The Dark Knight TDK Nearly Upon Us: A SHH Reflection Thread

[Matt Mortem]

That first joker picture got me hella excited. Does anyone here think the mayor had on too much eyeliner....kinda gay

 

[Hole Shot]

That first joker picture got me hella excited. Does anyone here think the mayor had on too much eyeliner....kinda gay

YES!!! ABSOLUTELY! First time I saw that movie, I asked "is he wearing eye liner" out loud without thinking and felt like an ass for disturbing the movie. But seriously, that's all I look at during that scene.

 

[Bond]

That's just the way Nestor Carbonell looks. Go look at some pictures of him. I think he just has really long eyelashes, and it makes him look like he has eye-liner on.

 

[Hole Shot]

well, I'll be damned. you're right.

 

[Bond]

: party :

 

[Bat-Mite]

That first joker picture got me hella excited. Does anyone here think the mayor had on too much eyeliner....kinda gay

The ignorance of some people is just astounding. Not all men who look effeminate or try to look effeminate are gay, just as not all gay men try to look feminine (I know I certainly don't). Kinda going off on a tangent here, but little remarks like that are really annoying.

 

[TK1211]

I remember when that fake article came out that Chris Nolan was not coming back to direct the sequel and how everyone spent the better part of the day freaking out and trying to see if it was true or not.

 

[[A]]

i actually thought Ledger deaths was just a joke, and i think a lot of people thought that too, like a viral marketing thing that just went way to far..

i remember the first thread pertaining to his death was locked because no one believed it.

Gee, I remember that that day, for some reason, I slept a lot, and when I woke up —7 in the afternoon— I did what I usually do when I get online: check my mail, then online newspapers. And there was this headline, something like The Brokeback Mountain star died and I was like what the..?! and start wondering who it might be, even though there was a huge picture in the site (I'm not kidding) so I clicked to read the whole article and that's how I found out.

So I got in a bad mood, strange mood, a mix of anger and sadness. I also remember that that night I watched Children of Men, which isn't exactly a happy joyful movie, so.. it wasn't a pleasant night, heh.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

Reading this thread was such a nostalgia trip, i've re-lived emotions long buried and i was reminded about how different the world seemed then, the world pre-smart phones, and social media.

There was such a camaraderie in these forums, that i never found anywhere else again. I remember posting the link for the leaked trailer in PM's to probably 100+ members, and being so happy to share it and make someone's day. Going through this thread and seeing almost every member who wrote something in it being gone from this place for 5, 10, sometimes even 15 years, just hit me like a ton of bricks. I really hope everyone is living a happy and fulfilled life, and cherishes the TDK experience as much as i do. I was 22 when the film came out, i had never anticipated something so passionately prior to it, and truth be told, i've never been excited so much for anything ever since.

 

[BatLobster]

Reading this thread was such a nostalgia trip, i've re-lived emotions long buried and i was reminded about how different the world seemed then, the world pre-smart phones, and social media.

There was such a camaraderie in these forums, that i never found anywhere else again. I remember posting the link for the leaked trailer in PM's to probably 100+ members, and being so happy to share it and make someone's day. Going through this thread and seeing almost every member who wrote something in it being gone from this place for 5, 10, sometimes even 15 years, just hit me like a ton of bricks. I really hope everyone is living a happy and fulfilled life, and cherishes the TDK experience as much as i do. I was 22 when the film came out, i had never anticipated something so passionately prior to it, and truth be told, i've never been excited so much for anything ever since.

Ah man, thanks for sharing those reflections. I feel the same, I hope everyone is doing well- it's a beautiful thing y'all shared. And it's nice to still see a few of the old school folks here. I'm about the same age as you, TDK hit the year I graduated college which just felt like the perfect moment for it for some reason. I think getting out into the world for the first time, there was this mixture of both excitement and uncertainty (especially with the economy in '08), it just felt so awesome to have this culmination with something I had been singularly looking forward to for the past 3 years finally hit and be everything I wanted and more. It was a constant for the years leading up to it- regardless of what was going on my life, the TDK hype was something I could always escape into. I was in it with my full heart. And it felt super rewarding to have it pay off with a film I still probably think about daily in one way or another (it's kind of hard not to when my algorithm is still constantly pushing it on me in some form lol).

I wasn't posting back then (I signed up pre-Rises hype), but man...checking this forum to follow the viral marketing and set videos and trailer reactions was basically a daily ritual and it was such a special time. Just pure joy, excitement and a great feeling of community. Worth remembering with fondness for sure!

 

[Rick190293]

*saw the thread's title*

 

[Kargo Warrior]

Ah man, thanks for sharing those reflections. I feel the same, I hope everyone is doing well- it's a beautiful thing y'all shared. And it's nice to still see a few of the old school folks here. I'm about the same age as you, TDK hit the year I graduated college which just felt like the perfect moment for it for some reason. I think getting out into the world for the first time, there was this mixture of both excitement and uncertainty (especially with the economy in '08), it just felt so awesome to have this culmination with something I had been singularly looking forward to for the past 3 years finally hit and be everything I wanted and more. It was a constant for the years leading up to it- regardless of what was going on my life, the TDK hype was something I could always escape into. I was in it with my full heart. And it felt super rewarding to have it pay off with a film I still probably think about daily in one way or another (it's kind of hard not to when my algorithm is still constantly pushing it on me in some form lol).

I wasn't posting back then (I signed up pre-Rises hype), but man...checking this forum to follow the viral marketing and set videos and trailer reactions was basically a daily ritual and it was such a special time. Just pure joy, excitement and a great feeling of community. Worth remembering with fondness for sure!

Thank you so much for your kind and lovely words!

It was an incredible experience which i always look back with great affection, and nostalgia. I remember vividly in the weeks nearing the film's release, i was preoccupied with the Rotten Tomatoes score, i was refreshing the site probably 10 times a day, the box office tracking, whether it'll live up to the hype for everyone, etc... Then i watched the film, and after the ending with the now iconic Gordon speech, i felt such a serene feeling, nothing mattered anymore, the world had stopped. I didn't care whether it had 44% or 94% on RT, whether it made $150 or $150 million on opening weekend, whether the entire world hated the film and i was the only one who loved it. On the ride back from the cinema i was just starring in the distance, i didn't say a word for the entire drive, i might as well have been enchanted. It had surpassed my wildest expectations, i was so, so grateful for it and that hasn't changed to this day. Every time i rewatch the film, i feel the utmost gratitude for everyone involved in the film.

Something that i've been wondering lately, is why i didn't have the excitement for Rises that i had for TDK. I was anticipating it a lot, of course, but the thought of the film not living up to the hype wasn't very distressing. I think i loved the ending of TDK so much, that i wasn't very interested in what happened after. Batman riding into the light, while Gordon calls him ''A silent protector, a watchful guardian, a Dark Knight'' is a conclusion of mythical proportions to the first two films. If i had to choose between a third film that i would love more than Rises, and Begins+TDK being a duology, i would still choose the later option. Not every story needs to be a trilogy. I think Nolan touched on every interesting idea possible in the first two films, and everything else would have been a retreat of themes. Obviously, millions of people love the film, and the last thing i would want to do is take the film away from them, it's just my personal opinion about the duo.. ahem, trilogy.

On the other hand, i don't know what i would have done had TDK ended up being a dud. I probably would have left civilization, moved to the woods, and cursed modern society, technology and film makers to deer and foxes for the rest of my life.

 

[BatLobster]

Thank you so much for your kind and lovely words!

It was an incredible experience which i always look back with great affection, and nostalgia. I remember vividly in the weeks nearing the film's release, i was preoccupied with the Rotten Tomatoes score, i was refreshing the site probably 10 times a day, the box office tracking, whether it'll live up to the hype for everyone, etc... Then i watched the film, and after the ending with the now iconic Gordon speech, i felt such a serene feeling, nothing mattered anymore, the world had stopped. I didn't care whether it had 44% or 94% on RT, whether it made $150 or $150 million on opening weekend, whether the entire world hated the film and i was the only one who loved it. On the ride back from the cinema i was just starring in the distance, i didn't say a word for the entire drive, i might as well have been enchanted. It had surpassed my wildest expectations, i was so, so grateful for it and that hasn't changed to this day. Every time i rewatch the film, i feel the utmost gratitude for everyone involved in the film.

Something that i've been wondering lately, is why i didn't have the excitement for Rises that i had for TDK. I was anticipating it a lot, of course, but the thought of the film not living up to the hype wasn't very distressing. I think i loved the ending of TDK so much, that i wasn't very interested in what happened after. Batman riding into the light, while Gordon calls him ''A silent protector, a watchful guardian, a Dark Knight'' is a conclusion of mythical proportions to the first two films. If i had to choose between a third film that i would love more than Rises, and Begins+TDK being a duology, i would still choose the later option. Not every story needs to be a trilogy. I think Nolan touched on every interesting idea possible in the first two films, and everything else would have been a retreat of themes. Obviously, millions of people love the film, and the last thing i would want to do is take the film away from them, it's just my personal opinion about the duo.. ahem, trilogy.

On the other hand, i don't know what i would have done had TDK ended up being a dud. I probably would have left civilization, moved to the woods, and cursed modern society, technology and film makers to deer and foxes for the rest of my life.

Yeah man, the ending of TDK is powerful. It still hits. I remember saying to my friends after first walking out of the theater that they should never make another Batman movie because this was impossible to top. My emotions were obviously running high + knowing that Heath couldn't reprise the role was probably weighing on me there. I guess there was some element of truth to it though, because it's remained the gold standard (for a lot of people).

I do love Rises, cause I think it brings the story full circle to Bruce Wayne's story in a way that TDK kind of dodges a bit and is necessary for a sense of closure. If TDK is where the story ends, it's a much more tragic and open-ended kind of story. I kind of know what you mean though, I was definitely hyped for Rises but it was a bit different because you knew that TDK was a very special thing that couldn't be recreated, plus it was bittersweet knowing that this was the actual end of Nolan's run with the character so I just tried to savor and enjoy it. I also just remember all the uncertainty about whether or not Nolan would even come back. I was happy that even after the success of Inception where he really could've done whatever he wanted next, he still made the choice to come back and finish the story. I think it scratched an itch for me to finally see one director/actor close out a Batman trilogy. Cause the thing is, if Nolan had walked it's likely WB would've still pressed forward with a third Bale movie anyway as he was under contract, and there was no way they were not going to make a sequel to The Dark Knight.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

Yeah man, the ending of TDK is powerful. It still hits. I remember saying to my friends after first walking out of the theater that they should never make another Batman movie because this was impossible to top. My emotions were obviously running high + knowing that Heath couldn't reprise the role was probably weighing on me there. I guess there was some element of truth to it though, because it's remained the gold standard (for a lot of people).

I do love Rises, cause I think it brings the story full circle to Bruce Wayne's story in a way that TDK kind of dodges a bit and is necessary for a sense of closure. If TDK is where the story ends, it's a much more tragic and open-ended kind of story. I kind of know what you mean though, I was definitely hyped for Rises but it was a bit different because you knew that TDK was a very special thing that couldn't be recreated, plus it was bittersweet knowing that this was the actual end of Nolan's run with the character so I just tried to savor and enjoy it. I also just remember all the uncertainty about whether or not Nolan would even come back. I was happy that even after the success of Inception where he really could've done whatever he wanted next, he still made the choice to come back and finish the story. I think it scratched an itch for me to finally see one director/actor close out a Batman trilogy. Cause the thing is, if Nolan had walked it's likely WB would've still pressed forward with a third Bale movie anyway as he was under contract, and there was no way they were not going to make a sequel to The Dark Knight.

I agree with everything you wrote, it's just a matter of preference, i have nothing against trilogies per se, but they almost never stick the landing because they try to tell a new story, and then finish that one plus every plot thread from the previous films.

Did i really needed to see that Batman was out for 8 years? Did i needed to see another attempt by the League of Shadows to destroy Gotham, this time by two suicidal buffoons with no ideology that were willing to blow 10 million people, including themselves and all their followers, just to spite one individual? Did i needed to see Bruce retire and give the mantle to an untrained cop that he knew for about a day? Not really.

Sometimes, it's better to leave things to the imagination, but like you wrote, The Dark Knight was so big, WB would have never let things die quietly. I honestly doubt that Bale would have returned had Nolan decided not to, but maybe WB would have made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Honestly, i'm more disappointed that no film from the genre has since managed to pique my interest. I enjoy Logan, and that's about it. I had high hopes for ''The Batman'' but it gets worse on every rewatch, and i wasn't too thrilled with it to begin with. It's a mystery film without a mystery, a detective film where the detective doesn't do, stop, or figure out anything, and it has a villain that turns into a generic psycho that floods the city because heaven forbid if there was a bit of complexity and grayness to his character. The style of the film is wonderful, but there's no substance whatsoever. I probably would have loved it to bits 20 years ago, but now it's just derivative from better films, kind of like ''Joker''. Watching TDK during my formative years of diving into cinema was the best and the worst thing to happen to me, it proved that the genre isn't inferior to any other genre, as long as you're interested in telling a compelling, complex story with no easy answers. On the other hand, we have these connected universes where each film is basically an episode, only interested in setting things up. To me, the new Superman isn't a film, it's a TV pilot. Good for people interested in serialized storytelling, but not for me.

 

[Awest66]

I agree with everything you wrote, it's just a matter of preference, i have nothing against trilogies per se, but they almost never stick the landing because they try to tell a new story, and then finish that one plus every plot thread from the previous films.

Did i really needed to see that Batman was out for 8 years? Did i needed to see another attempt by the League of Shadows to destroy Gotham, this time by two suicidal buffoons with no ideology that were willing to blow 10 million people, including themselves and all their followers, just to spite one individual? Did i needed to see Bruce retire and give the mantle to an untrained cop that he knew for about a day? Not really.

Sometimes, it's better to leave things to the imagination, but like you wrote, The Dark Knight was so big, WB would have never let things die quietly. I honestly doubt that Bale would have returned had Nolan decided not to, but maybe WB would have made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Honestly, i'm more disappointed that no film from the genre has since managed to pique my interest. I enjoy Logan, and that's about it. I had high hopes for ''The Batman'' but it gets worse on every rewatch, and i wasn't too thrilled with it to begin with. It's a mystery film without a mystery, a detective film where the detective doesn't do, stop, or figure out anything, and it has a villain that turns into a generic psycho that floods the city because heaven forbid if there was a bit of complexity and grayness to his character. The style of the film is wonderful, but there's no substance whatsoever. I probably would have loved it to bits 20 years ago, but now it's just derivative from better films, kind of like ''Joker''. Watching TDK during my formative years of diving into cinema was the best and the worst thing to happen to me, it proved that the genre isn't inferior to any other genre, as long as you're interested in telling a compelling, complex story with no easy answers. On the other hand, we have these connected universes where each film is basically an episode, only interested in setting things up. To me, the new Superman isn't a film, it's a TV pilot. Good for people interested in serialized storytelling, but not for me.

Funny thing is that if Nolan chose not to come back, WB would have most likely made the third entry in TDK series very similar to what the Batman turned out to be.

The villains would most likely have been the Riddler

Bruce's arc would be rediscovering his humanity after having been lost in the monster of Batman

The ending would be Bruce turning Batman into a symbol of hope (again) and endeavoring to soldier on, completely secure in the knowledge that Gotham will improve because of him and what he's doing as Batman.