The Dark Knight part deux

[Anatole Kuragin]

Batman sucks, they should kill him off and make a sequel about Keyser Soze running amok in Gotham.

[Mackaxx]

[quote name='Shryke' post='1448454' date='Jul 21 2008, 15.38']Or they could just not had Robin at all.

Thus bypassing sucky Batman.[/quote]

Edit for sense plz

(Unless its a clever play on words, potentially quite lewd)

[potsherds]

[quote name='Shryke' post='1448454' date='Jul 21 2008, 06.38']Or they could just not had Robin at all.

Thus bypassing sucky Batman.[/quote]
Heh. I agree.

AK's suggestion is even better. :thumbsup:

[Anatole Kuragin]

[quote name='potsherds' post='1448479' date='Jul 21 2008, 01.00']Heh. I agree.

AK's suggestion is even better. :thumbsup:[/quote]

Harvey Dent said "I don't believe in Batman, but I'm afraid of him." Well, I believe in Batman and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze.

[Mackaxx]

Anyways, as for the film

Again, Bale has a great jaw, take a good look. It's more than a bit weird. Essential for batman to have something interesting going on there.

As for the voice stuff, you hear it, note that its a bit funny, then you get over it and enjoy the movie. If you don't then congratulations you managed to fuck up a great movie with your anal retentive voice obsession. (I'm pretty sure in fact no one did this and the whining is for the sake of sounding edgy).

In respect to Quick camera moves, I was pretty close to the front and it didn't worry me much. That one does come down to personal preference though I guess. This leads to the next point nicely.

Regarding martial 'arts' (giggle), I'm impressed by the ability of the message boards resident ninjas to dissect batman's fighting style and pronounce it crap. How they managed to do this with all those super quick camera movements is very impressive. That or they are dribbling verbal diarrhea. I guess we can all be the judge of that ourselves, except were not ninjas trained from birth so what would we know...

Bruce Wayne the character was indeed a bit of a dick, just as he should of been.

The dog stuff was a nice little extra but didnt quite do it for me either.

My main criticism is that the trip to China was a bit unnecessary and if removed could have served to cut the movie down a little time wise and make it just that much tighter. Most of it was very tightly wound, that bit though kind of stuck out like dogs balls and was kind of unnecessary.

These are very small criticisms mind you, the movie was great.

[RedEyedGhost]

[quote name='Mackaxx' post='1448499' date='Jul 21 2008, 00.09']In respect to Quick camera moves, I was pretty close to the front and it didn't worry me much. That one does come down to personal preference though I guess. This leads to the next point nicely.[/quote]

I didn't even notice this. I just finished rewatching seasons 1-6 of [i]The Shield[/i] so I may be a bit desensitized to it, though.

[quote]Regarding martial 'arts' (giggle), I'm impressed by the ability of the message boards resident ninjas to dissect batman's fighting style and pronounce it crap. How they managed to do this with all those super quick camera movements is very impressive. That or they are dribbling verbal diarrhea. I guess we can all be the judge of that ourselves, except were not ninjas trained from birth so what would we know...[/quote]

:lol:

[quote]My main criticism is that the trip to China was a bit unnecessary and if removed could have served to cut the movie down a little time wise and make it just that much tighter. Most of it was very tightly wound, that bit though kind of stuck out like dogs balls and was kind of unnecessary.[/quote]

I think the purpose of it was to show how far Batman would go for justice - he'd go to the other side of the world, but wouldn't commit murder. Plus the extraction technique was a cool special effect. You're right though it could definitely have been cut.

[Mackaxx]

[quote name='RedEyedGhost' post='1448540' date='Jul 21 2008, 16.41']I think the purpose of it was to show how far Batman would go for justice - he'd go to the other side of the world, but wouldn't commit murder. Plus the extraction technique was a cool special effect. You're right though it could definitely have been cut.[/quote]

It wasn't so much the length of the scene or anything like that, it was very much the sideshow aspect of it all. I've been meaning to Google that skyhook thing and see if anyone was mad enough to try it for real. Maybe with a bungee cored thing so you dont get wrenched in two.

Holy crap

[url="http://air-combat.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_fulton_skyhook_star_system"]http://air-combat.suite101.com/article.cfm...ook_star_system[/url]

In a bit of a rush so this could be just a silly article.

[Rhom]

Holy crap... the thread is at the beginning of page 7 when I poked in at the office last night and decided to peruse my usual online addictions, then I show up at the office at 7 AM and we have added almost 6 pages of bitching about Robin! Clearly, I need to just break down and get internet at the apartment. :lol:

I remember reading some time ago that there was supposed to be a scene where Batman dove into the harbor, but the polution made it too dangerous for a stuntman to do it. So I'm wondering if the original script didn't have a submarine or something to extract him. Honestly, if I was looking for plotholes... the "Batman on the airplane" thing would be one of them. Does he just sit around in his Batsuit the entire time from China back to Gotham?

[Brude]

[quote name='Mackaxx' post='1448576' date='Jul 21 2008, 02.50']Holy crap

[url="http://air-combat.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_fulton_skyhook_star_system"]http://air-combat.suite101.com/article.cfm...ook_star_system[/url][/quote]
I like this line from the article:
[quote]The US government considered using the Skyhook to rescue the Dali Lama from Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959 but went with a yak-borne extraction instead.[/quote]
All things being equal, I think I would have opted for the yak-borne extraction, too. Hard to imagine the Dali Lama being skyhooked out of danger like that - but less so, I guess, when you realize he was only a teenager at the time, not the older guy we all know now.

[Jaxom 1974]

[quote name='Mackaxx' post='1448443' date='Jul 21 2008, 00.29']Or they could make robin not shit and have him be an adult

Thus bypassing paedo batman.[/quote]

Heelllllooooooooo Chris O'Donnel! You're back! :P

[Rockroi]

Saw the movie. I really enjoyed it and I thought it did a great job.

It was scary. I do not mean “So good it was scary.” I mean that as you sat watching the movie you were actually scared at what horror would happen next.

My overall impression was that Dark Knight was [b][u]much scarier than I thought it would be[/u][/b]. As one reviewer put it, Joker is a terrorist; he blows up hospitals, he kills at a whimsy; he destroys, he massacres. That “terror” was palpable in the movie. You did not know when the bad thing was going to happen next. That made that heightened level of anticipation scary. The movie was, as best as I can put it, the best “super hero” movie I ever saw where I thought, “If Batman ever really existed, THIS is what would happen.” I thought the reactions of many of the people were perfect- from the ADAs, to the mayor, to the cops, to the criminals. Yes, they cut some corners, but I could live with all that. At the end of the day, I was amazed that the movie felt more “real” than it did “comic book.” That level was palpable in that I felt there was no ceiling in the horror that could happen: maybe the cop is killed; maybe the boy gets away; maybe the building explodes; maybe they all live happily ever after.

The proof with this was in that last scene with Two-Face holding a gun to Gordon’d kid’s head. There was no telling how that scene would end. Maybe he kills himself; maybe Batman saves the day. But there was a part of me that had been so conditioned to the horrors of this movie that I actually could envision Dent killing the boy. That, in and of itself, was an achievement.

[b]Batman/Bruce Wayne[/b]: Christian Bale was terrific; his ability to play off his co-stars, part of the time as Batman, part of the time as Bruce Wayne was terrific. I had no problem with his voice at all. Here’s the thing with the voice. If he uses the SAME voice, people would say, “How come Rachel and Harvey don’t recognize his voice? I mean, Dent JUST spoke to Bruce 10 minutes ago.” So, Bayle uses a different voice. Also, notice that Christian Bale has a mouth… thing going on. Unless you are doing something interesting, its perfectly obvious they are the same person. I think the voice corrects this.

I thought Bayle, so far, is the best actor ever for Batman because his “Batman” is just as good as his “Bruce Wayne.” (Keaton was a terrific Batman; Val Kilmer was a terrific Bruce Wayne; I think the best of both is Bayle).

[b]Harvey Dent[/b]: Maybe the best part of the movie in terms of covert “WHOA I didn’t expect him to be THIS good.” Dent is a legitimately good person, who wants to do good and who makes good on his word. He is honest, hopeful, optimistic, smart, and caring. And he follows through. Eckart is a tremendous actor and he added a lot to this movie.

[b]Rachel[/b]: I think I speak for the civilized world when I say, “Why couldn’t have been Katie Holmes who they blew up!” Regardless, very good role, good actor, and I enjoyed how they never copped out with her or with her relationship with Batman and Dent.

[b]The Joker[/b]: I honestly felt that if a psychopath could ever exist that had the mental capabilities at preparation, and the resources to make his dementia real, Heath Ledger’s Joker was it. The crazed barbarism of the Joker coupled with his self-awareness made for possibly one of the most dramatic screen villains for the ages. Yes, its heightened by the fact that Ledger died. However, even if that had never occurred, Ledger’s Joker is as joy to watch and a real villain to fear. Unlike other villains who you know will be unable to do X or Y, there was no ceiling for Ledger’s version. You felt that he could kill Harvey as easy as you know he could kill himself, an old lady, a cop, or the mayor. That, again, made the movie scary. And at the same time, Ledger found time for some subtle humor (after avoiding death with Dent, the Joker takes time to use the hand sanitizer in the hospital hallway; right before he blows it up).

The scene in the interrogation room- where Batman and Joker square off mentally- I thought was as good as acting as I had seen in years. Maybe the best aspect of that scene is that there is no doubt between the two men- they know who they are, what they are and what they want and need. And when they blast into each other, one is left knowing that he has lost something; the other left not caring.

While the last speech by Ledger is dramatic (hanging upside down, extolling the virtues and faults of himself and Batman), the real secret to the movie was in the interrogation room. Both men could have swapped lines: understand that there is nothing you can do to me that will get me to care. That was as sharp and as smart as I have seen in a while.

[b]Commissioner Gordon[/b]: Gary Oldman becoming the new Morgan Freeman. In other words, every movie is made better by his acting in it, regardless of the size of his roll. The scene where his wife smaks him in the face was perfect. I really think that was the moment I knew this movie took its shit seriously.

[b]The fight scenes[/b]: Didn’t notice until it was mentioned here. I thought the actual martial arts in the movie were completely unimportant and to become fixated on that is selling short an otherwise great film.

[b]The bad[/b]: How the hell does the Joker get all those barrels of gasoline, dynamite, etc? I mean, okay he admits they are all cheap, but how is he able to get all those explosives into the buildings and hospitals he needs to “explode?” How is he able to move all the material, to camouflage it all, get everything where it needs to go and do it in a timely and orderly fashion? Knowing that the Joker uses psychopaths and delusional schizophrenics to do his work? I mean, where does he get his school buses? These are things I want to know.

And Batman, in his suit, fully armed, must weigh close to 200 pounds. And how is it that he ALWAYS sets his grappling hooks and wires to hit every single bad guy EXACTLY where they need to be hit?

Bad guys are whizzes at trigonometry and geometry. How they got that dead, fake batman to hit FLUSH with the Mayor’s office window at EXACTLY the right length and distance so the two met nose-to-nose was amazing.

A great movie, a wonderful cast wherein each actor was a tremendous asset to the movie.

[WarGalley]

You know, during the last fight scene where Batman is saving the hostages and taking out Joker's goons, I didn't even care about the fighting anymore. I wanted him to hurry up so we could see more Joker-Batman interaction, which just speaks to how good the non-fighting elements of the movie were.

[Ouroboros]

You know what I'd like to see in the sequel? Man-Bat. It wouldn't work, but hey nothing would as a follow up to this film.

[alguien]

[quote name='Rockroi' post='1448951' date='Jul 21 2008, 09.20']The proof with this was in that last scene with Two-Face holding a gun to Gordon’d kid’s head. There was no telling how that scene would end. Maybe he kills himself; maybe Batman saves the day. But there was a part of me that had been so conditioned to the horrors of this movie that I actually could envision Dent killing the boy. That, in and of itself, was an achievement.[/quote]

That scene was very reminiscent of the ending of Batman: Year One. In fact there were so many great scenes using the source material that I was frankly amazed.

I honestly thought Two-Face was going to shoot the kid as well, partly because of the dark mood in the film, partly because I remembered the scene in the previews where Gordon smashes the Bat-signal with an ax, and I thought this would be in retaliation for his son's murder.

So glad it didn't work out that way.

On another note, I think people criticizing the movie based on the fight scenes need to get their head examined.

That crap is neurotic/anality along the lines of Organic Webshooters and whether or not Wolverine's claws could really extend through his forearms and out his fists.

[Relic]

[quote name='Rockroi' post='1448951' date='Jul 21 2008, 10.20']Yes, its heightened by the fact that Ledger died.[/quote]

Eh, no it wasnt. He was out of his mind superb regardless.

[Young Wolf]

[quote name='Relic' post='1449051' date='Jul 21 2008, 10.14']Eh, no it wasnt. He was out of his mind superb regardless.[/quote]

Agree. I look back at Ledger's body of work, and this is hands down the finest he's ever done. And just one of the finest bits of character acting Ive seen in current film. He was incredible and if still alive, the performance would still be just as amazing.

As far as Christian Bale goes, I think he's a great Bruce Wayne...masquerading as the billionaire playboy, women on his arms, the car crash scene, etc.

His Batman voice is fucking annoying. The raspy edge he gives himself, its almost like he's doing a bad Clint Eastwood impression. Is he doing this in character to disguise his B.W. voice or is this just Bale's angry/badass voice? I didnt kill the film for me, but it does take away a bit of the Batman dialogue for me. *shrugs*

Id really like to see a bit more Alfred involvement/scenes. Caine seemed underused.

Overall, well worth the money we spent to watch the film. I'll leave the rest of the analysis to the comic types.

YW

[Rhom]

[quote name='Young Wolf' post='1449106' date='Jul 21 2008, 11.49']Agree. I look back at Ledger's body of work, and this is hands down the finest he's ever done. And just one of the finest bits of character acting Ive seen in current film. He was incredible and if still alive, the performance would still be just as amazing.[/quote]

What I've been telling people is that "I never felt like I was watching Heath Ledger in make-up." There are times that I look at Christian Bale and I think of American Psycho. Michael Caine makes me think Austin Powers (yeah yeah... I don't have an extensive background in cinema). But Ledger as the Joker really made me feel like that was who he really was.

[Lord of Oop North]

Guys, he disguises he voice so no one will know who he is. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy and is probably on Gotham's version of ET every single day. Someone will notice. Especially if another person decided to build a cell-phone based sonar voice detection system, ;)

[Young Wolf]

[quote name='Cat of Oop North' post='1449116' date='Jul 21 2008, 11.01']Guys, he disguises he voice so no one will know who he is. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy and is probably on Gotham's version of ET every single day. Someone will notice. Especially if another person decided to build a cell-phone based sonar voice detection system, ;)[/quote]

So do you think Bruce Wayne watched a lot of Dirty Harry as inspiration?

YW

[Lord of Oop North]

[quote name='Young Wolf' post='1449117' date='Jul 21 2008, 12.02']So do you think Bruce Wayne watched a lot of Dirty Harry as inspiration?[/quote]
Wouldn't you? If I wanted to become a badass vigilante, that is the first movie I would rent.