So I finally saw "The Dark Knight"

[sublight]

I finally had some free time for video watching and The Dark Knight was finally off the "One-night-rental-only" shelf, so I got to pop it in the DVD player and give it a watch the other night.

Wow. That was fun.

Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker wasn't at all what I'd been expecting (I've been avoiding discussions about the movie until I could watch it myself), but it was great. Is it just me, or did it seem like he was channeling Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice in a few places, the way he would suddenly shift between self-conscious stammering and fluid confidence (usually while doing something violent). I also liked how this film violated one of the trends in comic book movies by not giving him any backstory: he just appears, has no known history, and even his own story is made up on the fly.

The dialog that was meant to be inspirational (like Dent assuring the press that 'it's darkest before the dawn') fell flat, IMO. Also, was Batman's raspy voice supposed to be an intentional affectation to avoid someone recognizing him, or was there supposed to be something causing his voice to change?

[NAF1138]

. Also, was Batman's raspy voice supposed to be an intentional affectation to avoid someone recognizing him, or was there supposed to be something causing his voice to change?

Intentional affectation. It bugs the crap out of me in both this movie and Batman Begins. I have all kinds of problems with The Dark Knight, but in the end they are the types of problems that don't really matter all that much. It was a good, fun movie, and possibly the best comic book adaptation film ever made. Also, in the theaters, that scene where the truck flips over is freakin brilliant. The whole scene not just the truck flip, but especially the truck flip.

Oh and, Heath Ledger sounded like he was doing Al Franken to me, but not everyone agrees with me on that one.

[Inner Stickler]

I thought it was a fun popcorn flick. (I only saw it once back when it first came out. Actiony movies aren't my favorite but my friends wanted to see it.) Heath was good but I strongly feel that much of the todo about his performance was because of his untimely death. It's not a sentiment I usually express but there you have it. The fight scenes were way too long and jumpy but I don't care for the genre anyway. I enjoyed Aaron Eckhart quite a bit though and have been dipping into his other movies because of his performance here.

[sublight]

Intentional affectation. It bugs the crap out of me in both this movie and Batman Begins.

Ah. That bothers me, too. I was kind of hoping it was an effect of his suit, since otherwise it would mean that while Dent or Gordon were pouring out their hearts to him, he was doing silly voices.

I wondered how the Joker could have planted so many bombs in the hospital so quickly, but figured he was the sort of character who'd plant explosives all over the place just so he'd have them at his disposal when an opportunity (or random whim) arose. It would make him a more fitting counterpart to the always-prepared Batman.

[bookbuster]

Did anyone get to see it in IMAX? It is little known that 6 or so scenes were filmed with IMAX cameras. I missed the opportunity to see it myself, but hopefully there will be a chance to experience it some other time.

[sublight]

There was an IMAX showing here, but unfortunately all the IMAX version are also dubbed. Probably because the IMAX format isn't compatible (or is simply unwatchable) with subtitles. Too bad, there are a lot of films I'd love to see in that format.

[Baldwin]

There was an IMAX showing here, but unfortunately all the IMAX version are also dubbed. Probably because the IMAX format isn't compatible (or is simply unwatchable) with subtitles. Too bad, there are a lot of films I'd love to see in that format.

So, did Batman use a raspy voice in Japanese?

[sublight]

I don't know, I'll have to put it on again and find out.

[Exy]

I just saw it too. I was sort of underwhelmed. I thought Heath Ledger was pretty good but I guess I just don't really care that much for comic book type movies. I thought it was too long and frankly it's hard for me to reconcile the dark and broody atmosphere with the fact that I'm watching some dude in a plastic bat costume fly around. But it was all right.

[Ensign Edison]

I haven't seen the Christian Bale Batman movies yet, but I did see ten minutes of Begins while at the barber, and for five of them I couldn't believe it wasn't a joke. Am I missing something, or is he a horrible actor?

[Exy]

Am I missing something, or is he a horrible actor?

He's too pretty for it to matter.

[NAF1138]

I haven't seen the Christian Bale Batman movies yet, but I did see ten minutes of Begins while at the barber, and for five of them I couldn't believe it wasn't a joke. Am I missing something, or is he a horrible actor?

I think he's a really aweful Batman. Fortunatley in Begin's he is mostly Bruce Wayne, and I think he is a fairly good Wayne. But I really hate what he does with Batman.

[bookbuster]

Well I am not into comics, but this movie made me like Batman. He is defiantly my favorite super-hero. I went back and watched all Batman movies, inc. the ones before "Begins."