The Dark Knight Review by Shale July 19, 2008 I just saw The Dark Knight today and yes, the late Heath Ledger does a great, menacing performance as The Joker in this, his last film. This movie is cleaning up at the box office this weekend and about 94% of critics give it good ratings. It was good. It was action packed. It showed a Gotham City corrupt to its core, which according to those knowledgeable of Batman comix, is on the mark. Dark Knight Night Flight From the trailers and the Internet, the story is probably known by everyone who just went to see how it plays out. District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is bravely fighting the mob in Gotham with the help of his assistant Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). This is the Rachel that Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has known all his life and wants to connect with when his job as Batman ends. Trouble is, Rachel and Harvey have a thing for each other so there is a triangle going. Conflicted Couple Rachel and Harvey The mob has infiltrated all city departments and no one can be trusted, but that is the least of law enforcements problems when a real psychopath shows up. The opening scene of a bank robbery in progress shows the extent of The Joker's malevolence and it just shows more and more throughout the movie. We have the usual characters here from Batman Begins. Wayne Enterprises CEO Lucious Fox (Morgan Freeman) is still making all the gadgets and weapons that give Batman the edge. Lifelong servant, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) is still presenting the front for the rich, industrialist playboy and looking out for Wayne's best interests as his surrogate father. Both of these characters are used to help Batman keep his moral compass and not be guilt-ridden into succumbing to the terrorist Joker who is killing citizens just for the chaos he can cause. During this mayhem The Joker is actually caught but you know it is too soon into the movie for him to stay caught - so escape, more mayhem, get caught again. Gotcha (for a while) Now don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this movie but overall I wasn't as thrilled by it as all the hype would have me think I should. I just watched Batman Begins last week and preferred that movie to this one. My problem was (despite what other reviewers say) the dragging. They could have made a better movie in two hours and quite frankly (All the kids will howl at this one) they could have cut out a little mayhem and there woulda been enough to go around. I felt they were running from one brutal situation to another, one exploding situation after another, to the point that it got tedious. Maybe they were trying to show the absolute, unstoppable corruption of the Joker, but that was amply conveyed without the continuous mayhem. But, don't let my comments or anyone else's stop you from seeing this movie. I would have seen it no matter what anyone else said and it was a good summer action flick - just not as satisfying for me as Batman Begins. I will give this a 1 DVD rating, because I am in no hurry to see it again but it will go into my collection with Batman Begins. Shale's movie rating scale: 0 DVD No I would not waste my money or time seeing this movie again. 1 DVD I would get this DVD for $5 or $7 2 DVD I would get this DVD for $10 3 DVD I would get this DVD for $15 4 DVD I would get this DVD for $25 as soon as it was released.
Shale, Good review man...I agree with 95% pf your assessment. The only part I really have a disagreement with is that the mayhem was overdone. I'm assuming you were never a comics reader or at least never much of a Batman comic reader. The way it's portrayed in the movie is pretty much dead on how it is in the comics when the Joker is involved...mayhem to the extreme. I don't hold it against you though. Everyone has their opinion on things...yours is no less valid than mine, lol. I purposely avoided as much of the review and hype as I could for this movie because I didn't want any preconceived notions going in. I'm already biased enough because I've been a Batman geek since I was a little fellow. Ledger's performance is being held under a pretty powerful microscope due in large part to his passing and, to a lesser extent, because the Joker role is a mighty large pair of shoes to fill. It's almost as iconic as Batman himself. I've never seen Ledger in anything else and had no idea of his talent. This movie makes me want to rent everything he's been in because his performance here is that good. Okay...enough rambling, lol. Keep up the reviews Shale...I love 'em!
Thanx for the comments FunHogg. I post on JoBlo.com, a movie fanatic site where EVERY movie has reviews from the extremely liked to the extremely disliked. It is hard to believe that everyone is watching the same movie. Nobody posted an extreme dislike for this movie yet, but there were some, like myself who were a little let down after all the hype. I haven't read comic books since before you were born. (Actually, when you were born I was reading ZAP Comix, something entirely diff than Marvel or DC). When I last read Batman the world was a little more quaint so I have been away from the canon for about a half century.
I just saw the movie last night and i would have to say i liked it more than Begins. I think Heath Ledger did a knockout performance as the Joker. The way he portrayed him made me thing he was one of the most evil, mad villians. Also to me his death had no barring on the movie, i think he delivered one of the best performances and definatley deserves a post-humous award. IMO he beats out Nicholson as a Joker. I will definatley go see this movie again with some other people.
I thought that movie was very confusing. I was so lost. It was entertaining, though, dont get me wrong.
one of the best i've seen in a while. he actually just started shooting another movie before he passed. so they're having other people fill in his spot. i wanna see how that turns out.
yeaaah, Terry Gillium's 'Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasuss! supposedly Johnny Depp and Jude Law are filling in, and sadly, so is Colin Ferrel. Batman was great though. I wanted to watch it again immediately after I saw it. Christian Bale is teh sexy and I would give him a 4 DVD rating alone for his mom and sister assaulting awesomeness.
i liked it. there were some confusing parts but overall the movie was awesometastic. one thing i didnt like, the guy who played batman. he didnt seem like a batman. i thought they could of found a better dude
The beginning was a little convoluted, but I thought that the rest of it was extremely well done and reminded me a lot of one of my favorite movies, Heat. I'd give it a 4 dvd rating regardless of the beginning.
Odd rating system... I have to disagree with the rating you've given it, though... However I may not fully understand it. I won't be rushing out to buy the DVD but I do plan to see it again at the cinema. Thought it was quite brilliant... In fact, I've rated it 10/10... Though I should maybe have put that into the context of what we refer to as "Superhero films". Anyways, I've a review up here: http://www.schmut.co.uk/blog/ My site design is rather basic and may be glitchy. It was rushed so that I could get a review of the Dark Knight onto it as sort of an exclusive. The full release in the UK not being 'til Friday.
Even it with all the hype Dark Knight lived up to it IMHO. The actors were solid, and the story lined matched up with the comics pretty nicely. There were a few things different from the comic (Batman pretty much makes the Joker in the comic) but it played out nicely on the big screen. I hope to see it again actually. I would def recommend this movie to any Batman fan or action flick junky.
Yes it is an odd system. I should clarify it by calling it "Shale's Personal Movie Rating Scale." I own over 200 DVD's - a collector of movies. Many of them bought used and cheaply when they were years old. So, personally I evaluate by what pricing I would add a DVD to my collection (or if I would) Across The Universe and Shortbus I got for $25 when they first came out (In fact I had to order Shortbus, it wasn't in wide distribution) I liked your review and there you clarified the character "Two Faced." I have another axiom, not to compare movies to books, plays, or comics. It is a different medium and as thus stands on its own. You are obviously a fan of the Batman comix and this movie was made for you. You knew backstory to which the casual viewer is not privy. So, in a sense we were seeing two different movies as I did not make any comparison to the Batman comix and you knew if it followed canon or not or if it was true to the characters. I have read other reviews of this movie where this was part of the discussion, and those fans in the know said this was more like the Joker in those comix and the tone was closer to the comic Batman than previous movies (Except perhaps "Begins"). So, I will see this movie again, but I am not running out to get the DVD at full price. Now Iron Man I saw twice in two days in theater when it came out. By discussion on JoBlo movie board I understand a lot of fans have seen this movie half a dozen times or more, so that attributes to its success at the box office - the repeat viewer fans.
Thanks Shale. I must tell you, I'm very impressed by your DVD collection. I only have fifty or so, myself, but I'm young and broke; so I can only hope it will grow with time. Thanks for the kind words on my review. I'm actually not a reader of the Batman comics; never have been. I have seen all the films, though, so my 'Two-Face' is actually the one we see in 'Batman Forever'; a terrible film. I must have been seven when I first saw it, though, so it didn't need to be any good. The problem with that film, and with 'Batman and Robin', is their appeal to children. They were both created to have broad, mainstream appeal. 'Begins' and 'the Dark Knight' do away with this need for mass-attention (though with the hype built up for TDK, the producers clearly still want it). If not for the earlier, mainstream films I would not have been a fan of Batman. Though they were appalling films that I first watched, they have laid down the foundation of interest and knowledge that brings me to enjoy the current Batman film ventures. Having grown older also, I'm loving the darker rendition of the characters that just makes them feel more real to me. Whereas before the characters seemed to be very 2-dimensional, now I feel the darkness has brought depth to the story of Batman. I'm also pleased to know that the latest films are returning to the feel of the original comics, but I was never a reader of them. I am now considering, though; as I do feel TDK was a sensational film. Personally, I don't know what you could see in 'Begins' that would have you rate it more highly than this film, but each to their own. Perhaps I'm bias in my assessment as The Scarecrow was not actually a villain I was at all familiar with, and TDK brought back to life two unforgettable classics.
Someone I know saw that film,and said it was overlong and overrated,and just wanted the movie to end.
I am the self-proclaimed biggest batman fan, and I think Christian Bale and his Batman flicks (Batman Begins and Dark Knight) and to a lesser extent, Michael Keaton and his 2 (Batman and Batman returns) capture the true essence of what Batman is about...dark, sinister, mysterious...the Batman from the original comics and Frank Miller's version...what I consider the Renaissance of Batman. I can't see any other actor who would have done a better job for Batman and Ledger's joker (i have to say this) was better than Nicholsan's...
