My Review of THE DARK KNIGHT *Spoilers added*

[the kid 05]

I saw it tonight. Amazing movie and Ledger really does steal the show. His reaction to Harvey Dent's face in the hospital was just hilarious. I also really got a kick out of the pencil trick among other things. Just really well done. I don't know how you could make a better villian.

Bale did well, but they need more "playboy Bruce Wayne" moments for him. There's only so much you can do hiding behind a mask or discussing strategy.

About Harvey Dent, I think he's done. I think it'd just cheapen the movie if they somehow brought him back. Bringing back Gordon was one thing, but if they keep going back to that whole "He's dead, but surprise, he's not REALLY dead" thing, well, it'd just cheapen it.

agreed, i also found the hospital explosion portion f'in hysterical

 

[HTownCowboysFan]

Moviegoers watching TDK are pre-conditioned to see The Joker as: a) he was originally created, b) as the clown he was transformed into, and c) both versions. I can't even been to describe how long I've personally agonized waiting for someone, anyone, to re-create the real character on the big screen, since I knew how false he has been portrayed for decades. I owe Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger a debt which can never be repaid. He brought the real Joker to the movies. Untainted. Unbridled. Uncompromising. Ugly. The perfect antithesis of The Batman. Pure genius is an understatement.

The 2 biggest influences on The Joker in TDK are:

1) BATMAN #1 - The very first appearance of the character. He just "is." No explanation, nothing. Also the fact that The Joker uses the media to announce crimes was seen in B#1 -- via a radio back then of course. The murder of Loeb right in front of Gordon was virtually taken right out of this comic book.

2) THE KILLING JOKE - The Joker giving "multiple choices" for his scars as well as trying to drive one of Batman's allies over the edge. In TKJ it was Gordon, in TDK it's Dent.

 

[DallasEast]

The 2 biggest influences on The Joker in TDK are:

1) BATMAN #1 - The very first appearance of the character. He just "is." No explanation, nothing. Also the fact that The Joker uses the media to announce crimes was seen in B#1 -- via a radio back then of course. The murder of Loeb right in front of Gordon was virtually taken right out of this comic book.

2) THE KILLING JOKE - The Joker giving "multiple choices" for his scars as well as trying to drive one of Batman's allies over the edge. In TKJ it was Gordon, in TDK it's Dent.

Good stuff. Some of the negativity I've read from moviegoers are from those who don't know the real character or his true background from out of the pages of DC Comics. That's a shame.

Imagine if Hannibal Lecter (sp?) had first been depicted in Saturday morning cartoons or 60's/70's television. The character would have never been depicted as Anthony Hopkins played him in the movies. Lecter would have been stripped down of his inhumanity and humanized--just like The Joker had been. Makes you wonder how many moviegoers would have panned or slighted Hopkins' performance if that had been the case.

 

[Bizwah]

Good stuff. Some of the negativity I've read from moviegoers are from those who don't know the real character or his true background from out of the pages of DC Comics. That's a shame.

Imagine if Hannibal Lecter (sp?) had first been depicted in Saturday morning cartoons or 60's/70's television. The character would have never been depicted as Anthony Hopkins played him in the movies. Lecter would have been stripped down of his inhumanity and humanized--just like The Joker had been. Makes you wonder how many moviegoers would have panned or slighted Hopkins' performance if that had been the case.

I understand what the Joker was....in the comics....I just don't like it. I didn't like how he was protrayed.

It's personal preference. I'm not into the hardcore stuff.

 

[HTownCowboysFan]

I understand what the Joker was....in the comics....I just don't like it. I didn't like how he was protrayed.

It's personal preference. I'm not into the hardcore stuff.

Bro,

All I can say -- and I respect your opinion -- but that WAS The Joker as he's always been and how he was meant to be.

They nailed it.

 

[Bizwah]

Bro,

All I can say -- and I respect your opinion -- but that WAS The Joker as he's always been and how he was meant to be.

They nailed it.

Again, I understand that's how many (especially fans of the comics) wanted him. That's the way many see him.

It doesn't mean I have to like it.

Give me Mark Hammil's version any day.

That being said....I liked the movie. I'm just not into all the brutality.

 

[DallasEast]

I understand what the Joker was....in the comics....I just don't like it. I didn't like how he was protrayed.

It's personal preference. I'm not into the hardcore stuff.

He was portrayed correctly. While I fully respect your preference for watching less movie violence, etc., it would have equally lessen this movie. Nolan's goal was to bring the actual character as its creators intended to the big screen and Ledger did so. Many people wanted that and others didn't. It's all good in the end.

Again, I understand that's how many (especially fans of the comics) wanted him. That's the way many see him.

It doesn't mean I have to like it.

Give me Mark Hammil's version any day.

That being said....I liked the movie. I'm just not into all the brutality.

With the way TDK is raking in the cash, I doubt that Mark Hamill's version will return outside of reruns of the animated series. Even Kevin Michael Richardson's Joker in the latest animated series during the past few seasons had more of a slight edge to his than Hamill's, albeit in a Saturday morning cartoon way.

Still, there is lots of money to be made appealing to all audiences and it's virtually a certainty in my opinion that the falsely comedic Joker will make more appearances in cartoons for years to come. With that in mind, I'm also left wondering how often will we see the, as you say, hardcore Joker outside of Nolan's film franchise? The cat's out of the bag (finally, thank goodness) and the character's vastly appealing to many. Will someone else present the character in some other venue, like primetime dramatic television, etc.? Any news on that front, HTownCowboysFan?

 

[Bizwah]

He was portrayed correctly. While I fully respect your preference for watching less movie violence, etc., it would have equally lessen this movie. Nolan's goal was to bring the actual character as its creators intended to the big screen and Ledger did so. Many people wanted that and others didn't. It's all good in the end.

I also respect the opinions of the filmmakers...and you all. I don't feel it would've lessened the movie. But hey, I'm not a movie maker.

With the way TDK is raking in the cash, I doubt that Mark Hamill's version will return outside of reruns of the animated series. Even Kevin Michael Richardson's Joker in the latest animated series during the past few seasons had more of a slight edge to his than Hamill's, albeit in a Saturday morning cartoon way.

I guess I'm a Saturday morning cartoon guy......I've always liked the Joker as a Batman villian. I always saw him as Batman's opposite...where Batman was serious, brooding, etc...Joker was funny, silly, etc.

Still, there is lots of money to be made appealing to all audiences and it's virtually a certainty in my opinion that the falsely comedic Joker will make more appearances in cartoons for years to come. With that in mind, I'm also left wondering how often will we see the, as you say, hardcore Joker outside of Nolan's film franchise? The cat's out of the bag (finally, thank goodness) and the character's vastly appealing to many. Will someone else present the character in some other venue, like primetime dramatic television, etc.? Any news on that front, HTownCowboysFan?

I don't know if FALSLEY is fair. You said yourself that he has been protrayed in different ways. You probably mean the way you prefer......which is fine.

Good movie. Two-Face was very good....a little gross...but I thought Harvey Dent/Two-Face was done well. I prefer Eckhart's performance to that of Ledger.

Anyway, I appreciate the fact that opinions can be respected and a movie discussed nicely. I would love to see the movie again. It's just not as fun when you have to go alone....my wife won't see it due to the grossness of the Joker...and, of course I will not be able to take my son (a huge Batman fan....the highlight of Six Flags was meeting Batman).

 

[DallasEast]

I don't know if FALSLEY is fair. You said yourself that he has been protrayed in different ways. You probably mean the way you prefer......which is fine.

I guess the word falsely depends on how The Joker has been portrayed. For a time, Batman's creators reluctantly changed their characters, including The Joker, to comply with the Comics Code Authority. The CCA's imposed censorship forced them to showcase mockeries of their characters for 'society's sake'. With the passage of time, they returned to representing their fictional personalities as they were originally intended.

If not for alterations mandated by the CCA, the Batman, Joker, etc., seen in comics and television during the 50's and 60's, in addition to their appearances in cartoon and animated serieses during the 70's, 80's, 90's and this decade, may never have been. The original versions of the characters from the 40's who were re-adopted in the mid-70's forward in comics would have been the only representations for the public to love, hate or be indifferent to.

Heath Ledgers rendition of The Joker remains true to the version created BY its creator. All other versions, no matter how popular, are parodies, lampoons and spoofs of the Bob Kane's masterwork. 'False' may be a strong word, but it is accurate in this case.

 

[the kid 05]

htown what can you say about the deleted scene after the credits about batman/bruce finding a riddler card? why the hell would that havbe been deleted!!

 

[HTownCowboysFan]

I'm also left wondering how often will we see the, as you say, hardcore Joker outside of Nolan's film franchise? The cat's out of the bag (finally, thank goodness) and the character's vastly appealing to many. Will someone else present the character in some other venue, like primetime dramatic television, etc.? Any news on that front, HTownCowboysFan?

David Goyer has a script at WB right now called "SUPERMAX." It's basically a Green Arrow film in which Ollie Queen is falsely convicted of a crime and is sentanced to a high security prison for supervillains. In it, The Joker has a cameo -- although you never see him. Other than that, nothing in the works.

 

[HTownCowboysFan]

htown what can you say about the deleted scene after the credits about batman/bruce finding a riddler card? why the hell would that havbe been deleted!!

Not true. NOTHING was deleted or left out of TDK -- I know this for a fact from visiting with Chris Nolan. If you heard that, it's just a bogus rumor.

 

[the kid 05]

Not true. NOTHING was deleted or left out of TDK -- I know this for a fact from visiting with Chris Nolan. If you heard that, it's just a bogus rumor.

....http://img337.*************/img337/6480/damndw4.gif

Damn

 

[HTownCowboysFan]

....http://img337.*************/img337/6480/damndw4.gif

:laugh2:

 

[DemonBlood]

The movie was awesome...Well half of the movie that I got to see anyway! Right in the middle of the movie my girlfriend gets sick and we had to leave the theater. I've been waiting for this movie for years and this happens. I think this is the first time I have ever left my seat during a movie at all.

*SPOILERS*










We had to leave right at the scene where Gordon sees Dent's messed up face for the first time at the hospital. I missed a lot didn't I?

 

[trickblue]

*SPOILERS*[/b]










We had to leave right at the scene where Gordon sees Dent's messed up face for the first time at the hospital. I missed a lot didn't I?

Yep...

You should have just sent her outside to sit in the car...

 

[the kid 05]

:laugh2:

can you speculate via pm or board on my theory? or do your guys at WB have the black 'burban waiting for you if you spill any details or comment on a 20 year olds theory

 

[zrinkill]

Someone else I thought played a great joker was Josh Koenig in the fan made film Batman: Dead End.

any Batman fans here who have not seen it ...... look it up on youtube.

The ending was silly but the overall thing was made well.

 

[DemonBlood]

Yep...

You should have just sent her outside to sit in the car...

To top it all off...As soon as we got up from our seats the theater lights came on! I don't know if they saw that my girl was sick or what but not only did I have to leave the place pissed I also had everyone staring at us wondering why the lights came on as soon as we got up. It was like we were being shamed for leaving the movie:laugh2:

 

[HTownCowboysFan]

can you speculate via pm or board on my theory? or do your guys at WB have the black 'burban waiting for you if you spill any details or comment on a 20 year olds theory

No, I can tell you right here: No Riddler card, no alternate endings, no huge amounts of "extra footage." I promise. :starspin