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The Dark Knight (2008)


ztejas

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Uh, ok. It's okay to admit that something excellent isn't perfect. The sequence I mentioned, while visually cool, was pretty eye-rolly. As was the surveillance technology that he knew was wrong, but he pumped billions into because he knew that, someday, the ends would justify the means once...but only once.


I’m referencing your criticism of Joker’s master plans needing perfect execution.

They showed you in great detail when a plan goes right (beginning), showed in great detail when it failed (ending), showed the Joker didnt care if it went right or not. What more do you need?

You want to see the Joker painstakingly planning and testing his scaffolding and bombs? Sitting in a stakeout? Disposing of dead bodies like Walter White in Breaking Bad? We didnt need any of that stuff in a feature film.

And the idea that the very powerful build very powerful weapons but only exercise that power once is very in character for Bruce Wayne.

This is a great film where the flaws are a matter of debate and perspective.
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I guess I elicited some decent discussion. I was in my cups and wanted to share a writing exercise that came to me on a rewatch - I struggle with opening up my creative self. I wish I could do it more often without needing alcohol to remove the inhibitional barrier. 

I think it's probably one of the best 15 films I've ever seen. There's some stuff I haven't seen. There's also a lot of stuff others have seen that they've liked better. 

I know I came across strong. That was kind of the point I guess. Thanks for putting up with ztejas. He's a good guy but he's also a crazy asshole that on occasion may refer to himself in the 3rd person. 

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On 1/27/2022 at 3:00 AM, ztejas said:

If this isn't in your short list of finest films of the 21st century you're a fucking dunce and pretty much just trying to be counter-culture for the sake of it. Or - maybe - you just don't understand film. 

I mean this is total horseshit. The rest I think was decent. 

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It’s a top 5 movie for me. Blows your hair back from beginning to end. Find one bad scene. One of the great opening sequences in film history. 
 

I saw it IMAX the day it opened. I liked they shot much of it in Chicago. It throws a wrench in the New York City is Gotham City BS. 

Edited by billfromlaketravis
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On 1/28/2022 at 12:11 PM, OneOfTheOutOfFocusGuys said:

SnarlingBronzeFlyingfox-size_restricted.

 

Jesus.  This hits so hard that it’s a bit triggering. 
 

I watch every couple of years, I pick up little things on the edges that blow my mind.  I little facial nuance, a tiny pause in delivery, a deeper aspect to the Joker.  It was one of those rare occurrences where everything came together perfectly from the least important extra to the leads/direction/screen writing/production.

 

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On 1/28/2022 at 8:16 AM, Underdog said:

This alone makes the Burton/Keaton version better than any other…


 

I don't know if they are "better" than Nolan's but they are quite good. I'd actually consider them "underrated" at this point just because Nolan's films sucked all of the air out of the "Batman movie" zeitgeist. 

Batman and Batman Returns are fantastic and I'll always love them. Burton did a tremendous job of essentially making a live action comic book (versus Nolan, whose inspiration was more urban crime dramas/mob movies), and the casting of Michael Keaton, Nicholson, DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer was perfect.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Watching again... theres something about this film that grounds me. I had a weird day and have had a weird week and I thought I'd throw it on. 

I like what I wrote initially to start this post. I don't like my backtracks and follow ups as much. I think I nailed how I feel right off the bat. So, if you're wondering how I feel, read the first post. 

Maggie Gyllenhaal still leaves so much to be desired. God dammit... although, she's growing on me. 

---

Something I've noticed upon this viewing... It's fairly analogous framing and color-wise to how a comic book would be done. Other "super hero" movies (in quotes because I'm not sure that's really what this movie is and also because stuff being made lately barely resembles this) don't really seem to follow this. 

I touched on some of this as part of my initial take on the film so it's sort of a secondary commentary, but I think a lot of this phenomenon is due to how consistent the film is from shot to shot. If you imagine every new shot as a new frame in a comic book it flows fairly seamlessly. When the scene and actors change the colors and perspectives change. And as long as you're within the same scene or situation - the backdrop isn't going to shift that much. Most movies don't really do this that effectively (and that's putting it softly).

Again - absolute technical masterpiece and an undeniable achievement of film. It's really, really hard to identify comparable examples. 

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