The dark knight

[alien space marine]

I would say its just a hair away from Sweeney Todd in the demented film noire department.

Lots of shock and awe in this sequel, Very few comic gags as Joker would say "why so serious"?

Heath ledgers Joker is more Hannibal lecture meets the good fellas and probaily is the coldest and meanest incarnation of the Joker ever made.

Christian Bale's raspy voice for Batman, Is really rough and unconvincing.

The best performance was from Health Ledger no question.

[DMiller]

I'm really looking forward to seeing it. I'll post my thoughts tomorrow after I come back from Gotham.

[Dark Jaguar]

I accepted the rough voice as "inexperience" in the first movie (for the character). If he hasn't improved it in this one, now it'll just seem like bad acting. The cartoon had the best "serious voice" for Batman when he interrogated someone. It had a cool detached nature to it that seemed pretty scary.

It is unfortunate that the guy playing this new Joker is dead, as it means they can't bring the Joker back (at least not easily) in future movies.

[alien space marine]

[Dark Jaguar]

I wasn't actually talking about that...

Anyway, the spoiler tags appear to be broken. Clicking show on one shows ALL of them.

[alien space marine]

1 The Dark Knight (2008) $155M $155M
2 Mamma Mia! (2008) $27.6M $27.6M
3 Hancock (2008) $14M $192M
4 Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) $11.9M $43.1M
5 Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) $10M $56.4M
6 WALL·E (2008) $9.81M $182M
7 Space Chimps (2008) $7.35M $7.35M
8 Wanted (2008) $5.1M $123M
9 Get Smart (2008) $4.08M $120M
10 Kung Fu Panda (2008) $1.75M $207M

TDK broke Spider man record, This is the biggest selling blockbuster of the year.

This has been the Super hero summer for sure.

1.The dark knight (batman)
2.Iron Man
3.Hancock
4.Incredible Hulk
5.Hellboy 2

I think TDK will be a classic for sure.

[DMiller]

I have to say that the Dark Knight is the best superhero movie I have ever seen, and it is the first time I would consider a superhero movie to be a good overall movie. The Spiderman movies were pretty good as was Batman Begins, but nothing comes close to touching the Dark Knight. The acting was incredible in the film and I think Bale actually does well as Batman. He is not the best actor of the bunch in the film, but the raspy voice fits the Batman the film is trying to depict. I thought the hype about Ledger's performance was going to lead to a let down, but he was incredible and I'm sure he will at least get an Oscar nomination. It's a shame he won't be able to reprise the role.

I loved the fact that Dark Knight had so much more depth than the standard superhero movie. There was almost no camp, and there was even a lack of comedic breaks. This movie was not meant to be funny, but was meant to be a look at vigilantism and how lines can be crossed and rules broken in the process of attempting to do "good." The struggles with morality abound in the movie, and not just for Batman. Harvey Dent, Lucius Fox, and Rachel all have their own struggles during the film. The only main character to not deal with his own internal struggles is the Joker, but he is generally the catalyst for the other character's struggles.

Christopher Nolan really outdid himself with this movie, and he will have a really hard time topping it with the next Batman. A villain will be difficult to choose because the series has totally gone away from superpowers and that rules out many Batman villains. The Penguin seems to be the logical choice, but it will be interesting to see where Nolan goes next. Anyone who doesn't see this movie is really missing something special.

[Dark Jaguar]

Mr. Freeze was always a personal fave of mine from the cartoon series. I'd like to see him return with all the same tragedy they brought out in that show. The new cartoon show that reduced him to a petty diamond thief really sucked though. Hey they could do a combo story with a new Riddler (they need not make him a joke character this time around, just a puzzly madman) where he kidnaps Freeze's frozen girl and forces Freeze to do various crimes in order to solve his riddles.

Come to think of it, a Mad Hatter could be interesting. Oh, one thing about Arcam Asylum, what sort of sucky security does that place have anyway? Huh, maybe Harley Quinn could show up as a "devoted diciple" to the Joker as a replacement. There's certainly room to grow with the series.

The thing is I never really "got" the penguin.

[alien space marine]

Mr. Freeze was always a personal fave of mine from the cartoon series. I'd like to see him return with all the same tragedy they brought out in that show. The new cartoon show that reduced him to a petty diamond thief really sucked though. Hey they could do a combo story with a new Riddler (they need not make him a joke character this time around, just a puzzly madman) where he kidnaps Freeze's frozen girl and forces Freeze to do various crimes in order to solve his riddles.

Come to think of it, a Mad Hatter could be interesting. Oh, one thing about Arcam Asylum, what sort of sucky security does that place have anyway? Huh, maybe Harley Quinn could show up as a "devoted diciple" to the Joker as a replacement. There's certainly room to grow with the series.

The thing is I never really "got" the penguin.

Joe Pesci for penguin! They cant have any of the cheesy stuff from the Tim Burton movie.

I think Catwomen is a option, I still say that Clayface would be good since its unexplored.

Some versions of Catwomen Had her started as a pupil of a character named Ted the wildcat Grant another burglar crime king who turns straight.

[Great Rumbler]

I wanted to go see Dark Knight on the IMAX, but it was sold out. In the end I had to settle for the regular theater. :(

On the other than, it didn't diminish my enjoyment of DK and I really want to see again very soon. It's easily my favorite movie so far of 2008.

[Dark Jaguar]

This was a really good movie.

Also, did anyone get the impression that the Joker didn't really seem altogether rational? I think he might be suffering from some sort of mental disorder...

Joker: I can assure you I'm not suffering!

http://thejokeris.ytmnd.com/

[Sacred Jellybean]

Also, did anyone get the impression that the Joker didn't really seem altogether rational?

Yeah, I noticed he seemed to have more facial tics and other cues show that he's just completely insane, instead of a somewhat rational sociopath.

I'm in the same camp as DMiller, this is probably the best superhero movie I've seen. I'd like to see it again in iMax. Heath Ledger had a really great insane laugh - I really noticed it in the camcorder footage he released.

As for the raspy voice, I didn't mind it. I don't really expect it to sound cool, I just see it as a necessary means (to disguise his voice). It never sounded dumb or took me out of the experience.

[Dark Jaguar]

That's the thing, it actually did bring me out of it. I suppose it's a matter of opinion but it's kinda hard for Batman to have some sort of emotional cry of "Harvey!" when he's trying to sound all scary. I still prefer the cartoon version's voice.

[lazyfatbum]

I like the comparisons to the new joker and terrorism and i also enjoyed the total bullshit copout of still no fucking killer croc I mean what the hell. He'd be great for the new direction then again it wouldn't be much plot. Croc is just an insane man born with a skin condition who sharpened his teeth and went on a rampage but it could play nicely in to the whole 'The family is important' or 'The family makes you kill people' which is also penguin's forte. Penguin Pesci? er... well. The whole circus thing? Using the sewers... Do Penguin as a mobster straight up, obviously deformed and with the umbrellas of various tactical nuance (like machine gun or helicopter) and maybe pair up with 2face as a mobster crime ring. Penguin, croc, 2face and riddler liked to hang out with each other a lot as a team. Especially back when Catwoman was workin for the badguys but whatever. Riddler would be badass if they tried something like a serial killer who targeted the wealthy. It would be extremely Saw but a riddler who puts people in dire situations and asks them to figure out a puzzle to survive would be a good fit for the new Bats.

[alien space marine]

That's the thing, it actually did bring me out of it. I suppose it's a matter of opinion but it's kinda hard for Batman to have some sort of emotional cry of "Harvey!" when he's trying to sound all scary. I still prefer the cartoon version's voice.

So should Christian Bales voice be dubbed over when he is Batman? They did it for Darth Vader replacing David Prowse thick Aussie accent with James Earl Jones.

Scarecrow isn't dead, So he could be brought back? The Joker could be portrayed by another actor but it has to measure up to Ledgers performance, Or they could just do the Blofeild thing were you never see the jokers face and he is the mastermind behind the scenes, They could bring in Harlequin Jokers side kick and romantic interest.

[Dark Jaguar]

They made "Gotham Nights", which is a bunch of anime shorts that are supposed to take place between Begins and Dark Knight. One of them has killer croc, and he's exactly that, with the added bonus of his blood coursing with fear toxin.

The only thing they really missed with this Joker was Joker Venom, but that's okay.

Ya know, the thing about the Riddler is he apparently is so compulsive about his riddles that even when he really doesn't want to, he still leaves one behind.

Oh, and actually Batman has been stuck in more than a few death trap scenarios the Riddler set up. I remember that cartoon where he used a safe to escape the explosion and the Riddler went mad(er) because he thought he had thought of every possible angle and Batman STILL survived.

[Geno]

This movie was so much win. Heath Ledger as the most deranged Joker ever was fucking amazing. I've never enjoyed a superhero movie more and Ledger really made it what it was. Not that the other people involved weren't good too, but that guy's grave needs to be aligned with every award for which his performance is eligible.

I like this new side of the Joker. He manages to be a villain without a motive and yet still maintains three dimensions. Twoface, though his tenure in this series was very brief (they killed off the wrong villain considering which actor is still alive and which one is not), is also well-written, though he is the very opposite of this film's depiction of the Joker: he very much has an emotional motive behind his madness.

So yeah, The Dark Knight gets five stars from me. It's easily the best movie of 2008 (so far, though I doubt any other movie this year will best it) and the best superhero movie ever. It's way better than Batman Begins, and I really enjoyed Batman Begins.

[Dark Jaguar]

New side? Did the Joker EVER have any motive outside of raw insanity? I mean the guy never even had an origin story, at least not a consistant one, and near as I can tell the lack of his ability to keep his story straight is part of his madness.

[Geno]

Forgive me if my memory of the 1989 Batman movie with Michael Keaton is a bit fuzzy, but I seem to recall he had some horrible freak accident that caused his face to get all... white... and so he seeks revenge on Batman, not that he was a mild-mannered citizen beforehand, but... yeah, I guess he was always mad. But Heath Ledger's Joker was even madder.

[Dark Jaguar]

I'm far more familiar with the cartoon Batman, where the Joker doesn't seem to have any definite origin story.

[DMiller]

If I remember correctly the comics had a number of Joker origin stories, but none of them are really considered the "definitive" origin.

[Dark Jaguar]

I heard the current origin story is that all the previous origin stories were told by the Joker himself and he's got no idea which one's true either.

[Geno]

It's hard to determine what's canon in the old comic book universe. They change and remake stuff all the time.

[Dark Jaguar]

My familiarity with the comic book universe is entirely Wikipedia born.

[Geno]

My brother and a friend of mine often nerd out about DC and Marvel. Me? I read mangas.

[Dark Jaguar]

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