The Dark Knight (2008)

Awesome!!!!!!

Who in their right mind would give this movie 1 star? Have you been living in a cave? This movie is every bit of the hype it has received and more. Heath Ledger made this movie. I absolutely loved, loved, loved his interpretation of The Joker. What a way to go out with a bang. I only wish he was able to show the world more of his talent. Aaron Eckhart did an exceptional job as Two Face also. The movie was phenomenal!!! November 15, 2008

one of the best

i saw this movie when it first came out. then i saw it again a week later. i enjoyed it more and more each time i saw it. (third and fourth). after that movie tickets just got too expensive and i decided that i needed to wait for it to come out for home viewing. amazing, well worthy of the praise it recieves. November 14, 2008

simple amazing

IS the best movie of the year,just awesome Mr nolan created the best batman movie November 14, 2008

The violence and destruction are unrelenting

At one point in the movie, nearing the end, I was saying to myself, "My God! How much longer can this go on! What more can they do!"
As a showcase for special effects and especially Heath Ledger's amazing performance, this movie is a success.
More from Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman would have been nice, as would more of a story.
It's almost like they took an hour of the Joker's life and bisected it into seconds. Senseless violence, on and on...
November 13, 2008

One Of The Best Batman Tales Out There, And One Of 2008's Best Movies

Batman and company have been appearing in live-action adaptations through movies or tv for decades now, but 2005's Batman Begins (Two-Disc Special Edition) was the first (and long-awaited) appearance in live-action of a Batman and a Gotham City that resemble the comic book versions of the modern age. "The Dark Knight" carries on this tradition, picking up about a year after "Batman Begins" with the Bat's war on crime in full swing and Carmine Falcone's once all-encompassing crime empire battered but plowing on. Two major new forces enter in the form of new District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who's on his own full-speed-ahead crusade to clean up the city, and a madman clown calling himself The Joker (Heath Ledger, of course) who takes on good guys and bad guys alike in malicious glee. Despite Joker's initial attacks on interests of the crime family, they end up taking him up on his offer for help against Batman because they feel the Bat poses the greater threat to their continued existance. Joker's tactics wind up pushing Batman, Dent, and the GCPD closer to the edge. Batman, Dent, and Jim Gordon - the three key figures in the battle to bring the city back from the brink it's been on for years - all wind up having to navigate situations where the line between right and wrong, and how to respond to different threats, isn't all that clear.

Heath Ledger has justifiably gotten tons of praise for his portrayal of the psychotic Joker, and rightfully so - I feel it's equal to his performance in Brokeback Mountain (Widescreen Edition) - but the other performers have consequently gotten a little lost in the hype, and not gotten the credit they're do. "The Dark Knight" features an outstanding ensemble cast, with Christian Bale making a great Batman, and Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth), Maggie Gyllenhaal (replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes) and Eckhart (Dent) all bringing their characters to life. This movie gives all the so-called 'supporting' characters, as well as the overall situation in Gotham, and the role of the city itself, important parts in building up the whole. For a long time, I've felt that pretty much all modern comic book series are in reality ensemble books, with the character in the title (Batman, Superman, Hulk, whoever) being more the flagship character of the cast, instead of totally dominating things. And "The Dark Knight" has done things that way too, has let different players and different facets of the story get good sceen time instead of just being the backdrop for Batman Vs. Joker.

Visually, the film is incredible, and captures the comics's look incredibly - a couple of images look just like the photorealistic paintings of Alex Ross in a book like Justice, Vol. 1. The action is fantastic and tense. The look of the city, the design of the Batmobile, everything on this level has been expertly crafted.

As for flaws? There are very, very few. Some might argue that the Joker is in some ways different from in the comics - i.e. he wears white face paint instead of actually being a death white, things like that. I think the thing that mattered was that they really got the character's mindset right was what mattered - he's not, despite his name, supposed to be a 'comedic relief' character, and he's not simply a criminal mastermind with an outlandish costume. He's a hyperviolent psychopath who's arguably the most totally devoid-of-conscience enemy Batman's ever faced, and this comes across on screen. The exact specifics of his appearance, etc. have varied over the years, but what's important, whether it's in the comics, the movies or elsewhere, is to get the character's core right. The way Batman's handled is also excellent, and he's certainly built up more convincingly than in most of the pre-2005 movies, although I did find one glitch - the scene in which he thwarts one of the Falcone family's henchmen by seizing the gun barrel and bending it back. It's very important to remember that Batman does Not have superhuman strenth, nor does his armored costume give him any special 'powers'. This kind of thing only happened the once so it's no big drawback, but it is something the filmmakers might want to be conscious of so it doesn't get out of hand next time around.

It certainly doesn't take away from the movie being one of the year's best though. And without giving anything away, the ending only makes one more eager for the next chapter. A+ November 11, 2008

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