I thought the movie was great.
I think watching it at the tail end of spending a week in the big city may have enhanced the experience a bit, but I’m positive that seeing it on in IMAX definitely did. I was surprised to learn (right before it started) that a good chunk of the movie (around 30 minutes) was actually filmed in IMAX, so it wasn’t just the normal movie on a bigger screen.
Ledger as the Joker was as good as everyone has been raving about; such a shame that we won’t see him again at some point. I really hope they don’t try to bring back the character with a different actor, unless it’s very far into the future, perhaps as a demented long-time resident in Arkham assylum.
The big box office virtually guarantees there will be more follow-ups; hopefully they keep the same creative team on, as it’s working very well. I’d love to eventually see an adaptation of what I consider to be the best Batman story: The Dark Knight Returns. Of course, they’d have to make it an alternate universe kind of thing relative to the continuity of this movie, and they’d have to be sure to get the effects right for the Superman parts, but I think it would fit well into a movie.
That’s about it for the spoiler-free section of this review.
– SPOILERS BELOW –
Having intentionally avoided as much information as I could about the movie beforehand, I was unaware of how long the movie was, and that led me to be surprised that they played out the whole Dent story in this movie. Just from hearing his name in the first (and only) trailer I saw, I figured they would introduce Dent in this movie and then the accident that caused his transformation would happen at the end, and lead into a third movie with him as the villain.
I’m very glad they didn’t go that way, though, since his story fit in very well here, time-wise. Dent was a great character as well, but I did have a bit of an issue with how quick his character transformation happened. I wonder if there are some deleted scenes that play that aspect out a little more that just couldn’t make it into the already lengthy end cut.
Interesting that they didn’t show Gordon’s daughter’s face, to the point that it was clearly intentional. If you know the comics, you know why (in regards to keeping options open for future casting). If you know the comics too well, you might complain that she was actually adopted by Jim at an older age, but that would be a bit too nit-picky.
<bigger spoiler>One question / issue I did have is with some of the commentary I’ve read since seeing the movie. When I watched it, I was under the impression that Wayne chose to save Dent instead of Rachel, which (IMHO) would be more consistent with the well told story about Batman realizing that the city needs Dent.
However, I’ve read several reviews which seem to be under the impression that the Joker swapped the addresses he gave them, and that Batman actually thought he was going after Rachel. This (IMHO) would be much less interesting. What do those of you who’ve seen it think? And is there anything out there that confirms or denies this either way?
I did hear him say her name, but I was thinking that he was telling Gordon to go to her, or confusing anyone else who may have been listening.</bigger spoiler>
I’m up for seeing it again – in IMAX of course. Maybe Nate will want to see it in Santa Clarita.
–spoiler response– I didn’t get the impression that Joker switched the addresses, it seemed to me it was the obvious choice for him (if he thinks Dent could save the city without Batman).
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, but the prevailing opinion seems to be that he was going for Rachel but got it wrong. I like my / our interpretation a lot better.
I’m planning on seeing it again this weekend with Martha. Is it showing nearby in IMAX?
It’s playing near Nate, that’s why I mentioned it.
not sure if there is a closer theater with IMAX, not sure if the theater in Simi has IMAX yet.
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/11275749/
Oh yeah, that’s cool. I didn’t know if you had already checked that one. The times are a bit early, so they would seem to indicate that it is in fact showing in IMAX, which that page didn’t make clear.
I do still wonder about it, though; might be worth a phone call to verify that this is actually the IMAX version, and not just a normal showing put onto a big screen.
The reason I question it is that they list other movies which aren’t IMAX and don’t really highlight the distinction between them.
Just going by the Google listings, the one I saw was specifically listed as “The Dark Night – The IMAX Experience” alongside other non-IMAX showings of the movie at the same theater listed separately.
In contrast, the one in Valencia doesn’t specifically say “IMAX”, so it may or may not be. Hopefully it is.
Even if it’s not officially the IMAX version, the bigger screen would still be cool. I remember seeing the original Matrix in ’99 at an IMAX theater in San Antonio, and it definitely enhanced the viewing experience.
This Dark Knight thing is unique, though (if I understand correctly), in that it’s the first mainstream movie that has actually used IMAX equipment during shooting and released a version specifically for viewing in that environment.
Sorry Dan, Jared has a date already. Back off my man!
I would say that there’s plenty of me to go around, but actually I’m probably not going to shell out the cash to see this one three times, so I think I’ll stick with Martha on this one.
i’m still interested in imaxin’ it, assuming lisa doesn’t want/need to see it in imax. it would have to be after august 3rd though, since we’re outta here in just a few short days.
re: the double rescue. i was under the impression that no one knew which address belonged to which person. either way, it’s not like they choose to save one and not the other…batman went after one and all of gothem pd went after the other.
re: batgirl. i didn’t notice that they were hiding her face until you pointed it out just now. i think it’s funny that nerds would care about her being adopted since most character’s backstories have been altered at least a little. like two face having darth vader’s origin, haha.