The Dark Knight

[Faith Akiyama]

I agree...it was a thought provoking movie...in fact, the parts I liked were ones involving Harvey Dent (Ekhart deserves the hype, not Ledger...Ekhart was incredible...but then again, Ekhart is always fantastic) and his dealing with trying to do what is right and his eventual downfall.

I totally agree, I think a lot of critics have overlooked Eckhart's performance...his transformation within the film was incredible. From the suave attorney we saw dismantle a gun during a trial to the terrifying, heartless murderer out for vengeance -- they were both very difficult roles to pull off without seeming cliche, let alone within the same film. He definitely deserves more recognition!

The exploration of chaos had potential...but for me, there was too much going on (I know that sounds horribly ironic, but chaos could have been successfully portrayed without the audience's experience being so chaotic.)

I see your point there. I myself did rather enjoy my heart beating at 200 bpm for 2 hours straight, but that's just me

 

[Luxx]

He definitely deserves more recognition!

He deserves my phone number.

 

[Faith Akiyama]

^ Or that.

 

[Moofins]

Oh my gosh, I love this thread far too much for my own good.

 

[Deleted member 98391]

He deserves my phone number.

Hey! Mind your manners. I get first dibs.

 

[simons]

i disagree about the dark knight being the joker's film.. it was totally harvey dent's. the entire story revolved around him, directly or indirectly.

 

[papa_levante]

it was totally harvey dent's. the entire story revolved around him, directly or indirectly.

Unfortunately, yes.

I adored this film! Something was missing but for the most part, Heath is an amazing actor! I won't just say that because he's passed on. I say it because I was sold. Better Joker than Jack Nicholson ever was in 1989. HANDS DOWN.

At times I felt like Heath didn't get enough lines; he didn't feel like a joker. But disregarding the original Batman movie altogether, Heath made it his own. Absolutely brilliant work.



Favorite line: I can make this pencil disappear.

 

[harrietcamilla]

Its driving me crazy it's not out here yet! i just have to wait three more days

 

[it-boy's nature]

I thought the movie was pretty spectacular. I'm not a fan of action films, at all, but I took away far more than the gun powder and expolsions that littered every scene. I mainly saw it becaue it was Heath's last performance and he cetainly lived up to the hype. i thought it would be very eery to watch a newly released film where one of the stars has already passed but i was surprised to see that I often forgot i was watching a dead guy and just let myself be engaged in Ledger's outstanding portrayal of the joker.

i loved the fact that there were serious lessons to be learned in the film. There was a contant struggle of good vs. evil. I thought it was very modern the way that Bruce ( batman) was portrayed as a flawed individual with inner conlficts rather than a one diemnsional superhero.

The joker was also refreshing because though i expected a typcal "villian", he was instead a sociopathic man with insight on the world as it is today. of course, his intentions were malicious but i though it was great when he said, "madness is quite simple; like gravity, all it needs is a little push." That quote is so thought provoking.

i know this is really long but i could go on forever about the symbolsim in Harvey's double faced coin, for his entire life he made his own luck and it wasn't until the joker taught him a lesson that he was burned halfway down his face and his coin now had two sides from which he could see that life was about taking chances and not being a "schemer".

i'd love to hear what eveyone else thinks about these themes...

 

[thehappyhippyyy]

i think the reason that everyone looks at the joker as tragic (and feel sympathetic) is because the tragedy behind the role, heath. but if everyone who saw this movie, and thought, well heath would be exponentially happy the way it turned out.. then you can view the character in any way you want, other than feeling sorry. i still havent gotten over what happened to him, it seems unreal, but i think that he truly is looking down smiling and appriciating all the good things people have to say about him.

also heath created this character to be a pyshco, but enough where it was clearly funny at some points. thats what the whole thing was about. he was just so over the top. and i dont think whilst creating the character he wanted people so sit there and think 'wow i kind of feel bad for the joker' i mean there was at least two points where you sat there and thought that. but at the end of it all you realise there really was no reason to feel sympathetic for a man who tries to make two ships full of people decide which one they want to blow up. there were alot of times in the movie that i had to even remind myself that the joker is human. i got so carried away in the absolute maddness of him i forgot. which is not a bad thing.

i think the movie was well written (there werent points in the plot where i was thinking; well what just happened), i dont think there was too much going on, because im glad that it turned out the way it did. i wasnt a big fan of two faced, he practically whined the whole time while he was around murdering people. i was pretty surprised how underwritten bale was, but i didnt care. this was clearly the jokers movie, and everyone knew that. whenever there is such an iconic character, you have to know that your going to be underwritten. i'm just really happy the movie turned out the way it did. it was actually better than i thought it was going to be, and i clearly thought it was going to be brilliant.
all in all, i hope to see a posthumous oscar nod for heath, and i really wouldnt be surprised if he won it. not because of what has happened to him, but he really delievered in this movie, and if he were around today, im sure that he would still be getting oscar buzz. i know that batman is science fiction, but SO far, i havent seen a movie where an actor has given a mindblowing preformance like that. i'm sure there has, or will be, but i really think (and so do allll critics and actors) think that he will get this nomination. bless him, i love this man.

hope you liked my rant.. haha sorry if not of it made any sense.

 

[Deleted member 98391]

Unfortunately, yes.

Why unfortunately?

I found that the film was equal parts the Joker and Harvey Dent, because essentially it was all about their juxtaposition. They're both agents of change, tugging the city in one direction or the other: Joker would have Gotham return to its basest, most anarchical nature (strip away the construct of society, let ochlocracy prevail); while Dent has always meant to uplift it, even if it's by unorthodox or vigilante means (e.g. the citizen soldier embodying virtues like pietas or auctoritas).

 

[papa_levante]

^Good explanation.

Why unfortunately?

WHITE WRITING:
I thought that towards the end, Harvey Dent suddenly "stole the thunder" of the Joker. I didn't expect him to become a bad guy, and then suddenly there were TWO bag guys. I was thinking, "Where is this going all of a sudden?" I began thinking that there'd be a sequel and then Harvey dies. It was sort of random to have Harvey evolving but in the hospital scene, I think that's what the Joker wanted, but I felt it was done oddly.

 

[Moofins]

I agree with your explanation and opinion 100%. It was the difference between Two-Face and the Joker that made the film so good, I didn't feel as if it was one villain's film or the other as they both represented different parts of Gotham.

I found that the film was equal parts the Joker and Harvey Dent, because essentially it was all about their juxtaposition. They're both agents of change, tugging the city in one direction or the other: Joker would have Gotham return to its basest, most anarchical nature (strip away the construct of society, let ochlocracy prevail); while Dent has always meant to uplift it, even if it's by unorthodox or vigilante means (e.g. the citizen soldier embodying virtues like pietas or auctoritas).

 

[papa_levante]

"I want my phone call."

 

[lesypersound]

SPOILERS:
i like how the film goes beyond good or evil...it's about order versus chaos(joker)/fate(dent). and it also shows that it's human nature that we encompass all of these things (ferry boat civilians, civilians and even cops demanding batman reveal himself).
joker isn't evil or crazy at all...he was very sane and a very human sociopath who just had a lesser opinion of humanity (like Raz in Batman Returns) and disdained the pretension and futility of order/control ...and Joker was quite insightful in saying that ppl are sheep and will follow anything even the worst atrocity if it was in the plan.

and joker is much more sophisticated than harvey dent who is just bitter and leaves his decision to "fate". i'm glad harvey dent did his thing and is finished off w/ this film.

the writing and directing was so tight for this film. i enjoyed it a lot!

 

[papa_levante]

^ in the future, post in white so no one who hasn't seen it doesn't get the movie ruined for them.

 

[Faith Akiyama]

^^I changed your text to white

Also, I'm in total agreement with the parallel between Raz and the Joker -- it wasn't a connection I made previously, but now that you mention the similarities, it's very evident that the latter is a more sadistic, evolved version of the former ( As TDK is the same to B...chaos indeed has Gotham tethered.

 

[Faith Akiyama]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDxgNjMTPIs

 

[Manuva]

^^I changed your text to white

Thank you! For a minute there I was all ready to pull out my "Holy spoilers, Batman!" line

 

[Deleted member 98391]

Ahahaha, that vid! "The sheer awesomeness of The Dark Knight has brought about my Second Coming."