The Dark Knight (2008)

[Eskimohorn 5642]

Uh, ok. It's okay to admit that something excellent isn't perfect. The sequence I mentioned, while visually cool, was pretty eye-rolly. As was the surveillance technology that he knew was wrong, but he pumped billions into because he knew that, someday, the ends would justify the means once...but only once.

I’m referencing your criticism of Joker’s master plans needing perfect execution.

They showed you in great detail when a plan goes right (beginning), showed in great detail when it failed (ending), showed the Joker didnt care if it went right or not. What more do you need?

You want to see the Joker painstakingly planning and testing his scaffolding and bombs? Sitting in a stakeout? Disposing of dead bodies like Walter White in Breaking Bad? We didnt need any of that stuff in a feature film.

And the idea that the very powerful build very powerful weapons but only exercise that power once is very in character for Bruce Wayne.

This is a great film where the flaws are a matter of debate and perspective.

[The Original Greaser Bob 2848]

5 hours ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Wait, are there people that don't?  

Those people are square.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

7 hours ago, mdmost said:

Uh...

 

D'oh   !!

[Lone Star Horn 2018]

On 1/28/2022 at 3:56 PM, The Original Greaser Bob said:

Those people are square.

But, Its Hip to be Square

[Bookman 4642]

Ha ha ha ha ha. And I thought my jokes were bad.

[Biff Tannen 45737]

On 1/28/2022 at 11:11 AM, OneOfTheOutOfFocusGuys said:

 

[henrygandorf 29194]

there was definitely a lot of drama in the 1-3 threads about this movie on the old site.

i liked this movie (liked batman begins more) but started the thread "the dark knight - what i didn't like".

sometimes i like to toss a grenade and then just walk away.

[ztejas 43537]

I guess I elicited some decent discussion. I was in my cups and wanted to share a writing exercise that came to me on a rewatch - I struggle with opening up my creative self. I wish I could do it more often without needing alcohol to remove the inhibitional barrier. 

I think it's probably one of the best 15 films I've ever seen. There's some stuff I haven't seen. There's also a lot of stuff others have seen that they've liked better. 

I know I came across strong. That was kind of the point I guess. Thanks for putting up with ztejas. He's a good guy but he's also a crazy asshole that on occasion may refer to himself in the 3rd person. 

[ztejas 43537]

On 1/27/2022 at 3:00 AM, ztejas said:

If this isn't in your short list of finest films of the 21st century you're a fucking dunce and pretty much just trying to be counter-culture for the sake of it. Or - maybe - you just don't understand film. 

I mean this is total horseshit. The rest I think was decent. 

[mchookem 16385]

6 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

sometimes i like to toss a grenade and then just walk away.

 

[ztejas 43537]

7 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

sometimes i like to toss a grenade and then just walk away.

And yeah this is kind of what I did here. Shoot me. I'm guilty. 

[Parliament 14296]

12 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

 

sometimes i like to toss a grenade and then just walk away.

Some men just want to see the World burn.

[MissingInAction 25183]

The best aspect of this movie to me is that you feel the Jokers presence in every scene whether he is there or not. 

Anyone could be one of his henchmen. He could be watching from any window or door way...

[Quagmire 2147]

Why didn’t two face recognize joker until he took his medical mask off ?

[billfromlaketravis 11522]

It’s a top 5 movie for me. Blows your hair back from beginning to end. Find one bad scene. One of the great opening sequences in film history. 
 

I saw it IMAX the day it opened. I liked they shot much of it in Chicago. It throws a wrench in the New York City is Gotham City BS. 

Edited February 4, 2022 by billfromlaketravis

[Bateshorn 9940]

On 1/28/2022 at 12:11 PM, OneOfTheOutOfFocusGuys said:

 

Jesus.  This hits so hard that it’s a bit triggering. 
 

I watch every couple of years, I pick up little things on the edges that blow my mind.  I little facial nuance, a tiny pause in delivery, a deeper aspect to the Joker.  It was one of those rare occurrences where everything came together perfectly from the least important extra to the leads/direction/screen writing/production.

 

[Red Five 40895]

On 2/4/2022 at 5:30 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

Find one bad scene.

Courtroom scene where dude pulls a gun on Two Face. 

[oSuJeff97 3435]

On 1/28/2022 at 8:16 AM, Underdog said:

This alone makes the Burton/Keaton version better than any other…

 

I don't know if they are "better" than Nolan's but they are quite good. I'd actually consider them "underrated" at this point just because Nolan's films sucked all of the air out of the "Batman movie" zeitgeist. 

Batman and Batman Returns are fantastic and I'll always love them. Burton did a tremendous job of essentially making a live action comic book (versus Nolan, whose inspiration was more urban crime dramas/mob movies), and the casting of Michael Keaton, Nicholson, DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer was perfect.

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by oSuJeff97

[Parliament 14296]

On 1/28/2022 at 8:16 AM, Underdog said:

This alone makes the Burton/Keaton version better than any other…

 

Show some respect, Son:

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Parliament

[Underdog 28773]

No. 

[ztejas 43537]

Watching again... theres something about this film that grounds me. I had a weird day and have had a weird week and I thought I'd throw it on. 

I like what I wrote initially to start this post. I don't like my backtracks and follow ups as much. I think I nailed how I feel right off the bat. So, if you're wondering how I feel, read the first post. 

Maggie Gyllenhaal still leaves so much to be desired. God dammit... although, she's growing on me. 

---

Something I've noticed upon this viewing... It's fairly analogous framing and color-wise to how a comic book would be done. Other "super hero" movies (in quotes because I'm not sure that's really what this movie is and also because stuff being made lately barely resembles this) don't really seem to follow this. 

I touched on some of this as part of my initial take on the film so it's sort of a secondary commentary, but I think a lot of this phenomenon is due to how consistent the film is from shot to shot. If you imagine every new shot as a new frame in a comic book it flows fairly seamlessly. When the scene and actors change the colors and perspectives change. And as long as you're within the same scene or situation - the backdrop isn't going to shift that much. Most movies don't really do this that effectively (and that's putting it softly).

Again - absolute technical masterpiece and an undeniable achievement of film. It's really, really hard to identify comparable examples.