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Jim's Movie Reviews: The Dark Knight

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Post by outtamycrease Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:25 pm

First off, let me welcome you to this little website John and I came up with to pass the time and revel in all of our free time and wasted youth. Feel free to join in and add your opinion, criticize ours, whatever. Now, to get things rolling, I have a review for The Dark Knight. I'll do my best to avoid any spoilers.

I saw this on opening night, and right off the bat, despite some troubles getting into the theater, I knew I was in for a good time. The crowd there really added to the experience. They were enthusiastic, cheered when it was necessary, laughed when it was appropriate,( and there were some times when it was) and best of all, knew when to shut up and watch the damn movie.

The movie opens, the crowd quiets, and from then on, there is barely a moments rest from the action. There was no long slow buildup or delving into the origins of every last character, it got straight to it, and never let up.

The story was interesting, the plot was well written and meshed together pretty well with few exceptions. Bale's Batman might be the best there ever was, and he really showed all the dynamics of the character. Aaron Eckhart was impressive as Harvey Dent/ Two-Face also. But you know, you probably won't hear much about their performances, and with good reason. I think you all know what could have overshadowed great performances. Do I even have to say it? Probably not.

The Joker.

Heath Ledger was incredible in this film, and I don't use that term very often. The only flaw I had with it was that we'll never see him do it again. He nailed it. Absolutely nailed it. He did everything you could ask for and more. Not only did his crimes and and actions thorughout the movie shine, but all the subtle little things he did (the way he spoke and moved, his voice and tone, his twisted logic) all gave you this sense of something being horrifyingly wrong; which is exactly what I wanted to see. His several memorable scenes ( the pencil trick and his changing stories about his scars were my favorites) totally steal the show. I could have watched a movie with just the Joker doing his thing and still wanted to see more.

A few positives:
Obviously, the actor's performances, especially Ledger.
The entire story flowed quite well for the most part.
The crowd really enhanced my experience. A lot of really good Joker costumes and make-up.
The unceremonius re-casting of Katie Holmes' part with Maggie Gyllenhal made me smile
It ACTUALLY lived up to the hype.

A few negatives:
Towards the end, Two-Face seemed kind of rushed and crammed in. They could have just saved it for the next movie.
Batman's gruff, Clint-Eastwood-chain-smoking voice got a bit distracting and ridiculous. I understand that he was diguising his voice, but if Superman can get away with using only a pair of damn glasses, why can't Batman talk like a normal person?
No more Joker, unless the re-cast him, which just won't be the same.
The next movie will probably fall short in comparison.

Final Verdict:
Definitely see this movie. You owe it to yourself.
9.5/10

So there's my first review.
Thoughts? Comments?
Tell me what you think.


Last edited by outtamycrease on Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:02 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Post by Youkai Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:42 am

Very good review, Jim,and I wholeheartedly agree. I honestly have to say that seeing that performance out of Ledger was almost unexpected. You could see his face through the makeup, but the voice....it was honestly chilling.
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Post by Fishticuffs Sun Jul 27, 2008 11:32 am

The movie was fantastic, this is obvious. It's probably too early to be talking about Oscars, but really, expect to see a few tossed towards the talent that made this film possible.

Everyone agrees that Ledger stole the show, and this is also obvious. I really felt like I was watching a movie about The Joker, not Gotham's caped crusader. It sort of makes me wish that other actors would have given him a run for his money. For example, once Aaron Eckhart became Twoface, he didn't feel that evil. There wasn't much dialog convincing enough to really connect you with the charecter. Yeah, you know how he was created, you know his back story now, but for me there wasn't that connection that the film had established with Batman, The Joker, and even Alfred. I just couldn't be that excited about Twoface. This being said, it could be a result of the Twoface twist being "crammed in" near the end of the film, but I think it was a necessary device and a due nod to the origins and intertwinings of two of Batman's most famous nemeses.

Also, I'm beginning to get tired of listening to people talk about Ledger. Everyone. No one can talk about the movie without mentioning him, The Joker, and reminding you that he'll never be able to do it again. He was fantastic, but talking about him and the situation for me becomes tiring and morbid quick, so I think after this I'll just avoid the topic of this movie for a while...

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Post by outtamycrease Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:20 pm

I agree with you on Ledger's publicity, actually. I was just trying to cover the entire movie, and he was the prominent topic of it, even though I kind of just went along with it.

I do believe they either should have developed Two-Face more, or just give us a taste of the character and saved him for the next movie. I thought given the amount of time he had to work with, Eckhart did a pretty good job showing a man pushed over the edge. He wasn't supposed to be a criminal mastermind just yet. He was a man who was losing his grip on right and wrong, slowly going insane and being corrupted, not necessarily evil; and I thought he showed it quite well.


Last edited by outtamycrease on Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Post by n0x Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:39 am

Ok, well I think I have to disagree with you about two-face. Two-face didn't need to be in the dark knight longer because he was kind of annoying to me and theres no way I could stand another 150 minute movie on just him as a villan. I'm pretty sure I would go die of boredom from listening to him talk about Rachel and how much he loved her and blah, blah, blah. It doesnt appeal to me at all.

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Post by outtamycrease Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:54 pm

I have a question to pose to you all; who should be the next villain for the sequel? Will they re-cast the Joker? Or will they bring in a new baddie entirely? I think, done correctly, and villain like Mr. Freeze or the Riddler could be pretty interesting.

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Post by GrimmEffect Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:44 pm

I wouldn't mind seeing the Riddler, just no more Catwoman. Especially not with Hallie Berry. She was terrible. The thing I think I agree with you most on Jim, barring the Joker's amazingness and the pencil trick (which was completely awesome) was Christian Bale's Batman voice. It really made me want to punch him in the crotch. He sounded like a chain smoker, like you said, with almost an entire box of Kleenex up his nose. I also really agree with you about Twoface. They should have saved him for later.

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Post by Bret Kessinger Thu Jul 31, 2008 3:26 pm

I did find it odd that the one character that had no backstory whatsoever had the most meaningful effect. I mean treating this movie independently from all other batman books, comics, movies, and tv shows what did the movie really tell us about the joker. Nothing, a few scattered stories that seemed almost like lies from the joker himself. While two-face who we know al about was almost unanimously disliked.

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