The Dark Knight

[Ryu Kazama]

So, I just got back from watching this new installment to the (new) Batman series of movies. My impression? They should have called it The Clown Prince instead. To be honest, I dont mind Batman. I really admire the character in the comics. Ive just never been a fan of Batman outside of the comics and the WB cartoon series (Kevin Conroy wooo!). Christian Bale is decent but the voice he puts on as Batsy himself just seemd lame. Moreso than I thought back in Batman Begins. So, knowing that, my main focus for this movie (and almost anything Batman related) was of course The Joker. How would he be? Would his voice come anywhere near as good as Mark Hamills? Would he disappoint me like the rest (not a fan of Jack Nicholson)? Well, the first 6 minutes I had already seen online months ago when they had released the preview so I had a glimpse of him first then. But here, in the final movie, when Joker gets his first good segment I was hooked! Heath Ledger no doubt did a phenomanal job to portray this psychotic murderer. Im not a huge Batman fan at all but I am very sensitive on anyone playing The Joker as I just feel Mark Hamill created a standard in the cartoons. Nothing else ever came close. Ever. Until today.

Anyway, cutting the review super short, Id definitely recommend watching this movie to see some brilliant acting. Its such a shame The Joker (Heath Ledger) died. He did a splendid job and has created the (live action) standard for this character (apart from this role I did like his role in 10 Things I hate About You. Girly movie but it was enjoyable, heh). Like many amazing talents (Bruce Lee!) the man died too young.

[James Mitchell]

SPOILERS MAY BE HERE
I finally saw it the other day and I really enjoyed it, albeit it was extremely depressing for me but Ill talk about that later

Batman overall made a better impression compared to the last time I saw him, and I was really happy how they made Bruce Wayne much more intelligent to look at, as he built a much more physical role in the first movie but in this one we saw him expand. It was a welcome change / progression and I was finding myself to like him even more. His voice when he becomes Batman was really noticeable this time though, and although I understand its probably necessary to conceal his identity, but sometimes it was sooooo annoying.

I really liked Maggie as Rachel Dawes. Personally I found she bought a lot more credibility to the role and she also made herself seem much more intelligent than we saw with Holmes Rachel in Batman Begins.

Heath Ledger did an amazing job as The Joker. I was blown away by how well he performed and how he added a comic nature while still being genuinely scary. His theatrical prowess really separated him from other villains in the franchise, and the hospital scenes with him were absolutely amazing and funny to watch. He really was portrayed as a vicious, psychologically unstable vigilante while still having the intelligence to command together so many strongly moving events.

Harvey Dent IMO was a big disappointment. Two Face was a very big accomplishment aesthetically speaking but I felt on a villainous level he doesnt quite deliver. To being with, the foreshadowing of his eventual betrayal (for example his attempt to kill one of Arkhams patients before he is transformed) along with his frustration at how Gotham works really worked well to give us an idea that all is not well with Gothams alledged White Knight. In addition to this, his transformation to Two Face was indeed tragic (in fact that whole sequence was) and I found myself sympathetic. I dont believe his transformation into Two Face / the evil persona was unbelievable because it was designed to reflect the negative side effects of ambition - a modern day tale of Macbeth if you will. It also shows how meticulously planned the events were by The Joker and his effect at using people as his pawns. It truly was a tragedy.

Although I found myself laughing multiple times I felt really sad at the same time as I saw the movies with some friends, one of which included Ledgers cousin. The movie was obviously very hard on him to watch but I really enjoyed the film myself. I felt really sad when watching it because its clear Ledger is endowed with a very large amount of talent (though we knew this since he first appeared in 10 Things I Hate About You) and its a shame to see such talent go to waste (I, and other people close to him personally blame the Olsens).

Regardless, the movie was excellent, Ledgers performance is indeed Oscar worthy (f*ck the haters) and I am glad with the way they left the film as it could either be treated to a sequel.

Its definitely the best film Ive seen this year.

Scarecrow looked really pathetic compared to the appearance we saw in Batman Begins. Seeing Cillian Murphy act as the Scarecrow after being psychologically traumatised along with the way he delivered the small number of lines made me want to see more of him, but unfortunately I doubt thatll ever happen. Regardless, his scene was kind of relevant and I was happy =P

[The Spirit]

In my opinion the first film Batman Begins, highlighted Batmans current & past life in order to build up the character, having established that in the first movie, there was no need to build it in the second movie. So the second movie The Dark Knight concentrates to builds up the character of the Joker.

So if the first movie belonged all to the Batman himself.

The Second belongs to the Joker.

I havent seen the movie yet, but I think itll be worth the wait for the DVD. I think when you see the Trailer of the movie you quickly make up your mind that the Heath ledger did a pretty good job with his character joker. Overall looking foward to see this movie. :)

[Shroom]

One word describes this film:AWESOME