The Dark Knight--Spoiler FREE

[darklord1967]

Christian Bale IS Batman. Michael Keaton did okay, but in hindsight he comes across as a little man caught in a giant suit. Bale is the first to be able to pull off the depth of the character, AND match the phsyicality. I think his voice works. The whole angle of Batman Begins and Dark Knight (and it should be the angle of every Batman) is to scare the living beejeezus out of criminals. That voice does it.

Sorry. Not for ME it doesn't. It just comes off as a guy with a lisp trying waaay too hard to sound scary. That voice is about as scary as fingernails across a blackboard to me... which is to say not at all. It's more grating and irritating.

The Batman's bizzare appearence is already theatrical, bigger than life, and melodramatic. Having a voice that is that forced only makes things way over the top for me.

With The Batman, less is more... certainly in regards to the voice.

I think Heath Ledger instinctively understood this to be true about his character as well. The understated voice that he developed for The Joker works amazingly well when contrasted against his bizzare appearence. It's eeire. It's dangerous. And it seems psychotically off-balance... perfect for that character.

If Bruce Wayne were portrayed as the chatty, verbose, laughing air-headed playboy that he pretends to be (which Bale handles beautifully), then there would be no need to try to come up with an overly melodramatic voice for The Batman. In fact his silence (punctuated with an occasional raspy word or two), would speak volumes... and would be FAR more un-nerving to a criminal (and to the audience).

I'm kinda thinking along the lines of Michael Myers from the original "Halloween".

There's nothing LESS scary than a guy trying to sound scary.


And just to be clear about one thing: I don't think Michael Keaton was a better Batman by any stretch of the imagination. I couldn't agree with you more that he seemed like a little guy lost in a big Bat-suit.

All I was saying was that his Bat-suit at least had a closer resemblance to the traditional Batman that I prefer to see... and even that one missed the mark.

There are certain things that I prefer to see that I think are essential to the look of The Batman. And not all of them are being applied in live-action versions of him:

1) Some basic design simplicity of the costume is a must. Too much sculpted "designery" crap on the outfit moves away from The Batman's utilitarian no-nonsense approach to crime-fighting, in my view.

2) Some basic contrasting color would be nice. I know that it's fashionable to have The Dark Knight dressed all in black these days like a friggin' vampire or a STAR WARS sith lord or something. But he's The Batman, NOT The "Darth-man" or "Bat-Vader".

3) Shoulders. The Batman's basic sillhouette is far more pleasing to my eye (not to mention more imposing) when he's got broader shoulders. All movie Batmans have had ZERO shoulders making his outline seem awkward. When the producers of the animated Batman put their show together, this was one of the very FIRST things they addressed, and with beautiful results.

4) Bat-Winged Cape. Some super-heroes wear a cape. And some super-heroes wear a cape with character and attitude. By and large I think Chirs Nolan and his team depict The Batman's cape with proper attitude when he's in action. I LOVED the shot when he landed atop the Scarecrow's van for example. Classic Batman!

I would have preferred deeper scallops to the cape's bat-wing design, but that is a minor gripe. Besides which (in their defense), the shallower - wider scallops of the Bale cape design is actually more appropriate, when you think about it. It resembles real Bat wings more accurately.

No, my biggest gripe with the cape is its typical portrayal when it is at rest.

EVERY SINGLE live-action Batman actor since the 1940's Columbia serials (including West, Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, and now Bale) has worn the cape flipped over his shoulders. To me, that goes completely against the idea of a guy that wants to stick to the shadows and be creepy.

A cape is a very gothic garment, and it should be worn closed in front of the shoulders, certainly for a character like The Batman. There should be very little hint to the shape of a mere man under there until he begins to move into action.

Again, outside the comics, the producers of the various post-modern animated series were the first to understand this, and it worked gloriously when they applied it.

But I guess when you spend 3 or 4 million dollars on an absurdly-sculpted high-tech Bat suit, the last thing you would want to do is cover it up with a closed cape.

[Steeler80]

I thought that line seemed a little "forced" as well and wondered about it. I think it would be good for maybe a mobster to have her in her employ. Batman goes after the mobster and has a love/hate thing go on with Catwoman (well it plays better in my head ).

[namtab29]

SPOILER STUFF BELOW
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>>Was it Morgan Freeman's line about "it'll protect you from cats"?

Chris<<

yep--that line jumped out at me for being unnecessary. and since they did not do what i expected--i.e., set up Two-Face as the villain in #3, that leaves the next film wide open, villain-wise.

plus, with Rachel gone, he now has no love interest--perfect timing for a female villain who can turn good, fall in love with bruce, and he can retire as Batman by the end of the film, thereby making it a full-blown, beginning-to-end TRILOGY.

rob!

[Earth 2 Chris]

Christian Bale IS Batman. Michael Keaton did okay, but in hindsight he comes across as a little man caught in a giant suit. Bale is the first to be able to pull off the depth of the character, AND match the phsyicality. I think his voice works. The whole angle of Batman Begins and Dark Knight (and it should be the angle of every Batman) is to scare the living beejeezus out of criminals. That voice does it. And it's nowhere near his Bruce Wayne. Great performance, and totally underrated in all this Ledger-praise, even though he deserves it!




Possible Spoiler For The Next Movie (in reference to namtab's post)









Was it Morgan Freeman's line about "it'll protect you from cats"?

Chris

[Hulk]

LOVED LOVED LOVED IT. Best Movie of the Year, and it's looking to possibly dethrone Spiderman 3 for top grossing weekend. Looks like Single Day is already in the bag...

'Dark Knight' earns over $60 million - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety

$151 Million is still going to be a stretch, but its within reach. Its tempting to go again this weekend.

[The Bat]

Let me be totally honesty here and say that I have never been overly enamored with Christian Bale's casting as Bruce Wayne / The Batman. His Portrayal of callous air-headed playboy Bruce Wayne is spot-on, you understand, and he really looks the part. It's his interpretation of The Batman that I cannot stand. I absolutely despise that horribly melodramatic growl of a voice that he puts on when playing the Dark Knight. And with that hideously ugly Bat-cowl design pinching his lower mouth area into a pucker nearly worthy of Michael Keaton's, Bale actually develops a slight lisp when doing that voice.

It's laughable.

Maybe I'm one of the six or seven guys left in the entire world that still feels this way, but I would just like to see a live-action Batman that actually looks like The Batman.

I'm not saying that I want to see the day-glow blue cape and cowl of the comics. But I have had quite enough of this completely monochromatic armor-clad Robo-Batman with no interesting contrasts to the design of his costume. Each successive film moves farther and farther away from a traditional look for The Batman.

I think it's astonishing that Keaton's '89 suit is the closest they've come to a live-action Bat-suit that remotely resembles the look of the character in the comics. I would actually be very happy at this point with the '89 Keaton outfit, done in very dark charcoal grey, with a yellow utility belt and chest oval with black bat emblem, midnight blue (or black) cape,cowl, boots and gloves. Done.

But Bale's irritating Batman voice and costume notwithstanding, not even he could ruin this gem of a film.

I've always like You Roberto....but now think You're completely INSANE! I'm not going to argue the point with You, because everybody knows you don't argue with CRAZY People.

Bale is the PERFECT Batman!!!!! And I LOVE His growl!! He owns part...now and forever!!

[megowgsh]

am i crazy or did anyone else catch what i think was a (very) subtle reference as to who the villain will be in part 3?

rob!

What was the reference you are referring to and Who do you think it will be be?

[darklord1967]

Great review Darklord...but I have to disagree about Bale...I think he rules. However, you are right about that cowl...it looks kinda odd, not a traditional look at all. I do like the armor body suit though...it's a must in today's world...especially when you are facing lots of firepower and have NO superpowers...clothed costumes do not work anymore...not in a realistic sense that is.

"Realistic"? Hermano, try to remember, these are fantasy films despite how seriously they treat the material. These are still absurd stories about a man who dresses as a BAT and leaps off buildings. I think you have to suspend quite a bit of disbelief when watching them to even remotely consider them "realistic".

I've never agreed with the defense of The Batman's movie armor by saying "it's more realistic" to have it.

Some of the best genre-film heroes (James Bond, Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Sergeants Riggs and Murtough from "Lethal Weapon" films, Det. John Mclain from Die Hard films ) wear no protective armor at all despite their lack of super powers. And those films opperate on varying levels of "realism" just fine.

The Batman has been around a lot longer than all of those guys and is arguably a far more iconic character.

Historically, great pains have been taken (both in comics and in film) to establish Bruce Wayne's extensive martial arts trainings and disciplines in the far East to be the very best fighter there is.

What was the point of all the training? To wear armor and clumsily march directly into the path of bullets? Any dim-witted knucklehead can do that!

Don't you think it would be more interesting to see a hero who is so well-trained in the self-defense arts (as well as shadow and stealth techniques) that he gets the better of cowardly criminals ... even when they are armed with firearms... kind of like a sleek ninja?

I know I certianly think so.

Look, when Bruce Wayne's parents were murdered, a specific kind of disdain for firearms and the thugs who use them was born. To him, a gun is a "clumsy" weapon (as Obi-Wan Kenobi once said) used by cowards.

Furthermore, Bruce Wayne's sense of self-preservation has always taken somewhat of a back-seat to his obsession with ridding Gotham of crime... much to Alfred's chagrin.

The Batman that I know and love doesn't worry about getting shot for pete sakes!!!!!!!! The possibility of that happening would never even occur to him. He's too well-trained for that. THAT'S what makes the character so interesting and tragic simultaneously: The reader (and the audience) is sub-conciously aware that Wayne to a great extent is deluding himself. This "war on crime" of his cannot be won, and it IS likely to end one terrible night when he is just a little too old or too slow to avoid a bullet or a blade anymore. That's the underlying drama of the whole thing.

In all of the very BEST Batman stories I've read, The Dark Knight's speed, self-defense prowess, frightening imagery, and use of shadows and stealth are more than enough against any mere gun. That is the entire cornerstone of the character... and it's being gradually done away with because of this silly movie armor nonsense.

He looks silly, awkward and clumsy wearing that armor crap. And why? So that more action figures can be sold to these young kids with their shrinking attention spans, and inability to appreciate anything that is NOT riddled with "high-tech gadgets".

I can't even remember the last time (in ANY medium) that I saw The Batman just hurl a Bat-A Rang with a rope attached to swing from point A to point B.

You know, there was a time back in the early 1990s when it was virtually IMPOSSIBLE to find just a plain, ordinary, BASIC Batman action figure. Kenner had like 900 different Batman figures out at one point, and they were all wearing some kind of God-awful "Snow-mountain Camoflauge"-this, and "Fractal Tech-Gear" that, and "Underwater-Action"- the other thing.

And ALL of these figures existed to the COMPLETE EXCLUSION of a nice simple, BASIC Batman.

This movie armor horse-manure is just an extension of all that.

I just thank goodness that these days companies like DC Direct still produce nice action figures of the basic, traditional Batman so that he won't be lost to the archives like some kind of a distant fading memory.

The growl deep talk that Bale evokes is of course to disguise his voice...so people don't connect it with Bruce Wayne...this is just an added realistic approach by Chris Nolan himself.

Bruce Wayne disguising his voice when dressed as Batman has been a staple of the character in the comics and in the (post-modern) animated adventures for years. Nolan didn't come up with that.

Furthermore, it has been argued by some that in the Dark Knight mythology, the true "disguise" is actually Bruce Wayne, and that therefore it is his voice that is disguised to be light-hearted, jovial, intentionally higher in pitch, and removed from the deeper and "darker" natural tone of his true personality and spirit... The Batman.

The voice that Bale puts on for The Batman is so forced and painfully melodramatic that he honestly comes across as a borderline psycho himself just when having a casual conversation.

It's one thing to growl menacingly at some thug that's being interrogated while being dangled over a rooftop. It's another thing entirely to speak like that when chatting calmly with Commissioner Gordon on a rooftop.

I've always felt that it would be MUCH more frightening and unnerving for the character's image if The Batman hardly spoke at all. And the few times he does speak, I imagine his voice to be an almost choked whisper, uttered through clenched teeth, from the shadows... something like Clint Eastwood's voice the way it sounds now... a voice that invokes heartache, outrage, and heroism simultaneously. Remember Clint in "Million Dollar Baby"?

A simple dark voice like that contrasted against the light, jovial Bruce Wayne voice would work just fine to disguise the difference between both personas.

It can be done, and HAS been done before.

Chris Reeve did a phenomenal job of what I'm describing in the first "Superman" film. His goofy Clark Kent voice was the "put on", and his heroic Superman voice was an extension of who he really was inside. And it didn't come across as melodrmatic or forced.


Look, don't get me wrong, I still think this is leaps and bounds quite possibly THE most brilliant comic book hero movie adaptation that's ever been put on film.

I just would have LOVED it that much more if the filmmakers (and Bale himself) understood some of the more subtle nuances that make The Batman so wickedly cool.

Fortunately, it helped quite a bit that The Batman's dialogue screen time was actually kept relatively to a minimum.

[Hector]

The growl deep talk that Bale evokes is of course to disguise his voice...so people don't connect it with Bruce Wayne...this is just an added realistic approach by Chris Nolan himself.

[Hector]

Great review Darklord...but I have to disagree about Bale...I think he rules. However, you are right about that cowl...it looks kinda odd, not a traditional look at all. I do like the armor body suit though...it's a must in today's world...especially when you are facing lots of firepower and have NO superpowers...clothed costumes do not work anymore...not in a realistic sense that is.

[darklord1967]

*******SPOILER-FREE REVIEW***********



Speaking as a life-long Bat-fan, I can honestly say that Bob Kane would likely have cried tears of utter joy seeing this masterpiece of a film. Director Chirstopher Nolan continues to return dignity to the whole Batman mythology with a film that is sure to go down in history as a re-definition of the entire genre.

I have NEVER seen a comic book superhero film that treats the material with with such respect, dramatic weight, and reverence for the characters.

The special effects and set pieces pack one hell of a wallop, especially one nasty piece of buisness with a cycle and a semi truck. And the psychologial thriller of a script was gripping and extremely well-written.

The performances here were all, by and large, admirable. Maggie Gyllenhaal is effective as Bruce Wayne's former flame (and assistant DA) Rachel Dawes. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine once again contribute immesurably to the dignity of the film in their turns as Lucius Fox and Alfred Pennyworth respectively. Gary Oldman IS Leutenant (later Commissioner) James Gordon brought to life right off the comic book page. Aaron Ekhart's performance proves that he is a lot more than chiesled good-looks, and he makes you forget all about Tommy Lee Jones' silly turn as Two Face. The new horrific origin for the character is perfectly realized, and it creates a flawless motivation toward villainy and hatred for The Batman. When Two-Face is finally revealed, the character's nightmarish look socks you in the gut like a sledgehammer, and it keeps on hitting you with the power and effectiveness of Ekhart's portrayal behind it.

Let me be totally honesty here and say that I have never been overly enamored with Christian Bale's casting as Bruce Wayne / The Batman. His Portrayal of callous air-headed playboy Bruce Wayne is spot-on, you understand, and he really looks the part. It's his interpretation of The Batman that I cannot stand. I absolutely despise that horribly melodramatic growl of a voice that he puts on when playing the Dark Knight. And with that hideously ugly Bat-cowl design pinching his lower mouth area into a pucker nearly worthy of Michael Keaton's, Bale actually develops a slight lisp when doing that voice.

It's laughable.

Maybe I'm one of the six or seven guys left in the entire world that still feels this way, but I would just like to see a live-action Batman that actually looks like The Batman.

I'm not saying that I want to see the day-glow blue cape and cowl of the comics. But I have had quite enough of this completely monochromatic armor-clad Robo-Batman with no interesting contrasts to the design of his costume. Each successive film moves farther and farther away from a traditional look for The Batman.

I think it's astonishing that Keaton's awful '89 suit is the closest they've come to a live-action Bat-suit that remotely resembles the look of the character in the comics. But I would actually be very happy at this point with the '89 Keaton outfit, done in very dark charcoal grey, with a yellow chest oval and black bat emblem, yellow utility belt, midnight blue (or black) cape,cowl, boots and gloves. Done.

But Bale's irritating Batman voice and costume notwithstanding, not even he could ruin this gem of a film.

And of course, this film belongs almost entirely to Heath Ledger's Joker.

Here is a villain that is every bit as brilliant, phychotic, and terrifying as Kevin Spacey's "John Doe" serial killer in the film "Seven". But Ledger completely owns this character and brings a unique, original, skin crawling interpretation, that makes you forget all about Jack Nicholson. The few times he actually cackles like the Clown Prince of Crime, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle up. Absolutely bone-chilling.

Ledger most-definitely deserves not only the oscar nomination, but the award itself. This has NOTHING to do with his unfortunate sudden death, mind-you. People would have been (and will be) talking about this performance for YEARS... even if he had not passed away. It was the type of performance that you just don't see in a "genre" film, and one that CANNOT be appreciated with just one viewing.

The Dark Knight soars higher (if darker) than anything else offered this summer. It is miles beyond the highly over-rated "Iron-Man"... an epic among not only comic book movies or summer movies, but among all movies.

Do yourself a favor: Don't wait for this to come to DVD. Don't buy a bootleg DVD (you shouldn't be doing that anyway!)

Go to a good movie theater, with a decent sound system, and let this epic work its magic on you. A word of caution: Go to the restroom, get your popcorn, soda, and milk duds BEFORE this movie starts, because once it does you're not gonna want to get up even for the Star Spangled Banner.

[Hector]

lol! I liked the movie,I just don't know if it's the best for me...I get what you're saying and Heath did give one of the best performances I've seen...but I don't know

One more thing,does anyone else find that chick ugly? Holmes was a lot hotter,this chick looks like an ugly ace old lady

Sorry just thought I'd add that

Yeah, that's Jake's sister...she does have that old lady look, lol.

[hobub]

Just got back. I'm truly awe struck. That movie was incredible. I liked the two sides of the same coin reference. And I'm not talking Peace dollars. That portrail of the Joker is disturbing. But very much as I've always envisioned him to be. Incredible!

Definitely my favorite superhero film of all time.

[namtab29]

am i crazy or did anyone else catch what i think was a (very) subtle reference as to who the villain will be in part 3?

rob!

[toys2cool]

You are one of my all time favorite posters, but to tell you the truth, we almost don't agree on anything...here's another example.

Iron-Man was good, but it was still a bit cartoony and kiddie for me...Dark Knight is just miles ahead in the adult-oriented department...it really doesn't feel like a comic book flick, it's more like a realistic crime-drama...I'm sorry, but Dark Knight is a masterpiece...Iron-Man is not. However having said that...I have my doubts Dark Knight reaching the $300 million plus domestic box office take Iron-Man achieved...simply because Iron-Man probably has more kiddie appeal. I think this movie is so good in fact...that I'm already predicting an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture...and Heath Ledger being nominated for Best Supporting Actor (and has a solid chance of winning ). We should all thank Christopher Nolan for being the genius that he is, I knew he was something special when he directed Memento...that's one visionary director...he makes Tim Burton look ordinary.

Dark Knight is the BEST damn superhero movie EVER made...bar none.

lol! I liked the movie,I just don't know if it's the best for me...I get what you're saying and Heath did give one of the best performances I've seen...but I don't know

One more thing,does anyone else find that chick ugly? Holmes was a lot hotter,this chick looks like an ugly ace old lady

Sorry just thought I'd add that