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We’ve been subjected to enormous amounts of hype and marketing for the Dark Knight. We’ve seen Joker scavenger hunts and one of the largest viral campaigns in advertising history and it culminates with the actual release of the movie.
Everything that’s been said is pretty much spot on. This is the first time I can remember where a summer blockbuster film far surpasses the hype.
For as much action as there is in this movie, it’s the acting that makes it a great piece of work. Between all the punches, explosions and stunt-work is some great dialog work. All the actors have their moments.
Bale’s Batman is the definitive Batman because we see everything in this character finally on film. Martial arts skills, cunning, great tactical thinking, forensic application, technological genius to advance or improve Luscious Fox’s inventions/technological breakthroughs, intimidating personality, and even a little swashbuckling.
As for Heath, yes he gets credit for his performance as the Joker. But you have to also recognize Jonathan and Chris Nolan for the writing and treatment of the character. It’s not just the fact that Ledger makes the Joker so menacing, but the Nolans have given the character this great manifesto that drives its actions. The Joker’s stance on chaos, order, anarchy, the morality of the average modern human being make the character so interesting psychologically. The Nolans drafted a complex character and only a perfect performance could’ve pulled something like this off. That’s how difficult of a role this was, and that’s why Ledger’s performance is so great.
This isn’t an action movie. It’s a film that explores literary themes of the hero and villain, as well as order and anarchy. Yes, listen to the dialog because it’s all in there.
Words by: Straightblaster
The Dark Knight Pretty Much Amazing Soundtrack/Mix/What I listened to after watching the movie…
Radiohead – Paranoid Android
John Lennon – Imagine
Arcade Fire – Keep The Car Running
Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name Of — (SebastiAn’s Late Night Laptop Edit)
Radiohead – Karma Police
Muse – Time Is Running Out
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
this is the movie of the summer. health ledger is fukin wicked, aron eckhart is too a must see….don’t take the kids it might scare the shit out of them….hahahahahahaha
I cant wait to see the Movie! It will sure put a smile on my face
I saw an early screening tuesday night, it was AMAZING!
this movie is very cool..
Heath Ledger… you’re Rock!!
hope you can see it from up there…
The Dark Knight was absolutely AMAZING! I cant say enuff good things about this movie!!! Heath Ledger stole the show and show how truely amazing of an actor he truely was! R.I.P.
and thank you to you and everyone else responsable for making this incredible movie! Its my favorite Batman movie and one of my all-time favorite movies!
This movie was beyond amazing. Everything I wanted and more!
wow.. radiohead/batman love much?
“wow.. radiohead/batman love much?”
HAHA
You say it like it’s a bad thing…
Great review. I definitely agree
I must say that it wasn’t that great. If you pay attention to the story the movie is all over the place. The only thing that save this movie from stinking was ledger’s performance as the joker. He carry the whole movie on his shoulder. batman this time around was really weak and dull. I hated the voice and the gadgets felt they were boring compared to other surperhero movies. I didn’t like the female lead did i think she was better than katie holmes yes. at the end of the movie you loose focus of where everyone stands and their purpose. I didn’t like the character of two face. The actor they choose doesn’t fit the role,he didn’t convinced me. The make up was good they get thumbs up for the makeup. I just wasn’t with batman on this one. i wanted to see more Joker and what he was going to do next. Batman is really confused when it comes to being a hero or accepting the fact that he is the hero not the villain.
This movie was great. But i do see what Kelly is saying. It was sort of a mess.
But an amazing, terrifying mess.
a money-making mess…
“a money-making mess…”
I’ll say…
I think everyone has inflated their critical opinions of the movie due to Heath Ledger’s death. There’s nothing like dying to inflate the public’s perception of oneself and one’s art. The movie was just OK, but I just don’t think it’s A material…and it needed more editing.
“Batman is really confused when it comes to being a hero”
That is the whole point of the Batman mythos for the last 20 or so years! This was a movie for the true fans of the Batman comics.
But I do agree that it was overlong and needed some edits.
Well, I sure loved it. It may have been a bit long, but then again, I can’t think of a scene that I wish they had cut.
It surpassed Iron Man,SpiderMan and yes even Star Wars(a feat in itself)! I tell everyone that this is NOT your typical comic-book fare. This Joker(the legacy of Heath Ledger) is a far cry from Nicholson. Bale’s Batman is both brooding(his laments)and menacing(his interrogation of The Joker). Oldman’s Gordon is “the last honest cop” in a corrupt precinct. Freeman’s Fox is no nonsense and Caine’s Alfred is somber. The newcomer is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent,the man doomed to become Two-Face! Eckhart is like a Robert Redford type who wants to clean up Gotham and settle down with Rachel Dawes,Bruce Wayne’s childhood sweetheart. Poor Batman! Always gets his man but never the lady! Bats and Joker knock heads several times in the movie BUT even though this is a Batman movie;it is titled DARK KNIGHT after all,Heath Ledger in his final blaze of glory manages to steal the movie and make it his! Still a wild ride,though! And Ledger puts Jack to shame! Three and a half stars out of four!
Tony A. dear god what’s wrong with you. 3 and a half out of 4?
Good review. I thought that this movie was better at home than in the movie theatres. What did you think? I wrote our family’s review at The Little Family’s Batman: The Dark Knight Blu-ray Review if you’d care to read what we had to say. Brenda