Review: ‘The Dark Knight’

Its really hard to say that you didnt absolutely LOVE this movie, because 2/5 geeks gave this movie a perfect score, and the other 2 gave it an almost perfect score. Heath Ledger turned in one of the most memorable performances in recent memory. Christian Bale was as great as we have all come to expect. Maggie Gyllenhaal played a perfect Rachel Dawes, and was quite mesmerizing on screen. Aaron Eckhart delivered the goods that none of us were sure he could deliver as this was one of his first/biggest serious roles.

[rating: 4.5/5]

For all of you that have seen the movie..sound in below and give us your review. Also let us know if you watched it on a regular screen, or the IMAX.

Scott:

The Dark Knight..all the hype for this movie, all the marketing, the viral websites, the logo on EVERYTHING, it all came to fruition for the movie geeks on Wednesday night. Was it worth the wait? ..Well maybe.

We all know why the movie is great, so I am not going to tell you WHY to see it. Everyone will be seeing it today/this weekend/next week no matter what, so here is why I was a little disappointed in the movie.

Heath Ledger turned in the best performance of any villain, in any superhero movie. There is absolutely no disputing that fact, but even my wife made the comment that it seemed like it was the Joker’s movie, with cameos from Batman. The film clocks in at 2 hours and 32 minutes, which is a hell of a long movie and sometimes that is fine. In this case the movie “felt” like it was ending at about the 1 hour and 50 minute mark, only to have a 42 minute climax, and in certain cases we can only wish for one that long. I feel like they probably should have ended the movie 40 minutes earlier, and saved some things for the next one.

Christian Bale’s voice while he is Batman was entirely too deep and gruff. The first time I heard it, it made me snicker because it just sounds too forced and off the wall. I had to go back and watch ‘Batman Begins’ just to make sure it didn’t sound that way in the first one.

I also think they completely misused the Scarecrow villain, and they should have just left him out of the mix all together. To have him as one of the main villains in the first movie, then to have him get captured and turned into the police after 30 seconds is just ridiculous even if he did have his “game” figured out by then. If they were going to do that, they should have made it a fake Scarecrow to go along with the fake Batman’s.

Now dont get me wrong the movie was epic, but not perfect. Everyone should see it, just don’t expect it not to disappoint just a little bit. All the hype is over, and by next week we will be talking about something else(WATCHMEN) and I can be thankful for that.

(4 out of 5)

Zac:

Christopher Nolan returns with his follow up to Batman Begins and has crafted one of the finest comic book adaptations in film history.
Batman’s (Christian Bale) presence in Gotham is driving down crime, driving the Mob mad, and inspiring people like Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to make a tangible difference in the city. Enter The Joker (Heath Ledger), a psychotic madman, who gets off on anarchy, social distortion, and pure mayhem. He convinces the Mob to entrust him with the task of taking down the Batman and returning the status quo of criminal activity in Gotham to its once great order.
In the meantime, Bruce Wayne, Batman’s real life persona, is using his Wayne Enterprises to investigate a Chinese accountant who handles the mob’s money in an attempt to help bring down the Mob threat in Gotham with the assistance of Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) and his Charmin of the Board Locus Fox (Morgan Freeman). If his life was complicated enough, Wayne’s dream girl, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is dating Dent as Wayne struggles with his desire to support Dent and his cause while longing the fact that he longs for Rachel, with his alter ego of Batman getting in the way of them being together.
I will spoil no more, as this film constantly keeps you guessing, leaves you on the edge of your seat, and sucks you into the material with ease. Nolan’s skills as a director grow with every film he does, and the first two thirds of this film are almost absolutely perfect. It’s at the point of the film’s major turning point that the pacing hits a couple of minuscule snags, but are always remedied as the movie grabs you by the throat and pulls you back in. The score for this film is phenomenal, with it weaving in and out and hitting the perfect note every time, perfectly complementing the material on screen. Also worth noting, the action is shot far better in this film, with less cuts and wider angles, and this reviewer couldn’t be happier to see those changes from Batman Begins.
The acting is top notch across the board with the returning characters all continuing to carry over their continued success. Bale is great as Bruce Wayne and really commands the action as Batman. He is intimidating and powerful as the Dark Knight, and outside going a little bit overboard with Bat Voice, he is cool calm, and a definitive presence as Batman. Michael Caine’s role is diminished but the wisdom provided by Alfred along with Morgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox both act as excellent mentors for Wayne and the way he must handle the duality of his persona. Gary Oldman’s Gordon is beefed up substantially in this film as he and Batman’s teamwork is more prevalent and effective, with Gordon playing a central role in the revolving plot of the film.
The newcomers help take this franchise to the next level though. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes as Dawes, and does a substantially more realistic and effective job as Wayne and Dent’s object of affection. She doesn’t feel forced and we can feel her heartbreak in the film. Aaron Eckhart is enigmatic as Dent, inspiring the viewers with his will and vitality as he becomes the real face of Gotham and lining himself up to become the real hero that the city needs to clean up the town and make a difference. Eckhart is instantly likable and incredibly terrifying when he has to be as struggles with his conscious on how extreme his measures should go to uphold justice in Gotham.
Finally, there is Heath Ledger as The Joker. I’m sure you have heard endless praise and hype for his performance and it is to be believed. He is terrifying, intense, psychotic, maniacal, and the best villain we have seen in a film in a long time. Ledger transformed into the Joker and created one of the most insane characters we will ever see in cinema and is worth the price of admission alone. The filmmakers do a fantastic job as well at setting up The Joker and who he is with one simple scene, all I can say is pencil, in that single moment you instantly understand Ledger and The Joker as he strikes fear into Gotham and the viewers around you.
The Dark Knight is a superb triumph for both comic book films and big budget cinema. It takes the viewer seriously; it rarely pulls punches, and never dials in a performance or action sequence. It is nearly perfectly crafted and is as entertaining as you could ask a film to be. Go see The Dark Knight as it will compete for the best film of the summer and be right there as one of the best films of the year.

(4.5 out of 5)

Ram Man:

I’m always cautious when a movie studio saturates the public with hype for a new movie. More times than not the movie ends up being a big let down or just plain bad. It seems like since the final whistle of the Superbowl in February nothing has been happening in the world except …”The Dark Knight”. Unlike films in the past, Christopher Nolan not only delivers on his follow-up to Batman Begins, but surpasses what I considered as the best Batman film ever made. Christian Bale is back as the caped crusader guarding the streets of Gotham. Micheal Caine and Morgan Freeman return as Alfred and Lucius Fox to round out the alumni cast from Batman Begins. I was really amazed that The Dark Knight was able to be even “Darker” than the previous film.

Dark Knight picks up right after begins had ended. Batman and Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) are still rounding up the mobsters that had previously been running Gotham. The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) makes a brief cameo to complete the transition from the first film. Evidently someone left the door open at Arkham Asylum. Gotham has a new problem…a homicidal, psychotic, terrorist, lunatic who is also brilliant and calls himself … “The Joker” Heath Ledger (in what turned out to be his final full performance on film) immerses himself fully into the role of the crown prince of crime. When I first learned that Nolan had cast Ledger in the role (he was the only one on Nolan’s list) I remembered Brokeback and Knight’s Tale and thought to myself this is going to be the film that kills the franchise again (last time was introducing Robin). I was soooooo WRONG. Ledger’s performance should garner a nomination from the academy and deserves to bring home the statue. This joker can hold his own with film history’s baddies like Vader and Hannibal Lechter. The Joker is set to take over Gotham and give the city what he terms a “better class of criminal”. He is an intelligent yet insane criminal that kills a thug with a pencil and later burns billions of dollars in a warehouse. The Joker wants “the Bat Man”. Nolan is the one director that gets the relationship between Batman and the Joker. They are like Yin & Yang and must have the other around to ensure a challenge to the other. This brings out one of the many positive responses from the crowd when Batman has caught the Joker; he has him hanging from a building..upside down… explaining to him how he has foiled his plan to kill two boats of Gotham’s citizens. That is when the Joker explains he doesn’t want Batman dead..he needs him and then drops the Jerry McGuire line “You complete me”. I almost fell out of my seat! This is just one scene of too many to list of the stellar performance handed in by Heath Ledger.

The Joker isn’t the only new face in this installment of the Dark Knight. We are introduce to the new D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhardt). He is going to clean up Gotham. He has put numerous criminal behind bars and now has been noticed by the Mob and more importantly..The Joker. Dent, the White Knight of justice, isn’t phased by death threats and continues to tighten the noose around Gotham’s criminals. Rachel Dawes is back as the assistant D.A. only we have traded up by casting Maggie Gyllenhall, to replace the inept Katie Holmes, in order to bring the character to life. There is romance in the D.A.’s office with Dent and Dawes hooking up which doesn’t sit well with lifelong friend Bruce Wayne (Bale). Batman is so impressed with Dent that he sees him becoming the “face” of Gotham and there being no need for Batman. Dent also impresses the Joker so much that his relationship also provides and avenue for him to kill a couple of D.A.’s with one bomb. I’m not going to give away the details but you do get to see the transformation of Dent’s character into the classic villain Harvey Two-Face in the closing moments of the film. I like the way Nolan transitions his villains from one film to the next. Unfortunately, with the passing of Heath ledger, the Joker will only merit a mention in the next film. the villainy for the follow-up to the Dark Knight will rest in the Hands of Dent’s homicidal split personalities and a rumored introduction of the Riddler. Nolan also plows some new ground with this film by having our hero go global. Batman must travel to China to apprehend and return Mr. Lau (Chin Han) ,a business man/crime-lord that attempting to control Gotham’s organized crime syndicates, back to the states. This allows the audience to see a few of Batman’s new weapons that he uses in this film (new suit, bat-wings that shoot out of his gloves).

I did fell as if the film ran a little long but it did not drag and the voice of Batman was more like a raspy drill Sergeant with laryngitis than the deep dark voice we loved in the first installment. On the outstanding performance given by Ledger as the Joker you are able to overlook these little flaws in the Dark knight . As good as Iron-Man was, The Dark Knight far surpasses it in the realm of comic-book adaptation and shines stronger than Gotham’s Bat Signal. It is also a must to see this film they way it was meant to be seen..on the IMAX screen. It was visually amazing. There are times you actually feel like you are soaring above Gotham with Batman. This is my favorite movie of the year, and I know it’s July, but a film will have to move me (literally) in order to de-thrown the Dark Knight in my eyes. I guess it was only fitting, I stayed to see the “in memory” during the credits for Heath Ledger, but the first person I see upon exiting the theater was …CHARLES! He is trying to see every showing of this film. The only thing I can say is: Charles you were right and I now understand!

(5 out of 5)

Travis:

So, after all the hype and speculating, how did ‘The Dark Knight’ fare? Its my opinion that, despite the film’s flaws, and it does have flaws, this sequel is still a remarkable follow-up to ‘Batman Begins’. I’ll touch on the flaws soon enough. At about 2 and a half hours in length, you may think it would get tedious, but I didn’t feel the urge to check my watch even once. Granted, there is certainly room to have made cuts to shorten the running time, but its my guess the cuts were avoided in honor of the late great Heath Ledger.

This brings me to my favorite element of the film, the driving force behind this battle between the strong-willed Batman and the brilliantly unpredictable Joker … Heath Ledger. What I saw was a young actor in his prime, not necessarily giving his best performance but rather performing at his best, displaying the stellar wisdom acquired during his relatively short career and culminating into an actor fully immersed in his character. Ledger clearly took influence from his predecessor, Jack Nicholson, but then ran with it adding much more depth and texture along with his own personal physical flair. Whenever the Joker appeared on screen (which is fortunately very often), I found myself glued to his performance, at times being gently pulled from my seat as though some invisible force of gravity was drawing me into the movie. The make-up did help with Ledger’s transformation, but it didn’t make the performance. Ledger was unrecognizable as himself because he was not present … it was all Joker. This was the main (minor) complaint I had with the 1989 version … as much as I enjoyed Nicholson, you still saw Jack in his performance. Ledger finally did the Joker justice by way of my own imagination. My only question is how he managed to tap into my brain without my knowing? Creepy.

Christian Bale was good, but his character seemed at times to take more of a supporting role to the Joker. Bale was somewhat less of a demanding presence as the Dark Knight. More than anything, I found his increased and exaggerated use of the deep, gravelly sinister Batman voice a bit distracting in some scenes. Otherwise, Bale came through as usual. Maggie G was Maggie G … attractive and acceptable on average as an actress, replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman continue to please in their small but crucial roles. Aaron Eckhart is probably the biggest surprise in this movie as Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face. Eckhart manages to give the character some real depth and emotion with just the right mix confidence and insecurity. Honestly, I can’t imagine what was going through the mind of Tommy Lee when he put his John Hancock on the ‘Batman Forever’ contract?

Overall, a thrilling action-packed continuation to ‘Batman Begins’ that should please even the harshest critics, but we know better than that … don’t we?

(4 out of 5)

Charles:

Batman Begins was a pleasant surprise to audiences around the world, leaving critics like myself, the fans, and audiences in high hopes for the awaited sequel. As you know, the unfortunate death of young and talented Heath Ledger has drawn even more attention to the film. Well… I am here to inform you that the mixed emotion and hot anticipation for The Dark Knight is justifiable. It DELIVERS… oh yeah baby! In all areas and every aspect I’d have to say- this is the best superhero film to date. Director Chris Nolan has developed a new and realistic dramatization of the super-hero persona that is so incredibly smokin’ hot that I DARE, no wait- I DOUBLE DARE, another director to even consider steppin’ up to this. Step step!

When the lights lowered and the film began, I actually got giddy… maybe even a bit nervous. I mean, come on… the anticipation, the hype, the curiosity…

The beginning was beautiful… instantly setting the tone with a sinister bluish fog, the Warner Bros logo and the DC comics symbol just tickled me with what kind of unique fun we were in for. It jumps quickly into a bank heist that had to be the most amazing experiences shot on film. The direction is flawless and the dialogue is right on. This movie is truly mind-blowing and I honestly am so impressed with the cinematography and editing. YES, every critic and person who has seen Dark Knight has ranted and raved about how BADASS Mr Ledger is as “The Joker”, and that, folks, might be because it is the honest to god truth! Heath Ledgers pristine performance as “The Joker” (the most malicious and threatening villian of all time) is stunning. His posture, mannerisms, stance, and speech were absolutely amazing. Every moment he shows up on screen, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Seriously, I now have creepy mini nightmares of “The Joker”. And to think he is no longer with us…at times I would forget that I was watching Heath Ledgers final ground-breaking performance.I am going to declare that he will win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor! This movie possesses some of the most thrilling, stunning, and frightening action-sequences of all time. The score is great and it really builds up with the pace of the movie, the editing is razor-sharp and graceful, and everything is just magnificent. Joker ,in my mind definitely overshadows the introduction of the Two-Face which is unfair but there is enough of the performance to hold you over till the next film. Christian Bale gives a lively performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman which in mind may be the best Batman ever. I was kind of annoyed with the raspy voice he brought along with him but this little annoyance will not affect the film in whole . Gary Oldman is convincingly perfect as Lieutenant Gordon. Maggie Gyllenhaal, a top notch actress by the way, was amazing as Rachel Dawes and definitely fills in for that “girl” Katie Holmes. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman complete the original cast, once again giving excellent performances as Alfred Pennyworth and Lucious Fox.

I honestly think that The Dark Knight will be in contention with the other great films of 2008 and this might be the first comic-book/super-hero film to garner an Oscar for Best Picture. You will most likely see me at the theaters here in Saint Louis, I will be taking multiple trips to the cinema. Thank You Mr Nolan, for a masterpiece!

(5 out of 5)

[rating: 4.5/5]