Anyone seen The Dark Knight yet?

[Sandman]

I finally after almost 2 years or so of waiting i got to see Dark Knight last night and after hearing nothing but great news and a hype big enough to blow away a city i went in expecting the greatest batman movie of all time and an oscar winning performance and i left exetremely dissapointed. People have been raving on about this for the last year and a half as if it was god coming to earth and when saw the rating for it on imdb i almost passed out now don't get me wrong this was a great movie but best movie of all time hardly. Bale while i have nothng agaist him failed to convince me as Batman again,  Michael Caine was pretty great as always same goes for Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal was good with what she had and same with Gary Oldman. Now the hype around Heath Ledger and around his joker has been going on since the teaser trailer came out and now im heath ledger biggest fan but even i will come out and say it and prob get cruified for this but i don't care it was not Oscar winning he did a job that was nothing short of the word exellent but the way people have been putting it as the "definitive" Joker no i didn't see any joker in him at all no 1940's joker no 60's-70's, or even 80'-90's-00 joker while i feel that he did a top notch job that everyone can be proud of i fell that this whole oscar thing has come around with the HUGH hype that followed this movie combined with what i like to call the Brandon Lee problem even though an actor does a exellent job it will be overblown and anything close or better then it will be verbally bashed an no Jack was as great as Ledger he didn't get wiped but damn Ledger did a great job . All up this was a top movie without giving anthing away Aaron  Eckhart was the one that surprised me he like Ledger was nothing short of exellent and should be given just as much or even more hype then The Joker he was one thing that made the film, this was a great film and i'll have to get the dvd asap so i can watch it again but it just seemed way overrated it was a great movie and exellent batman movie but i couldn't help feeling that 89 and even begins were better, the music was better in begins and sad to say (a slight spoiler) once again Nolan ruined the scarecrow. It was a great movie but that's my opinion of what i feel about the movie without being caught in the hype. It was great not the best some people loved it thats fine, some won't thats fine, some will just like it without going overboard but everyone has there opinion.

[thecolorsblend]

I finally after almost 2 years or so

With all the love, I gotta say that was one hell of a run on sentence.

I want to see TDK again in theaters (a sentiment BB did not inspire in me) but I have to agree.   Spoiler stuff here so hightlight to read. The Joker in TDK is not in any way the Joker from the comics.  Unlike the Penguin or Catwoman, there *is* a character for the Joker and it was not exploited in this film.  Much as they did with Ra's al-Ghul, Nolan and Goyer invented a character and applied an existing name to it.  Ledger did a good job with what he had but the sense of animated whimsy and comedic flare the Joker should ooze just wasn't apparent in this depiction of the Joker.  Sorry, but it just wasn't.

End of spoiler stuff.  I'll see it again though.  Who knows, maybe my mind will change.

[Sandman]

thecolorsblend i read your spoliers and yes your 100% right i don't know how to use the spoiler bit so without giving to much away your right I went in looking to see the joker pulled out of the comic an placed on the screen and all i got was a Joker that acted strangely like Nick Nolte did in the hulk and being a hugh Heath Ledger fan i was extremely letdown, he was exellent in it but its not Oscar worthly and its sad for me to say that but its true even if im the only one that will say it. I think the hype was soo big that Nolan could have just shot batman watching tv and they would have called it a masterpiece.

[DocLathropBrown]

Unlike some people, I'm not bitter. Heath was on-par with Jack for me. And frankly, everything Heath did, I could easily have seen Jack doing (but not at his age, obviously).

And that's the key. Jack's performance was my benchmark. Heath lived up to it. I'm not going to say "he shattered it" because he didn't. In the grand scheme of things, neither one is better than the other. Ledger was just more openly vicious, whereas Jack was more subdued but just as lethal. More theatrical, more refined. That's what I prefer in my Joker. Yes, the clown was diminished, but it's the same in the current comics.

The film was amazing. My only complaints: I prefer the more refined, prettied-up Joker, but it's not a knock on Ledger. And the other thing that bothered me is it was about 20 mins too long, and the third act is a little chaotic, which might have been intentional, I suppose. But all of the material was so good.

Bale finally fully won me over as Batman. Even didn't mind the giant melonhead mask. Everything about the movie was glorious. But I could only wonder, what if the same movie were made with Keaton and Nicholson? That would have been my dream come true.

In my list of all time favorite movies ever, TDK sits at #2, behind B89.

On my favorite Batman list? TDK sits at #1, tied with B89.

And am I the only one who was hoping Ledger would have said "Come to me, you gruesome son of a bitch!" when he first noticed Batman was gunning for him on the Batpod? Would've been appropriate AND a fitting tribute to Jack, a perfect Torch-passing, as Bale got a chance to do with "I'm Batman!"

[Sandman]

No need for attitude i never said it was a bad movie or that i hated it. All i said was that it didn't live up to the hype that followed for me anyway. And i never said Ledger was worse the Jack or  jack was worse then Ledger they both played them so differently that you can't judge who is better, alot of people were saying that The Joker in it was "definitive Joker" when there was only as much comic book joker in it as there was Jack's and Bale i have nothing against but his Batman is just to James Bond for my taste but i never said it was bad i just think 89 and Begins were better and that i was dissapointed by the hype that followed it.

[shadowbat69]

This by far exceeded what I was expecting. It lived up to the hype as far as I was concerned. I went in knowing nothing past what I saw in the teasers and trailers. I wanted to be completely suprised by what I saw, I wanted to experience it as I was watching it without sitting there just waiting for the next scene that I already knew was coming. That was my problem with Begins, I knew everything before it happened and was waiting for a moment that would suprise me and it never came. That sure as hell never happened with TDK. I had the best reactions to this film, something I havent had since 1989.

I expected this forum to be the most critical on TDK because of our love for the Burton films. I am so past that myself. This movie is "of its time", just as 89 was. There were so many bits taken from the comics from the last 70 years and made to fit into this story that Nolan gave us. It was great.

Bruce/Batman...Bale brought a bit more obnoxiousness to the "public" Bruce this time around, imo, which really worked for the characterization they were presenting in this film series. The "private" Bruce was also more developed in his relationship with Alfred and also as this man with a mission. Batman was more vicious and aggressive this time around. He shows up, does what he has to do, and goes. His relatinship with Gordon was the best incarnation that has been brought to the screen.  Bales Batman voice still leaves something to be desired for me, but this is the only flaw that I have.

Alfred....He's become so much more than just the concerned butler. He has become a partner, a friend, a voice of reason.

Gordon....Still the righteous cop wanting to clean up the city he lives in the best way he can with the resources he has available to him. He has accepted Batman as an ally ,and without giving any spoilers, this also is strengthened along with a greater trust by something that happens in the film. Defintely the best on screen Gordon we've ever seen.

Joker.....Wow. This aint Jack and it sure as hell isnt 'ol Ceaser Romero. We're introduced to a more maniacle, murderous Joker than what we've seen before. Ledger gave us a performance that deserves praise. He made me laugh when I knew I shouldnt have, he made me jump when I was suppose to. This was defintely a more modern take on the Joker character.

Harvey...I was really suprised by what Echart did with this. I would put it on par with what Ledger did with Joker. He nailed the crusading D.A. to a T and also showed us, even subtly, a hidden darker side that existed within him.

Overall, I thought the story was excellent. The characterizations were excellent. Batman 89 may still be my favorite, but for me, TDK is the best Batman film to date.

[greggbray]

I am in total agreement with you shadowbat on nearly every point. I think The Dark Knight had the best script to date...I do long for a little more 'atmosphere,' though.

But the characterizations, performances, dialogue, action set pieces,etc., were all spot on.  Completely blew me away.  Not at all what I was expecting.  Not at all.

[Doc Sock]

Fantastic review Shadowbat, I wholeheartedly agree.

[DarkKnight357]

Dark Knight was amazing. Heath Ledger stole the show he was a fantastic Joker. Ledger's preformance blew me away really blew me away. I'm so glad we have a director like Christopher Nolan running the franchise. Aaron Eckhart did a awesome job as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Maggie was much better then Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. The whole cast was excellent and the story was incredible. There was so much happening in those 2 and a half hours. The structure of the Dark Knight was so well done. TDK deserves every cent of money it's making.  Nolan and Co. have crafted a beautiful sequel to Batman Begins. I'm looking forward to Nolan's 3rd and last movie. He's a silent protector. A Dark Knight.

[Gotham Knight]

Saw TDK again. Gonna review it soon on here. Completely unbiased Review coming. It's the most mixed review I've ever written.

All in all, It's gonna get split down the middle.

Preview should give you a hint:

Ledger deserves the oscar yet this has to the most overblown movie in the last ten years.