"The Dark Knight" - FIRST REVIEW

docm · Jun 27, 2008

New poster. Check the title at the top: "Welcome To A World Without Rules" <img class="inlineimg" src="http://forums.murc.ws/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Big Grin" /> <img class="inlineimg" src="http://forums.murc.ws/images/smilies/up.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Up" />As for the review: sum it up as "HOT DAMN!!"Sounds too like going to an IMAX is recommended. Also: if the 2.5 hour version has so much to savor, I wonder what the Directors Cut will be like? <img class="inlineimg" src="http://forums.murc.ws/images/smilies/eek.gif" border="0" alt="" title="EEK!" /> <img src="http://www.toxicshock.tv/news/wp-content/uploads/dark_knight_poster9.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> Rolling Stone review....<div style="margin-top:5px;margin-left:5px;margin-right:5px"><div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px">Quote:</div><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px">The Dark Knight 3.5 of 4 stars Heads up: a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies. The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan's absolute stunner of a follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins, is a potent provocation decked out as a comic-book movie. Feverish action? Check. Dazzling spectacle? Check. Devilish fun? Check. But Nolan is just warming up. There's something raw and elemental at work in this artfully imagined universe. Striking out from his Batman origin story, Nolan cuts through to a deeper dimension. Huh? Wha? How can a conflicted guy in a bat suit and a villain with a cracked, painted-on clown smile speak to the essentials of the human condition? Just hang on for a shock to the system. The Dark Knight creates a place where good and evil — expected to do battle — decide instead to get it on and dance. "I don't want to kill you," Heath Ledger's psycho Joker tells Christian Bale's stalwart Batman. "You complete me." Don't buy the tease. He means it. The trouble is that Batman, a.k.a. playboy Bruce Wayne, has had it up to here with being the white knight. He's pissed that the public sees him as a vigilante. He'll leave the hero stuff to district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and stop the DA from moving in on Rachel Dawes (feisty Maggie Gyllenhaal, in for sweetie Katie Holmes), the lady love who is Batman's only hope for a normal life. Everything gleams like sin in Gotham City (cinematographer Wally Pfister shot on location in Chicago, bringing a gritty reality to a cartoon fantasy). And the bad guys seem jazzed by their evildoing. Take the Joker, who treats a stunningly staged bank robbery like his private video game with accomplices in Joker masks, blood spurting and only one winner. Nolan shot this sequence, and three others, for the IMAX screen and with a finesse for choreographing action that rivals Michael Mann's Heat. But it's what's going on inside the Bathead that pulls us in. Bale is electrifying as a fallibly human crusader at war with his own conscience. I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker. Miles from Jack Nicholson's broadly funny take on the role in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, Ledger takes the role to the shadows, where even what's comic is hardly a relief. No plastic mask for Ledger; his face is caked with moldy makeup that highlights the red scar of a grin, the grungy hair and the yellowing teeth of a hound fresh out of hell. To the clown prince of crime, a knife is preferable to a gun, the better to "savor the moment." The deft script, by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, taking note of Bob Kane's original Batman and Frank Miller's bleak rethink, refuses to explain the Joker with pop psychology. Forget Freudian hints about a dad who carved a smile into his son's face with a razor. As the Joker says, "What doesn't kill you makes you stranger." The Joker represents the last completed role for Ledger, who died in January at 28 before finishing work on Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It's typical of Ledger's total commitment to films as diverse as Brokeback Mountain and I'm Not There that he does nothing out of vanity or the need to be liked. If there's a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976's Network, sign me up. Ledger's Joker has no gray areas — he's all rampaging id. Watch him crash a party and circle Rachel, a woman torn between Bale's Bruce (she knows he's Batman) and Eckhart's DA, another lover she has to share with his civic duty. "Hello, beautiful," says the Joker, sniffing Rachel like a feral beast. He's right when he compares himself to a dog chasing a car: The chase is all. The Joker's sadism is limitless, and the masochistic delight he takes in being punched and bloodied to a pulp would shame the Marquis de Sade. "I choose chaos," says the Joker, and those words sum up what's at stake in The Dark Knight. The Joker wants Batman to choose chaos as well. He knows humanity is what you lose while you're busy making plans to gain power. Every actor brings his A game to show the lure of the dark side. Michael Caine purrs with sarcastic wit as Bruce's butler, Alfred, who harbors a secret that could crush his boss's spirit. Morgan Freeman radiates tough wisdom as Lucius Fox, the scientist who designs those wonderful toys — wait till you get a load of the Batpod — but who finds his own standards being compromised. Gary Oldman is so skilled that he makes virtue exciting as Jim Gordon, the ultimate good cop and as such a prime target for the Joker. As Harvey tells the Caped Crusader, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain." Eckhart earns major props for scarily and movingly portraying the DA's transformation into the dreaded Harvey Two-Face, an event sparked by the brutal murder of a major character. No fair giving away the mysteries of The Dark Knight. It's enough to marvel at the way Nolan — a world-class filmmaker, be it Memento, Insomnia or The Prestige — brings pop escapism whisper-close to enduring art. It's enough to watch Bale chillingly render Batman as a lost warrior, evoking Al Pacino in The Godfather II in his delusion and desolation. It's enough to see Ledger conjure up the anarchy of the Sex Pistols and A Clockwork Orange as he creates a Joker for the ages. Go ahead, ***** about the movie being too long, at two and a half hours, for short attention spans (it is), too somber for the Hulk crowd (it is), too smart for its own good (it isn't). The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination. It's full of surprises you don't see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams. ========

PistolPete · Jun 29, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Miles from Jack Nicholson's broadly funny take on the role in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, Ledger takes the role to the shadows, where even what's comic is hardly a relief Posted by docm</DIV>This is an interesting statement because I don't consider Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker to be funny, I thought it was quite dark (Nicholson acts half crazy in real life, playing a psychotic comic book killer, he totally convinced me).  If Ledger's take makes Nicholson's look humorous, then this portrayal must be darker than dark.I can't wait.  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai </div>

docm · Jun 29, 2008

There have been many stories that before Ledger took on the Joker role he consulted Jack Nicholson about playing Joker and he was told not to get too far into that characters head. He apparently didn't listen.  Ledger was a method actor, meaning his MO was to crawl into a characters head and live there.  To accomplish this he locked himself away with Joker-themed graphic novels like "The Killing Joke" and "The Long Halloween" for over a month before the shoot started. As anyone who has read those novels, especially "The Killing Joke", knows this Joker is a  sadistic psychopath of the first order. Example: (spoiler alert - highlight to read): In TKJ Joker shoots & parylzes Barbar Gordon/Batgirl, then photographs & videotapes her nude as he torments her.  He then kidnaps & torments Commissioner Gorder by showing him the results.  Definitely a far cry from previous portrayals to say the least.Once shooting started Ledger stayed in character most of the time, to the point where he was counseled by many of his co-stars to snap out of it.  He didn't. He also developed sleep depravation, which led to physical deterioration and walking pneumonia.  Even after the "Dark Knight" shoot he was often observed in character at home, and when he went to the UK to shoot Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" he was still observed to be in the "Joker" character mode.Between what looks to be an inability to get out of Jokers head, the pneumonia and his drug use it's lucky he lived as long as he did. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

ZenGalacticore · Jul 1, 2008

I just saw 'Batman Begins' last week. By God, hands down the best Batman ever! Can't wait to see this one. I loved that line in BB when he had the guy on the cable and he says with the Batmask on and in an angrily vicious tone: "DO I LOOK LIKE A COP?!!! That was great! Not your friendly-neighborhood super-hero here... this guy is PISSED OFF. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> ZenGalacticore </div>

docm · Jul 15, 2008

Just the summary's and links as many of them go on and on.... Cinemablend: ***** (of 5) Forget the great things you’ve heard about The Dark Knight. No matter how lavish the praise or how determined the hyperbole, it’s all understatement. The Dark Knight is I suppose the greatest superhero movie ever made, but it’s so far beyond the limited men in tights genre that attempting to compare it with movies like Spider-Man, Superman, or even Batman Begins is almost laughable. Director Christopher Nolan’s film trumps everything and everyone, including himself. It’s not just the best superhero movie ever made, it’s one of the best movies ever to show up in a theater. TIME Magazine: The Dark Knight is bound to haunt you long after you've told yourself, Aah, it's only a comic-book movie. Variety: An ambitious, full-bodied crime epic of gratifying scope and moral complexity, this is seriously brainy pop entertainment that satisfies every expectation raised by its hit predecessor and then some. Entertainment Weekly: A-  good and evil aren't just separate forces — at times, they're a whisper away from each other — and the movie exudes a predatory glamour that makes the comic-book films that have come before it look all the more like kid stuff. Rolling Stone: The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination. It's full of surprises you don't see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams. ComingSoon.net: 9/10 Nolan hasn't redefined the superhero genre as much as created an unforgettable piece of crime fiction within the context of that realm. Holllywood Reporter: One nervy blend of top entertainment and thoughtful character study. Horror.com: Martin Scorsese's The Departed. Michael Mann's Heat. Brian de Palma's The Untouchables. And now, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight can join the list of one of the most absorbing and intense crime dramas in modern movie milestones. It just happens to be set in the fictional gritty city of Gotham, and just happens to feature a superhero wearing a bat-suit and an arch-villain in clown makeup. Dark Horizons: a gritty crime saga the likes of which Michael Mann or Martin Scorsese would be proud to call their own <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

derekmcd · Jul 18, 2008

Preliminary numbers for midnight showing ONLY:18,000,000Breaks all records.This movie just might make some money, ya think?  <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div> <div>"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</div> </div>

docm · Jul 18, 2008

First the studio predicted $100,000,000 for the first weekend.Then the entertainment media predicted $130,000,000, largely based on tha fact that over 90% of advanced tickets were already sold by Thursday. But after those midnight showings, which by the way sold out, they've upped it to $150,000,000 just for this weekend.  If it goes over Spiderman 3's $151,116,516 (domestic) that would break all box office 1st weekend records, period.Then there is the fact that not only are tickets being scalped for $150 each,  it's getting major media outlet reviews that compare it to films like "Godfather 2", "Heat", "The Departed" and other major crime dramas and include the terms "masterpiece", "best film of the year" and "riveting".Examplesefilmcritic.com: The first misconception about "The Dark Knight" is that it’s a superhero movie. It’s not a superhero movie, or a crime drama either. It’s a horror movie — an epic one, and a great one.Roger Ebert: “Batman” isn’t a comic book anymore. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is a haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy. It creates characters we come to care about. That’s because of the performances, because of the direction, because of the writing, and because of the superlative technical quality of the entire production. This film, and to a lesser degree “Iron Man,” redefine the possibilities of the “comic-book movie.” Toronto Star: The movie is almost Shakespearean in its fascination with the good and evil that resides within all of us. It suggests that the greatest challenge of life is not to reject dark impulses outright, but to learn how to control them so they don't overwhelm our loftier goals.Bale deserves applause not only for skilfully demonstrating the interior guilt of a principled vigilante (his Batman is almost as controversial as Will Smith's anti-hero in Hancock), but also for his willingness to share the spotlight with Ledger, whose incandescent performance would have attracted serious Oscar talk even without the actor's untimely passing.No one is completely the star in The Dark Knight, just as no one is completely the hero, which is why it would be a shame if the movie were to be viewed merely as a summer diversion or the stellar swan song of Ledger.This film is not only one of the year's best; it may well end up as the finest of 2008. At the very least, it deserves consideration for Best Picture and Best Director, along with the expected Oscar kudos for Ledger, a man whose star burned briefly, yet oh so brightly. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

Caliak · Jul 19, 2008

I don't think Aaron Eckhart is getting nearly enough credit for his performance. You know the arc and as you watch him play it you feel the dread growing. Like a lost member of your family. I think he is the unsung hero of the film.

docm · Jul 19, 2008

I totally agree.  IMO it's very possible he could get a supporting actor nomination.By the way: its total for just Friday was $66.4 million, a record.Blockbusters usually drop a bit from Friday to Saturday, about 14 percent, so if it goes up more records are in severe peril. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

jmilsom · Jul 19, 2008

The praise for this movie is astonishing. I look forward to seeing it now. I wouldn't have normally been excited about a Batman movie as I found many of the previous one rather silly. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

docm · Jul 20, 2008

While it has funny moments this film as a whole is almost as far from "silly" as it could get. Friday has been upped to $67- $68 milliion from the original estimate of $66.4 million.Some estimates for the opening weekend are now running $160+ million, which would blow away Spider-Man 3's record of 151+ million. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

PistolPete · Jul 20, 2008

Replying to: <DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I don't think Aaron Eckhart is getting nearly enough credit for his performance. You know the arc and as you watch him play it you feel the dread growing. Like a lost member of your family. I think he is the unsung hero of the film. Posted by Caliak</DIV>True that.  The whole cast was A+.  Even with what would normally be "flat" or "stock" characters such as Monique Curnen's Detective Anna Ramirez (normally such a character wouldn't even get a first name) were fairly well fleshed out and sympathetic, even when they do bad thing.  It just goes to show: there are no small characters, just small actors.I was reading in Entertainment Weekly that Michael Caine decided, on his own, to give Alfred the slightly cockney accent of a British Army Sergeant.  This might not mean much to some people, but it makes sense in a historical fashion.  The word sergeant derives from the word servant.  Originally Sergeants were the right-hand-men and servants of knights in the middle ages.  In more modern times knights were replaced with officers, but sergeants are still around.  In the US Army, every officer has a senior NCO (a sergeant) to assist him.  Because of this, there is a joke that every officer needs an NCO battle buddy to keep him out of trouble (there's a little bit of truth to that).To the average viewer, this won't mean anything, but for some people (like myself) this means a lot.  Just like the sergeants of old, Alfred is a servant to the Dark Knight.  And just like sergeants of modern times, Alfred's job is to keep both Bruce Wayne and Batman out of trouble, even if it means doing things behind his back that he will never know about.  Even if Caine never told anyone about this, it shows the level of thought he put into the character.  Also, the whole sergeant thing plays out a little bit in the movie (don't want to spoil it too much for the five people left in the western hemisphere that haven't seen the movie yet).I also noticed that unlike the last movie, there were no CGI special effects to give Gotham that sci-fi Metropolis feel (the Metropolis from the 1927 Fritz Lang movie, not from the Superman comics).  They didn't really modify Chicago in any way that I could see (and it was obviously Chicago, the river gave it away).  While there were some "wonderful toys," they weren't over the top.  In a way it was kind of like the last James Bond movie; it's more about the characters that the gadgets. BTW, concerning "wonderful toys," in case anyone doesn't know, the Fulton Skyhook system really did exist and was tested with humans successfully.   <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai </div>

Arion · Jul 21, 2008

I'm going to see it tomorrow. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

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"The Dark Knight" - FIRST REVIEW

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