Looking through the posts on this board it looks like most of us are pretty down on TDK, when I know that isn't the case. Big it up.
It was good at the end, when the titles were coming up !! lol
'Joking'
A vast improvement over its predecessor, in my opinion.
Bruce/Batman is much smarter, for the most part, and cooler in this one, especially in the sequence in which he keeps tabs on the cops and sacrifices his Lambourghini to save the man who planned to expose him.
By backing the camera away a bit, the fight scenes were done much better. The close-up fights and quick editing did not mix well for Batman Begins, in my opinion.
Heath Ledger's Joker manages to be humorous and chilling at the same time, which I loved. Ledger provides the best performance in the film (and the best performance of his career).
The Batman-Joker relationship was captured so well in this one. The interrogation room scene, while a bit talky, and the final sequence between the two in the building (as well as Batman's fight against the SWAT team) really worked for me.
They explored Harvey Dent's impact on the city in a different way from the comics, yet it still made sense with the characters and worked in the context of the film. Harvey's introduction scene was the first sign, for me, that this was going to be better than Begins.
Gary Oldman's Gordon gets much more to do in this one and has the chance to be more authoritative, which was good. Bringing in his family more was also nice, especially the Year One-like climax.
Maggie Gyllenhaal worked better as Rachel than Katie Holmes did. I loved the idea that the scarred side of the coin was a reminder of her death to Harvey.
The musical score was also much better this time around, for me, than Batman Begins.
A nice review
http://robhumanick.blogspot.com/2008/08/shades-of-grey-dark-knight.html
I dont really feel like doing a full review or listing of what I liked, so I'll just say this, hands down, it is the best Batman movie for me.
It's good popcorn entertainment. I really dug the whole scene with the mob leaders and the Joker in the kitchen (the vanishing pencil scene). It's in my top five scenes from the whole movie.
I don't see any huge difference between what Freeman and Caine did in TDK vs. BB. They were funny and entertaining in both, arguably better in TDK. Freeman's scene with Reese where the latter tries to blackmail Bruce was also a hoot.
The fight scenes were better this time around, although I do wish Nolan would pull the camera back a little bit and get some wideshots in there so we can see just how good Batman really is. But it's a minor quibble, I still liked it.
The "why so serious" speech with Michael Jai White. Ledger is so good in that scene that you forget how bad White sucks, which is no small testimony to Heath's performance. This too is in my top five. Given how burnt out this catchphrase was before the movie even opened, that's high praise indeed.
Batman flying to Hong Kong and dragging Lau back to Gotham was awesome too. I'm aware of the criticisms of this sequence but I don't care. The idea of having the moxie to fly to another country and drag a foreign national back to the States is pure Batman. Loved it.
After the joker and batpod stuff, the lau retrieval was one of my favourites.
The contrast between seeing the guards enter the room and Batman dragging Lau by the foot - Batman is just a bohemiath, a relentess monster - and Lau is powerless. Great stuff.
"How about a magic trick..."
nice
How about Cate Blanchett?
Nice. ;)
Quote from: raleagh on Sat, 2 Aug 2008, 23:05
How about Cate Blanchett?
Nice. ;)
You can't have her...shes mine >:(
;)
Favorite scenes:
Every scene with the Joker. The Tumbler ramping into the parking garage, "loitering," and "intimidating." Batman landing on the Scarcrow's getaway van. Batman gliding, folding his "wings" and crashing through windows. Batman dragging Lao out of his own building by his foot. Bruce taking down the Joker's thug on his way to the "panic room" after the Joker crashes Dent's fundraiser. Batman telling the Joker, "Then you are going to like me." The Batpod sequence. The interrogation scene. Batman looking down at the rubble, after Rachel's death. "Bat-sonar." Batman killling Dent and saving Gordon's son. Gordon's speech at the end.
Acting:
Ledger was phenomenal. Gyllenhall was a huge step up. Eckhart was likable. Bale, Freeman, and Oldman were solid as ever.
Pacing:
Liked the quicker pace. It didn't feel like it dragged on like BB did in some places.
Score:
I bought the score before seeing the film and didn't sense anything really different aside from a couple of tracks and was disappointed, but in the context of the film I thought it was great. It seemed to capture the theme of escalation well as the themes laid out in BB were taken up a notch.
I really enjoyed the Harvey Dent character arc. It was what the movie revolved around, and it had one hell of a dramatic conclusion.
I didn't think this post deserved a thread all to itself. Anywho, I saw it again tonight (the fourth time, for those who might be interested). Obviously the movie's been out for a while now and I observed something interesting during tonight's rather packed showing.
When the movie first came out, I saw it at midnight and it went down a storm. The audience just loved it. They gasped in all the right places, laughed at all the right things, sat forward in their seats in anticipation during all the right moments, etc. This held true in subsequent viewings as well and it was a treat watching it with a virgin audience.
Tonight? There were smatterings of those things but in large part it was quiet as a tomb.
It hit me right about then that it was so quiet because most people in the audience had already seen the movie. They were either bringing a friend with them to see it or else were watching it again just because they dig it.
You want to know why this movie's so successful? Look no further. Repeat business is basically the only way to describe this level of success.
Exactly. People loved the film and are coming back for more. I saw the film again two days ago, expecting a slim crowd, but it was next to packed. Remarkable.
"A vast improvement over its predecessor, in my opinion.
Bruce/Batman is much smarter, for the most part, and cooler in this one, especially in the sequence in which he keeps tabs on the cops and sacrifices his Lambourghini to save the man who planned to expose him.
By backing the camera away a bit, the fight scenes were done much better. The close-up fights and quick editing did not mix well for Batman Begins, in my opinion.
Heath Ledger's Joker manages to be humorous and chilling at the same time, which I loved. Ledger provides the best performance in the film (and the best performance of his career).
The Batman-Joker relationship was captured so well in this one. The interrogation room scene, while a bit talky, and the final sequence between the two in the building (as well as Batman's fight against the SWAT team) really worked for me.
They explored Harvey Dent's impact on the city in a different way from the comics, yet it still made sense with the characters and worked in the context of the film. Harvey's introduction scene was the first sign, for me, that this was going to be better than Begins.
Gary Oldman's Gordon gets much more to do in this one and has the chance to be more authoritative, which was good. Bringing in his family more was also nice, especially the Year One-like climax.
Maggie Gyllenhaal worked better as Rachel than Katie Holmes did. I loved the idea that the scarred side of the coin was a reminder of her death to Harvey.
The musical score was also much better this time around, for me, than Batman Begins."
Everything you said, and everything colorsblend said. I was really taken aback by how much I enjoyed hearing 'Why so serious?' It was really overused in the marketting, and I expected to roll my eyes at that moment. Given that it occured in the context of Joker's 'origin take 1' speech, it worked wonders for me.
I could watch Ledger's Joker all day.
Loved the scene with Ledger leaving the hospital, expecting a bigger explosion. It felt lifted from the comics somehow. Just the shot framing, up to Ledger hopping on the school bus. Just a perfect moment in the film.
The film was THE BEST Batman film ever made, not to say its my 100% favorite, but its tied.
I didn't want to start a new thread for this, but I thought this picture was funny - apologies if you have already seen it.
(https://www.batman-online.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.batmanmovieonline.com%2Fmisc%2Flightheaded.jpg&hash=fac0a7efcdaa5116f5c6bd07e83eacc07de1fa57)
Ive heard that reference a million times, alot of people say that Leder's Joker is more Burton styled than Jack's which in a way I can definitly agree with.
Nice mix of Elfman and TDK
http://uk.youtube.com/v/zdYIUFj9cJY
As much as I love that score, I don't think it fits with TDK.
Quote from: raleagh on Fri, 14 Nov 2008, 12:48
Nice mix of Elfman and TDK
Whoa, was that Elfman music included in an official TDK spot or was that a fan job?
That picture is absolutely classic!
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Fri, 14 Nov 2008, 22:51
Quote from: raleagh on Fri, 14 Nov 2008, 12:48
Nice mix of Elfman and TDK
Whoa, was that Elfman music included in an official TDK spot or was that a fan job?
I believe it's a fan job. Sound editing is pretty decent considering there was probably a music track on the real one.
I like to keep the Burton and Nolans films as far away from each other as possible!
Yep.
TDK is not really heroic like that Elfman music is.
Its heroic but in a different way, heroic can be a number of things, and TDK definitly has that, just not in a traditional way!
Yah, like I said, TDK is not really heroic in the way Elfman's music is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKxmAWRpugs
HILARIOUS!
That guy is hillarious.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sat, 2 Aug 2008, 21:09
It's good popcorn entertainment. I really dug the whole scene with the mob leaders and the Joker in the kitchen (the vanishing pencil scene). It's in my top five scenes from the whole movie.
And...
QuoteBatman flying to Hong Kong and dragging Lau back to Gotham was awesome too. I'm aware of the criticisms of this sequence but I don't care. The idea of having the moxie to fly to another country and drag a foreign national back to the States is pure Batman. Loved it.
Having the DVD (and, thanks to the freebie on the second disc, the iPod vid, wahoooo!) I stand by EVERY WORD of the above and, in fact, cannot overemphasize the coolness thereof. From the kitchen sequence until Batman delivers Lao... Lau... Low... howthehellever you spell his name to Gordon, the film NAILS it, it's done EXACTLY right. Humor in the right spots, action in the right spots, spectacle in the right spots, it's simply bulletproof.
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Thu, 11 Dec 2008, 07:40
Having the DVD (and, thanks to the freebie on the second disc, the iPod vid, wahoooo!) I stand by EVERY WORD of the above and, in fact, cannot overemphasize the coolness thereof. From the kitchen sequence until Batman delivers Lao... Lau... Low... howthehellever you spell his name to Gordon, the film NAILS it, it's done EXACTLY right. Humor in the right spots, action in the right spots, spectacle in the right spots, it's simply bulletproof.
Word. It is a magnificent sequence.
The film is definitive!