glee.

^^?

This the one, scamp?

Yes what about it? I told you that this review was me saying the writing was great, not saying exactly what i read in other movie reviews.

....

Yeah I think around this time when I told you how this was one boring film in my opinion you asked me for my favorites and I decided to give you the all time favorite. I did, and you never replied.

I'm going to go with I won't reply to that post because it's umm...well simply put "it's brilliant how you make a bad guy with no back story." Yeah though, oldboy. Check it out.

Sorry for not replying, I just didn't have anything to say, I couldn't fault you for your choices, and since I hadn't seen it I couldn't praise you for it either. But I have been meaning to check it out on netflix, and not just so that I can rag on you for naming it your favorite 

[Doktor Sleepless]

One of the most perfect movies ever made. I have reccomended it/sold to at least fifteen of my customers and have yet to recieve one complaint and nothing but praise.

[Hebs]

What is your deal?    ^

[Doctor Who?]

I think he has taken Issac's place as biggest jerk on the internet.


Next he is going to say Mike isn't a Christian because he made fun of Nester the long eared Donkey.

[Thorns of Crimson Death]

Let him talk his shit.  He's entitled to his own opinion on the film, no matter how much of a douche he may be about it. 

Bottom line, his negative view of the film takes nothing away from how awesome it was for me.

[Doctor Who?]

I don't mind him not liking the film.

I didn't think it was perfect.

What i mind is the way he acts like he is better then the rest of us because he doesn't like it and the way he acts like our liking it is a personal attack on him.