The Dark Knight The Dark Knight and repeat viewing

[Ipodman]

Im extremely impressed by Nolan's casting (or whoever's job it was)
Aaron Echart was a really good Two face, and Morgan Freeman and the rest were awesome

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

I find more and more each time I watch it that Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face and Gary Oldman as Gordon are the best performances in the film for me. They grab the most emotion, and everything that happens to Harvey just kicks you in the gut so much, its a testament to Eckhart's acting that in a scene with a madman about to kill a child he makes you feel just so heartbroken for the guy with the gun.

And I figured out why I always overlook Oldman as Gordon, because to me he just plays that so perfectly he IS Gordon. In a scene wit Bale I think "He's playing Batman really well in this scene", but for Oldman I don't even see the actor, I only see the character.

 

[LegendaryCaleb]

My dad...doesnt like movies...or comics...(he did love batman with keaton because my mom and him had a big date that night...which might have led to my brother....ew)
but he loves to pop this movie in all the time...i watched it 2 weeks ago for the first time in 4 months (although ive seen the movie at least 15 times)
and its just...near perfect for us comic book fans...every scene is shot with pure quality...amazing acting...superb writing...and the most badass villian ive seen on screen in a while
it will go down in history as one of those films you just have to own...
i want so bad for the new movie to top this...but sadly it probably wont...if heath was alive and he was in the next one...i could see a chance...but idk...but we will always have this movie as the greatest..and as long as the third lives up in most ways...i have to say possibly the greatest trilogy of all time...

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

A lot of people hated his performance but I really dug Bale's Wayne (not playboy Bruce, the real one). To me, he was playing it like Bruce was being stretched thin, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, not knowing that he was reaching his limits.

 

[LegendaryCaleb]

yeah i dont understand the comments about bales wayne neither....i thought he was on edge and having a horrible time under all circumstances and it was taking a toll on him

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Bale's face during both Joker home movies is spot on. It's filled with anger and disgust, but he's not over doing it.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

YES. Especially the first one before Dent's party. Anger, disgust and a hint of guilt that this dude got killed wearing his costume.

 

[The Joker]

That Joker torture video was epic.

"Look at me......LOOK AT ME!!!!!"

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

That Joker torture video was epic.

"Look at me......LOOK AT ME!!!!!"

The best part of that moment is up until that point, everyone in the audience was riding along for the ride with the Joker. Lots of laughs and a feeling of fun, right up until the Joker shows who he really is underneath. From laughs to dead silence within a matter of seconds.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

Exactly. My theater got the "Joker vibe" after the magic trick. Before that it was a bunch of giggling, then silence and from then on in the movie whenever Joker was onscreen or if you heard the beginning of that theme there was a tenseness in the audience.

Seriously, I could live in this thread.

 

[The Joker]

Did you guys know that Nolan allowed Heath to direct that torture video scene? Did an amazing job, didn't he. No music in the scene or anything like that. Really added to the effectiveness of it.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

By the time they had reached the first video, they had a good idea of what Ledger could do, so they just let him take the camera and do whatever he wanted. Each take had different but similar dialogue to keep it fresh. Then when the Mike Engel video came up, Nolan didn't even show up on set. He trusted Ledger 100%.

 

[CJ]

A lot of people hated his performance but I really dug Bale's Wayne (not playboy Bruce, the real one). To me, he was playing it like Bruce was being stretched thin, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, not knowing that he was reaching his limits.

I'm not sure what to think of Bale's performance. I think he really nailed the scene after Rachel's death, but other moments he just.. lacked charisma. (But then again, I guess that's fitting of Bruce Wayne's character)

I did like his bat-voice in TDK, it was a huge step-up from his grunting in BB. It was more of an angry whisper this time around.

I've seen a few terrible movies with Aaron Eckhart, (Thank you for smoking, The Core) so I was very disappointed when I heard he was cast as Harvey Dent. But he ended up giving a great performance and I can't imagine anyone else doing the role.

(Though I think the movie focused way too much on Harvey Dent and not enough of his transformation into Two-Face. When he became Two-Face, it didn't feel like he made the full transformation into the character. He still felt like Harvey Dent. A scarred, angry Harvey Dent.)

 

[Brother Jack]

A lot of people hated his performance but I really dug Bale's Wayne (not playboy Bruce, the real one). To me, he was playing it like Bruce was being stretched thin, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, not knowing that he was reaching his limits.

I agree, his performance was underrated. Granted it did contain the problematic bat voice, my only real complaint with the film, that was mostly due to the post-production sound meddling.

It's a very subtle performance, probably the subtlest of the movie, which is odd to say since most of the time he's in a bat-suit roaring at criminals. You can sense the emotion in his eyes, like in the scene where he meets Harvey Dent and recognizes him not only as someone to save Gotham but as someone who understands Batman unlike any other. He says so much without saying a word, just like does when Joker is talking to him in the interrogation room, only there he's a stoic emotionless presence, that is until things get ugly...

 

[Anita18]

I'm not sure what to think of Bale's performance. I think he really nailed the scene after Rachel's death, but other moments he just.. lacked charisma. (But then again, I guess that's fitting of Bruce Wayne's character)

I did like his bat-voice in TDK, it was a huge step-up from his grunting in BB. It was more of an angry whisper this time around.

I've seen a few terrible movies with Aaron Eckhart, (Thank you for smoking, The Core) so I was very disappointed when I heard he was cast as Harvey Dent. But he ended up giving a great performance and I can't imagine anyone else doing the role.

(Though I think the movie focused way too much on Harvey Dent and not enough of his transformation into Two-Face. When he became Two-Face, it didn't feel like he made the full transformation into the character. He still felt like Harvey Dent. A scarred, angry Harvey Dent.)

You thought Thank You for Smoking was terrible? Blasphemy!

I agree, his performance was underrated. Granted it did contain the problematic bat voice, my only real complaint with the film, that was mostly due to the post-production sound meddling.

It's a very subtle performance, probably the subtlest of the movie, which is odd to say since most of the time he's in a bat-suit roaring at criminals. You can sense the emotion in his eyes, like in the scene where he meets Harvey Dent and recognizes him not only as someone to save Gotham but as someone who understands Batman unlike any other. He says so much without saying a word, just like does when Joker is talking to him in the interrogation room, only there he's a stoic emotionless presence, that is until things get ugly...

I also liked how you could see the panic through the mask when he's attempting to interrogate Maroni.

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

You thought Thank You for Smoking was terrible? Blasphemy!

That's what I was thinking, it was a hilarious deconstruction of the world of spin.

I'm surprised at the person that thought TDK's voice was a quiet whisper compared to BB, it was the other way around for me. Seriously, go back to the cave scene with Rachel in BB, barely growling at all.

That said, Bale did get a couple of lines in as Batman that were geniunely emotional, such as his sorry to Harvey in the hospital. My favourite part is where he somehow manages to make the growls and STILL be affecting, in this bit:
"Then why was it ME who was the only one who lost everything?"
"It wasn't..."
"The Joker chose ME!"
"Because you were the best of us!"

I think TDK while not having the best Two-Face ever certainly had the best Harvey Dent of any medium. Really pre-Two-Face in the comics is actually quite weak and certainly never comes across as an equal to Batman. I love that this film went out of its way to show that despite the fact he was eventually corrupted, Harvey Dent was a man who had more good in him than even Bruce Wayne. He was the one who was most at danger, he had no mask, and he did things by the book.

 

[LegendaryCaleb]

Thank you for smoking is a great movie........

 

[CJ]

Eh. I thought it was overrated.

 

[Ipodman]

"Then why was it ME who was the only one who lost everything?"
"It wasn't..."
"The Joker chose ME!"
"Because you were the best of us!"

One of my favourite Two Face lines....

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

I don't know if this part was intentionally meant the way I'm making out to be but upon repeat viewing of the movie I thought scene in the robbed bank between Batman and Gordon was quite interesting, to me that's an underrated part of the movie where Gordon is weighing the threat of the Joker against the mob and Batman goes "one man or the entire mob?"

Kinda just seems like a throwaway line but it all gets back to the idea that Bruce thought he had it all handled, he was already thinking of giving the cowl up and handing Gotham to Dent, the Joker and the chaos he brought with him totally ended up catching him sideways. He didn't take the Joker seriously enough right there in that moment in time and it cost him dearly.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Kinda just seems like a throwaway line but it all gets back to the idea that Bruce thought he had it all handled, he was already thinking of giving the cowl up and handing Gotham to Dent, the Joker and the chaos he brought with him totally ended up catching him sideways. He didn't take the Joker seriously enough right there in that moment in time and it cost him dearly.

I'm pretty sure that's what that line was going for. We're all supposed to watch that part and know that Bruce is making a terrible decision that he'll regret forever.

To add to the great "Bale face" collection, I really liked him during the dinner scene with Rachel, Harvey, and Natasha. He gets a little smirk when Harvey is praising Batman, then he gets a full dose of reality when Harvey brings out Bruce's subconscious wishes by saying that Batman doesn't want to do this forever.

 

[The Joker]

I love that whole dinner sequence. It's where you really grow to care about Harvey. And the Russian ballerina character, Natasha, was surprisingly good. I thought she was just going to be eye candy at the table, but she brings up some great points about having a masked vigilante in Gotham.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

Another thing I noticed on repeat viewing was Gordon's subtle sway towards believing in Harvey Dent.

When they first meet in the movie he's cautious and guarded, but there's a change in his countenance when Dent comes to the jail cell after the murder attempt at Wayne's party and there's a look of belief on Gordon's face that ultimately pays off later in the movie with his line "I have to save Dent!"

 

[Two-Face=Badass]

I love that whole dinner sequence. It's where you really grow to care about Harvey. And the Russian ballerina character, Natasha, was surprisingly good. I thought she was just going to be eye candy at the table, but she brings up some great points about having a masked vigilante in Gotham.

Yeah the dinner sequence was great, a lot of nice details. TDK is funny for me because when I haven't watched it in a while I tend to remember the flaws a lot more because it gets grating when everyone is praising it, but everytime I watch it again I remember why I love it so much.

Another thing I noticed on repeat viewing was Gordon's subtle sway towards believing in Harvey Dent.

When they first meet in the movie he's cautious and guarded, but there's a change in his countenance when Dent comes to the jail cell after the murder attempt at Wayne's party and there's a look of belief on Gordon's face that ultimately pays off later in the movie with his line "I have to save Dent!"

Awesome point, that Gordon line of "We have to save Dent! I have to save Dent!" was so great, one of the best lines in the film for me because it shows not only how important Dent has become to Gotham but also is Gordon own admission that he DID in fact fail him by not keeping a lcoser eye on Weurtz and Ramirez and Dent warned.