The Dark Knight review thread

[Utoo]

I figured that the pencil was slammed into the dude. Wherever you like--eyeball, mouth, forehead---all the same. Didn't think that it could've gone into the table.


Lance, just for reference, what movie in the last 10 years would you describe as having its action shots filmed well? I feel like ever since Gladiator, it's almost become standard practice to film action shots in a dizzying blur. I'm sure I must've seen one or two films in the last decade with well-done action scenes, but none really stand out enough for me to bring them to mind at the moment.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

The Matrix had some badass action scenes. I like a lot of the sequences in the recent Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trilogies. I even think Tarantino showed some good action chops in the Kill Bill movies.

I just woke up though, I could probably think of some more.

I'm sure Lance could, too, and he was the one that the question was directed to so...nevermind...

 

[Lancemc]

I'll mention Spiderman 2 again, since I think even its detractors will be able to acknowledge it's fantastic action sequences. Notable the train sequence, which really did some fantastic things with perspective, long takes, stellar virtual and traditional camera work, and really just captured some beautiful choreography and nailed it with near perfect editing giving it a really thrilling rhythm which I always mention here, but I really think it's the key to any great action scene. I like to equate action in film to live dance. It needs to be interesting, pleasing to look at, and most importantly it needs a good rhythm, since rhythm is inherently tied into movement, which is then the fundamental basis of dance or action, all about movement.

Likewise, The Matrix: Reloaded is my favorite action film of the 2000's thus far, at least in terms of just the action and film work. Hate it as much as many people do, it's hard to deny the craftsmanship of the action scenes. The freeway chase hits the nail on the head in much the same way as the aforementioned train sequence from Spiderman. It nails the spectacle, it's beautifully shot, it's surprising and strung together with fantastic editing. Likewise, the fight sequences in the Mansion of the Merovingian is a gorgeous wuxia-comic-book action showcase as solid as anything to come out this decade.

I'll also quote Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, not as an action film (it's not) but as a sort of bridge between the two sides of my dance-action analogy. It's another take on wuxia martial arts fighting, but really experiments with the elegant beauty of dance, drawing a fairly substantial and obvious parallel between the two.

The Bourne films obviously as well have set new standards for action combat in cinema. Sure it's made a big deal out of shakey cam, but it's still used magnificently. It makes it intimate, chaotic, tense, but it's all still filmed so that you can follow the choreography of the fight or chase or whatever it is, and still maintains that necessary rhythm. And the scenes in the last two Batman films try to emulate the same chaotic feeling as the Bourne films, only it lacks the rhythm and none of them are really shot carefully enough to follow the show, if there even is much choreography in those scenes.

 

[Lancemc]

The Matrix had some badass action scenes. I like a lot of the sequences in the recent Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trilogies. I even think Tarantino showed some good action chops in the Kill Bill movies.

I just woke up though, I could probably think of some more.

I'm sure Lance could, too, and he was the one that the question was directed to so...nevermind...

Good call with Star Wars and Kill Bill. Kill Bill is just a fucking fantastic perfect riff on everything Tarantino loves about wuxia, Westerns, old school action revenge films, and he really nailed the action too.

And the lightsaber battles in the prequel trilogy are most gorgeous. Not to mention the opening space battle in Revenge of the Sith being one of my favorite parts of the entire Star Wars franchise.

 

[LMP]

I love the action sequences in Casino Royale, Sin City, and to a lesser extent Minority Report.

Saving Private Ryan fits within the 10-year umbrella, right?

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I was thinking that and yeah I guess it does.

You have to throw SPR in there, too. No doubt.

 

[u2popmofo]

While I wouldn't classify it as an "action film" per say, Black Hawk Down certainly needs to be mentioned .

 

[No spoken words]

Ronin had some great action sequences....car chases, mostly.

Lance and I are in agreement re: the 2nd Matrix. I love the action sequences in that film.

Lance, glad you liked TDK despite the flaws that jumped at you.

Regarding Dent yelling about the joker choosing him.....Dent did not mean it as it pertained to choosing between Rachel and himself.....he meant that the joker chose him over batman and gordon to ruin.

 

[joyfulgirl]

However, why the fuck does everyone play out the rest of the film acting like that was who Batman intended to save all along? In the final scene Batman even tells Harvey how he saved him because he was the true hero, blah blah blah, and Gordon says he tried to save Rachel, he's sorry and all that.

Wait wait! I have the answer!

Or maybe not. You decide.

But here's what I thought.

I just saw Batman Begins last night, and then Dark Knight today. In Batman Begins, there is a scene where Batman saves Rachel over a bunch of other people. I forget which scene. He gets a lecture from Albert about how if he's going to save the world he has to be bigger than the personal. So even though everyone is saying the Joker switched the addresses, I thought Batman changed his mind on the way and went for Dent because Dent represented hope for Gotham and was "more important" in the bigger scheme of things.

I totally missed the part about Gordon trying to save Rachel. I thought they all showed up to save Dent. I can see why people are seeing this thing more than once.

 

[Lancemc]

I think there is enough evidence here to suggest that even if all the threads do align somehow in the third act, there's still some sloppy scripting going on.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I figured that the pencil was slammed into the dude. Wherever you like--eyeball, mouth, forehead---all the same. Didn't think that it could've gone into the table.

Agreed. Going into the table never occurred to me for a second.

 

[No spoken words]

Batman did not change his mind....he thought he was on his way to save Rachel.

Gordon asks him who he's going after, he says "Rachel", then Gordon gives what they assumed was Dent's address to his cops....

Who will save you, Lance?

 

[joyfulgirl]

Batman did not change his mind....he thought he was on his way to save Rachel.

So poor Batman never rose above the personal. Too bad. He'll never be a true superhero.

My biggest complaint about both movies is that the Batman voice is just dumb. There, I said it.

 

[Lancemc]

I understand what happened with the addresses being mixed up. I still don't understand why Batman and Gordon act like they both ended up at the right places the whole time. At least that's what it seemed like where both my and my friend were sitting last night. Maybe I just need to see it again, but I shouldn't have to watch a movie a second time to sort out exactly how the whole third act is written.

 

[No spoken words]

So poor Batman never rose above the personal. Too bad. He'll never be a true superhero.

My biggest complaint about both movies is that the Batman voice is just dumb. There, I said it.

Superman's the guy that started flying around Earth to get it to spin backwards, so it would move back in time, so he could save Lois.

There are a lot of things wrong with that.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Superman's the guy that started flying around Earth to get it to spin backwards, so it would move back in time, so he could save Lois.

I fail at superheros.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Anyway, I have a lot of problems with this movie. I didn't love it by any means.

But Ledger was beyond brilliant. Yes, give him the Oscar. I don't need to see all the fall/winter movies to decide. He gave two Oscar worthy performances in his lifetime, in my opinion. Give it to him.






uh, what's coming up this fall that will make this sound dumb?

 

[Lancemc]

Anyway, I have a lot of problems with this movie. I didn't love it by any means.

But Ledger was beyond brilliant. Yes, give him the Oscar. I don't need to see all the fall/winter movies to decide. He gave two Oscar worthy performances in his lifetime, in my opinion. Give it to him.






uh, what's coming up this fall that will make this sound dumb?

Exactly the type of attitude that makes the Oscars a complete joke.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Exactly the type of attitude that makes the Oscars a complete joke.

Did you read the fine print? I knew it was ridiculous when I said it and thus said it in jest.

 

[Lancemc]

I did. And I didn't really intend that to be a quip at you so much as a general comment towards that attitude that really does exist among people, and apparently among certain Academy voters.

 

[Slapnutz]

Regarding Dent yelling about the joker choosing him.....Dent did not mean it as it pertained to choosing between Rachel and himself.....he meant that the joker chose him over batman and gordon to ruin.

I'm not so sure. I think it applies to both. Joker knew killing Rachel and letting Dent live would make his fragile mind snap and complete his so-called descent into madness.

'Madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little...push.'

Here's the scene: YouTube - The Dark Knight - Two Face dies (supposedly)

 

[Lancemc]

I was thinking some more about this series and where it should go from here.

What I want to see in the next film is a really deep exploration of this conflict between Gordon and Batman that is set up greatly at the end of this film. Batman is public enemy #1 now, and it's Gordon's responsibility to bring him to justice. Now, obviously we'll have to introduce some sort of villain in the next Batman flick (more thoughts on that later) to continue to reap havoc on Gotham, and Batman will be needed to bring him (or her) to justice along with Gordon's own efforts.

I'm sure we'll continue to see more cooperation between Gordon and Batman on the down low only now it will be an extremely dangerous balance between their mutual respect and Gordon's outward public obligation to capture him. I believe there's a lot of juicy drama to be found in that relationship and I hope it's the primary thread of the next film.

As for villains, I'm not sure. I suppose they could bring back Two-Face, but I'm not sure I think it's a good idea given the implications of this film. I think it might be the right time for Catwoman again though. Bruce's love interest is gone, and it might be time for him to become invested in another woman (shhh... it's really Catwoman). I thought that thread was the strongest part of Batman Returns and I'd love to see Nolan's take. Also, there's room there for a really great parallel between Wayne's relationship with Catwoman and Batman's relationship with Gordon, one of intimacy (Wayne and Selina / Batman and Gordon in private) and one in the outside world (Batman and Catwoman / Batman and Gotham Crime Unit).

Thoughts?

 

[Dalton]

I think its moronic that you find it necessary to write "(more on that later)" in a two paragraph post.

 

[No spoken words]

I'm not a mathematician, but, it sort of looks like his post had more than two paragraphs.

 

[Dalton]

It should have only been two paragraphs. I was commenting on the version that I had already edited in my head.

 

[Lancemc]

Dalton = pwned by math.

And also, I hate no idea how long my rant would continue before I started talking about villains at the moment I typed that. Turns out it wasn't very long.

 

[No spoken words]

It should have only been two paragraphs. I was commenting on the version that I had already edited in my head.

Top three places I'd least like to be:

1) Detroit, MI

2) Houston, TX

3) In Dalton's head

 

[Dalton]

Turns out it wasn't very long.

If you had a nickel for every time you've pondered that theme ...

 

[lazarus]

Top three places I'd most like to be:

3) In Dalton's bed

Why am I not surprised?

 

[No spoken words]

Why am I not surprised?

I am upset because you missed my inclusion of the TomKat theater into a "quote" from you.