The Dark Knight (SPOILERS)

[BBQ Platypus]

I think it'll be a couple days yet before we start to see a slightly larger (but still fairly small) number of irate reviews from contrarians who are allergic to popularity of any kind.  (I'm not saying that all the people who say they don't like TDK fall into this category, I'm saying that they're out there).  I can see the IMDB forum posts now:

ZOMFG THE DARK NIHGT IS TEH WORST MOVIE EVAR!!!  if you havent seen it yet DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE!  anyone who says they like this movie are just sheeple who do whatevr they r told. just like the ppl who say the govermint didnt plan 911 its just like taht one storyi where the emperer is nekkid an stuf.  their just goin to c it cuz of that FAGGOT DRUG ADDICT BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN GUY is in it!

THIS MOVIE WAS BORING AND HARD TO UNDERSTAND AND I DIDNT LIKE IT AND THE JOKER HAD TO PUT ON MAKEUP!!!  EVRYON KNOWS THAT THE JOKER'S SKIN IS ALWAS BURNT LIKE TAHT!  and teh cionflip was totally RIPPED OFF from NCFOM!  nayone who likd this movie is a GAY FANBOY who needs to move out of their perents basemint and stop sucking Heath Ledger's dead penis lol!

I HATE THIS MOVIE!! I HATE TIHS MOVIE!! I HAET TIS MIOVE!!  I HAET IT!! I HATE IT!! I HEAT IT!!

HATE HATE HAT!!!!!

Pictured above: HATE HATE HAT!

[Chaos]

I think I finally understand how it feels to be Keanu Reeves. My mind has been completely blown out, I am an empty shell, and all I can think to say is... woah.

Let me say this upfront... I'm not going to use spoiler tags because I have so much to say, and honestly it's just kind of flowing out of me right now, as I think it. I will try not to say anything that is an actual spoiler, but if you haven't seen the movie yet, go ahead and skip my whole post for now and come back to it later if you're so inclined.

We just got back from the matinee showing here. We don't have a lot of movie goers in this town, so I didn't have to fight with people to get seats, but even still the theater was half full (where normally, on a day like this, a movie like this, and a time like this, there would be a dozen people in all 6 of the theaters total). So for us, it was a big crowd. And other than one group of 4 very annoying teenagers, it was a great crowd. And those 4 actually weren't very bad most of the time.

As far as the movie itself goes, this was the best superhero movie I have ever seen. This was the best action movie I have ever seen. This may even be the best MOVIE I have ever seen, period. It's not normally my style of movie, but it was so god damn good, it pretty much transcends all barriers. As most of you know, I'm a very cynical person and not easily impressed. I went into this excited, but expecting the hype to have been over the top. I was wrong. Dead wrong. All the hype, as crazy as it seemed, was NOT ENOUGH. This movie surpassed all of my expectations. The twists, the turns, the darkness, the imagery, the themes... all of it. Even when I thought I had some stuff figured out, I was either only partially right, or totally wrong. The Nolan Brothers kept you guessing every step of the way. It was quite a ride!

Some little things stood out to me as very powerful images... and I think I better go ahead and use a spoiler tag for this afterall.


When Gordon showed back up on his doorstep, and his wife slapped him, then immediately pulled him to her and hugged him, sobbing. Perfect. Flawless. So powerful.

Joker's "magic trick" gave me chills. I was fully expecting it, and it still creeped me out how quickly and  easily he did it. Also, when he "recruited" the gangsta's crew but said he only had one opening... that was pure Joker, and  brilliantly done.

When Dent had the guy captive and was trying to make him talk about the Joker, and he was screaming at Batman, his face was half in shadow and half in light. This was clearly intentional, because at that point he was standing right on the cusp of his choices. That image gave me goosebumps. He did a fantastic job in the role from start to finish.

Also re: Dent, the little bit of charred gore on his pillow when he was talking to Gordon... disgusting... awesome... perfect.


Like I said, the writers did a great job of keeping you guessing.


I honestly was expecting that the two bombs were going to be wired to their own ships, not the opposite ones. I never really believed that BOTH ships would end up not pressing the detonator. And when the convict threw the detonator out of the window, THAT was fucking awesome. Totally caught me by surprise.

I was also expecting the Joker to have given Batman the addresses backwards, so that whatever choice he made, he would end up arriving at the OTHER person's location... just to fuck with him, and plague him for his choices even more. As the Joker himself said in many of the comics... never give them what they expect. Sometimes playing it straight is the best way to fuck with someone all the more.

I CANNOT believe he really chose Dent over Rachel. I never saw that coming, not in a million years.


All of the actors turned in stellar performances on this one, too. I'm not going to talk about what a tragedy it is that Heath is gone, and all that, because we all know that already. I am not going to say that he IS the Joker, because we all know that already. We were there. We saw it. But what I really loved about his performance is that you could FEEL the madness driving him, behind everything he did. Every step of the way, you could hear the tick of insanity in his voice... when he was laughing, when he was scheming, when he was being rational, when he was losing control. He truly has no limits. The scariest part is when you can see that HE honestly believes that he is being rational and logical. Because in a way, he is... but it's skewed. Heath's performance was absolutely flawless. This was villain for all the ages. End of story.

Dent. Holy fucking shit! I avoided spoilers on pictures of his face like the plague, and I'm glad I did, because it totally blew my mind when the reveal finally happened. I knew going in that the scars were going to be make-up, prosthetic, and CGI combined, but the job they did was absolutely amazing. The ichor, the burns, the seared flesh, the fused cartiledge, the bone material, even the charred eyeball. It was fucking incredible... one of the best costume jobs I've ever seen. They even managed to make the suit he was wearing look like he'd really be roasted inside of it on one side. And his performance was incredible as well. His fire, his passion, his dedication... all of them folded in on him and made him even more dangerous and dark when he was finally driven from the light. He really captured the madness that rules Two-Face, his honest belief that random chance is the only true and fair justice. You could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice, that he was absolutely committed to letting the coin decide everything's fate. He really would have pulled the trigger if it had come scarred side up (every time).


It really is a shame that he ended up dead at the end, because I would have loved to see more of him in the next one. They fooled me there, too, because the few bits of story spoiler I read online made it seem like this movie was all about Two-Face's origin story, meaning that his arc would continue in the next movie - I never expected this to be his complete arc. Another great job of playing it close to the chest by the writers, cast, and crew.


I don't have much to say about Bale. He did a great job. Both Batman and Bruce felt even better than in the first movie. He's really coming into the role. But, oddly enough, I really don't feel that this movie was about Batman at all. This movie was about Dent's transformation, with Joker's minor role exploding out of its shell and becoming a real force of nature. Chaos... yeah, I can relate to that.

I want to see this movie again, right now. But I can't. It's just too powerful. I need to let it sit for a few weeks, THEN watch it again. It will probably impress me even more on second viewing, because even though I know what is going to happen, it's still going to freak me out and thrill me when it does.

When we left the theater, I wanted to walk up to people on the street. "Have you seen it yet? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU STANDING AROUND FOR??? Go... now! There is no excuse to be standing here. GO SEE IT!"

Also, I think I scared the shit out of my wife by giving her a dangerously accurate "Why so serious?" during the middle of a normal conversation 20 minutes after we left the theater (the only non-Batman-related conversation we've had for the past 2 hours). She doesn't scare easy, but she said it really creeped her out.

The only other thing I have to say is that there is nothing more sad and pathetic than a mean-spirited nerd who thinks hating something just because others like it makes them superior. There's a difference between genuinely disliking something, and choosing to hate it. I can tell the difference when I see it. And I pity those people.

[TheUnabeefer]

As I have stated on a few other forums around the net...  I have always said that the Joker, done correctly, should make Hannibal Lector seem like an all-around nice guy.

I used that example back in the late 80's as my argument as to why Burton/Nicholson got it WRONG (that and the whole weird "Joker killed Wayne's parents" thing...  what the hell was up with THAT?!) ...  and I have used that example over the past 19 years as to why we would NEVER see a "true" Joker on screen in American cinema.

Going into the theater, I figured they would tone it down, and Ledger's would be about as good as we could get, but not brutal enough to be considered the "true" Joker for what the character was actually created to be.  Boy was I wrong.

It was perfect... absolutely perfect... and that's why I still am not sure the general public is really ready for the real Joker that we got in this movie.

To quote (well, paraphrase) Jurassic Park... "You were too busy wondering if you COULD do it, you didn't stop to think if you SHOULD... and now you're SELLING it, and SELLING it..."

Oh, and just for the fun of it... a quote from Bob Kane and the other co-developers of Batman and the Joker characters....  "The Joker, done right, should make your stomach churn and make you uncomfortable in your skin."

Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar... Hell, he deserves to be resurrected and given an Oscar.

[Chaos]

I realize I just wrote like 4,000 words and spent a good 30 minutes typing it up, but I forgot to say something.

This movie LITERALLY had me on the edge of my seat. At two different parts for about a total of 30 minutes, I was leaning forward in my chair, hunched over trying to get closer to the screen, to be closer to the action. I couldn't help myself. That's never happened to me in my LIFE. I don't get personally invested in this kind of entertainment... I just don't.

TDK broke me out of my shell of aloofness. Bravo.

[Thorns of Crimson Death]

As I have stated on a few other forums around the net...  I have always said that the Joker, done correctly, should make Hannibal Lector seem like an all-around nice guy.

I used that example back in the late 80's as my argument as to why Burton/Nicholson got it WRONG (that and the whole weird "Joker killed Wayne's parents" thing...  what the hell was up with THAT?!) ...  and I have used that example over the past 19 years as to why we would NEVER see a "true" Joker on screen in American cinema.

Going into the theater, I figured they would tone it down, and Ledger's would be about as good as we could get, but not brutal enough to be considered the "true" Joker for what the character was actually created to be.  Boy was I wrong.

It was perfect... absolutely perfect... and that's why I still am not sure the general public is really ready for the real Joker that we got in this movie.

To quote (well, paraphrase) Jurassic Park... "You were too busy wondering if you COULD do it, you didn't stop to think if you SHOULD... and now you're SELLING it, and SELLING it..."

Oh, and just for the fun of it... a quote from Bob Kane and the other co-developers of Batman and the Joker characters....  "The Joker, done right, should make your stomach churn and make you uncomfortable in your skin."

Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar... Hell, he deserves to be resurrected and given an Oscar.

Exactly, he surpassed my expectations ten-fold and completely immersed himself in the role.

[RoninFox]

I was also expecting the Joker to have given Batman the addresses backwards, so that whatever choice he made, he would end up arriving at the OTHER person's location... just to fuck with him, and plague him for his choices even more. As the Joker himself said in many of the comics... never give them what they expect. Sometimes playing it straight is the best way to fuck with someone all the more.

I CANNOT believe he really chose Dent over Rachel. I never saw that coming, not in a million years.

Joker didn't give him the addresses backwards?  I could have sworn as Batman was leaving Gordon asked who he was going after and he said "Rachel"

[torgosPizza]

I was also expecting the Joker to have given Batman the addresses backwards, so that whatever choice he made, he would end up arriving at the OTHER person's location... just to fuck with him, and plague him for his choices even more. As the Joker himself said in many of the comics... never give them what they expect. Sometimes playing it straight is the best way to fuck with someone all the more.

I CANNOT believe he really chose Dent over Rachel. I never saw that coming, not in a million years.

Joker didn't give him the addresses backwards?  I could have sworn as Batman was leaving Gordon asked who he was going after and he said "Rachel"

You are correct. Bats went after (who he thought was) Rachel, the address that Joker said she'd be at. And when he got there it was Dent.

[RoninFox]

I win.

Seriously though, everything else you wrote is right on the money from where I sit Chaos

[Chaos]

Ah, okay then. It happened so fast it was hard to tell. And because the noise level was so high, too.

I thought that what had happened was that he sent Gordon to save her... like he was putting his trust in Gordon to "save the girl."

But technically, since I said I was expecting the switch, I win too.

[SmilinJackRoss]

I'll fall in line and echo most of the sentiments here that this is a great movie, Ledger was awesome, etc etc etc.  But there was one scene that I hated:
In the beginning when the guy in the witness stand pulls the gun on Dent....I thought that Dent was daydreaming that, and at any moment it would cut back to Dent sitting at the table before the trial had started, like he was daydreaming about being a hero.  The way it stands, the gun doesn't go off, and Dent punches him, grabs the gun and puts it down in front of the defendant.  The whole sequence was so laughable...but I guess you're allowed one bad scene in 2 1/2 hours.

A question:
The Joker gives two stories for the source of his scars (father-inflicted & self-inflicted).  After the second story, I assumed that he was lying and just keeps on making up stories about his scars, and that we don't really know how or why he got them...am I on the right track?

[BBQ Platypus]

A question:
The Joker gives two stories for the source of his scars (father-inflicted & self-inflicted).  After the second story, I assumed that he was lying and just keeps on making up stories about his scars, and that we don't really know how or why he got them...am I on the right track?

Right. This is highly consistent with the Joker in general.  I'm pretty sure that in the comics, his viewpoint on the matter is "If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!"

I think it was The Killing Joke where he said that, but I'm not sure.

[Sideswipe]

anyone else think Maggie Gyllenhaal is a goddamn ugly mutt?

[RoninFox]

A question:
The Joker gives two stories for the source of his scars (father-inflicted & self-inflicted).  After the second story, I assumed that he was lying and just keeps on making up stories about his scars, and that we don't really know how or why he got them...am I on the right track?

Right. This is highly consistent with the Joker in general.  I'm pretty sure that in the comics, his viewpoint on the matter is "If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!"

I think it was The Killing Joke where he said that, but I'm not sure.

Right and right.  Joker in the comics doesn't really have a full backstory.  Now and then a backstory's been told, but then like all things with the Joker we can't be sure we can trust it, and it gets contradicted over time.  And that quote is in fact from The Killing Joke, which I'm pretty sure was a major source of inspiration to both the Nolans and Ledger.

[Bob]

anyone else think Maggie Gyllenhaal is a goddamn ugly mutt?

I vote no

[RoninFox]

anyone else think Maggie Gyllenhaal is a goddamn ugly mutt?

I vote no

No from me too.

Its kind of strange, I almost forgot they had replaced Holmes for this role.  I just didn't think of it once while watching the movie.