dark knight - contains spoilers!

[Fez]

gotham’s criminals and corrupt officials are being rounded up and sent to trial by new district attorney harvey dent. while he ensures the greedy are being locked up, a new type of villain emerges who’s interest isn’t money but simple anarchy. as the destruction continues to rise, justice becomes a grey area where both batman and the joker coexist until dent himself proves no one is incorruptible.

as with batman begins, this is quite a long film that needs time to unfold, but this isn’t boring or longwinded by any means. the same grim gothic atmosphere of the first movie holds the scenes together, allowing for some cute one liners to move seamlessly into some brutal fights. i was interested to know what the 12a certificate would mean with its warning of ‘violence with a continuing threat’, and what it provides is a film that seems much more violent than it actually is. the implication is always there for the more disturbing moments, though there is no blood and gore on display. it would be nice to have a 15 version when it comes to dvd though.

christian bale offers the same assured performance of the man behind the mask, as do the other actors reprising their roles from the first film. it’s a shame that the character of two-face is dispensed with so quickly though, barely having time to be established before being killed off, which on the one hand makes sense for the script yet in the greater batman universe of dc comics, he is allowed to be just as formidable and long lasting as the joker.

and now the big question; just how good is heath ledger’s joker? i was very impressed by this much more psychotic version of batman’s nemesis than has made it to the big screen in the past; mixing unhinged violence with a pure black sense of humour; perfectly demonstrated in his first appearance when he makes the pencil ‘disappear’. it’s a shame that ledger will never be able to play the role again in future, and hard to think who would be able to reproduce the same intensity. 'why so serious?’ has just become my favourite catch phrase.

[Mike]

The film is grisley, dark and monumental with vast dramatic city scenes, wild jumps and ultra violent scenes. The above mentioned pencil disappearing act being one of the best. It is a very good film that was powerful and had good acting through out. Rachel Dawes had reached the end of her character development though and I am glad they did not shy away from her ending sequence.

It was interesting to see Batman struggling to cope with the unintended effects of his entrance into the crime fighting scene. All they way from being chased by police to dealing with copy cats!

The above is the good, there were some points that I felt damaged the film slightly. The first is the introduction of two face near the end of the film. He had barely begun before he was shot down. Second was the feeling that there were two or three ending points in the film.

All of this did not stope being captivated, however, I was initially shying away from the full five star rating. It is the only time I think I have ever been torn sufficiently to want to award four and a half. Never mind though the rating is anyway!

[stimpsonslostson]

Darkest Knight as joker rampages.

[mr_e]

It's pretty much been said above. Heath Ledger is outstanding, and I would've loved the opportunity to see him reprise the role (although they never repeat the bad guys in the next film in the franchise, it would seem). The fairly brief introduction and demise of Two-Face was weird, and did throw the pacing a little bit. At least Rachel went out in style. Some nice dark humour in there as well.

I understand why it got a 12 rating, but some people may question it given the overall tone of the film. One for the censors themselves to explain.

It really needs a 4.5, but I'll round up:

[Fez]

there must be at least a third film in this franchise based if only on the money grossed so far, but i desperately hope the same mistakes that blighted the last two 1990s bat films and final spiderman movie are not made; changes in established cast and/or director, piss poor scripting which leads to too many villians crammed into one story, pointless subplots and love-interests.

[Mike]

They actually managed to get a very good sequel to Batman Begins in Dark Knight and it will be difficult to get another one as good into the cinema. I think that they need to make sure that they write a very strong script and make sure that they do not have a ridiculous series of crazy side stories.

I think it would be pretty cool to have Gotham Police breathing down Batman's neck and follow on from 'his' killing of Police officers etc.

[BarcelonAl]

It has been rumoured that the next film will contain the Penguin and the Riddler, with Phillip Seymour Hothman and Johnny Depp in the two roles.

[Fez]

dammit this is what i was talking about; why try and shoehorn two equally big villians into one movie? putting more in just for the sake of it wont make a better film, haven't these people learned anything from batman forever and [contender for worst film ever made] batman and robin? less is more, and it will give extra life to the franchise in the long run because there will be more cool villians to use rather than wasting them early on.

[mr_e]

I think two major villians could still work, as I believe it's been done earlier on in the series. The problem with Dark Knight was that they never got a chance to develop Two-Face's character because they introduced him halfway through the film, plus it seemed like he was deliberately written to further Batman's character development and explain a few things.

[Mike]

It was a bit whimsical to introduce two-face lets be honest! The story could not support such an introduction that late in the game without being significantly longer.

[Mike]

I saw this film again at the normal Cinema and it was very strange to see it a) very small, b) very quiet and c) not quite as fast!

The IMAX was constantly seemly so blurred that the action was amazingly quick paced and furious. In the normal cinema it looked like he was pose fighting, ie baddies punch is held for a couple of seconds then it is returned after a suitable hard man pose. Very strange to see but still a great film!

[Fez]

after the third viewing [!] i still think this is the best film ive seen for many years, and my estimation of the script has increased because familiarity with the story allows you to pick key points of dialogue from the beginning of the film that resonate at the end. clever stuff, and its seems impossible to not chuckle when you know the joker is about to something awful to somebody.