Depression

"you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!"

grrr

NY also has the most film critics per capita. Combine that with academic leanings, perhaps a more conservative attitude toward the role of comic book films, and the Village and you'll end up with at least a handful of negative reviews. You need at least a few critics to bring expectations down to a reasonable level, though; Pauline Kael and her shrewish kin deserve their place in the world of film. And I for one can't wait to read Walter Chow's description of the batpod as a turgid metal phallus.

To be honest, I can understand why someone wouldn't like the film. If you walk in expecting Iron Man or Batman Begins 2, you're likely to be upset when knives are inserted into unwilling mouths and upright, decent people begin dropping like flies. Half the audience sat through the credits in stunned silence while the other half (mostly kids) clapped and cheered.

Nick Martin

You mean Walter CHAW from FilmFreakCentral?

Easily the most pathetically biased 'critic' I've ever heard of. He doesn't deserve to be acknowledged in any way.

grrr

That's the guy. I have a hard time finding any vitriol for someone's taste in art, so I mostly read reviews for entertainment. CHAW is entertaining, if nothing else.

Paul_SD

From what I understand, the film taps into the 9/12 zeitgeist. It's possible these NYC-centric critics are hyper-sensitive about this kind of material being used in a summer action or 'comic book' movie. I was in Seacaucus when War of The Worlds opened, and the main Jersey paper was livid over the film and it's appropriation of certain 9/11 imagery (like the people covered in dust) for something that was merely entertainment.
I don't think I'eve ever read a more venomous review.

I think this aspect may have something to do with the seeming bias on display.

Supermallet

You know, despite the various exploding buildings and other terrorist type activities that The Joker engages in, I never got a 9/11 feel from it.

Goldberg74

Interesting trailer comparison:

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JPRaup

that is quite weird...same trailer maker?

CloverClover

to those who saw it, does the film

grrr

Brent L

For those of you in upstate SC, the Hollywood 20 in Greenville has 28, yes 28, showings of TDK set for Friday.

Doctor Gonzo

Review snippets compiled by AwardsDaily.com...

Scott Foundas, The Village Voice (metacritic score: 100)
By now, of course, you know that the Joker is played by Heath Ledger in the last role he completed before his death, this past January, at the age of 28. And it is perhaps the best compliment one can pay to this gifted young actor to say that his performance here would have cemented his legend even if he’d lived to see the film’s release… Ledger seems to make the film grow larger whenever he’s onscreen…

In making the transition from low-budget independent films to studio tentpole projects, Nolan (who co- authored The Dark Knight with his brother, Jonathan), has sacrificed none of his abiding obsessions. Like the amnesiac amateur detective who occupied the central role in Nolan’s Möbius-strip sophomore feature, Memento, the Bruce Wayne of Dark Knight is increasingly gripped by an existential crisis, wondering whether he is the hero or the villain of his own story.

Joe Neumaier, NY DailyNews (metacritic score: 100)
The ax-grinding, soul-churning, thought-provoking sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins” dives down and dirty into the unholy mess a society sinks to when fear is its driving force… Without sacrificing thrills, it finds sober excitement inside the ticking time bombs people can become. It’s the “Unforgiven” of superhero movies.

And no Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Bury him; he’s dead. Ledger’s take on this iconic creature is mesmerizing. With his stooped gait, darting tongue and a flat Midwestern sneerrrrr in his voice, he creeps in doing a danse macabre and gives the movie the jitters.
No joke: For Ledger, it’s the role of a lifetime in the movie of the summer.

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
…in The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s ominously labyrinthine and exciting sequel to Batman Begins, good and evil aren’t just separate forces — at times, they’re a whisper away from each other — and the movie exudes a predatory glamour that makes the comic-book films that have come before it look all the more like kid stuff.

James Berardinelli, Reel Views **** 4 stars [NOTE: worker b's at the IMDb hive have pointed out that the last movie to receive 4 stars from Berardinelli was The Departed, 2 years ago. This didn't seem likely until I confirmed it with a ratings search on the reelviews archive.]

2008 may be the year that the superhero movie comes of age. Iron Man represents the best screen adventure of a Marvel hero. Now, D.C. has answered with The Dark Knight, a film so impressive in every significant facet that it makes one wonder why it took so long for the genre to reach this high level. Christopher Nolan has provided movie-goers with the best superhero movie to-date, outclassing previous titles both mediocre and excellent, and giving this franchise its The Empire Strikes Back.
Christy Lemire, Associated Press

Christopher Nolan’s film is indeed an epic that will leave you staggering from the theater, stunned by its scope and complexity. It’s also, thankfully, a vast improvement over his self-serious origin story, 2005’s “Batman Begins.”

Cornelius1047

Although there aren't what many might consider serious spoilers presented "unspoiled" in this thread, there are definitely some things I'd consider minor spoilers, especially if one wants to go in knowing as little as humanly possible. So I am bidding you all adieu until I see this tomorrow night.



It's all... part of the plan.

K

OldBoy

this is wave 1, right? how cool does that look...

Brent L

That is exactly how mine looks, but the UPC on it doesn't match what was mentioned earlier.

OldBoy

could be same figure, 2 different UPCs?

bee_01

It's been posted before somewhere - the 1989 trailer is a remake to match TDK's trailer.

chris_sc77

That looks more like Aaron Eckharts face than Ledger's.

RichC2

It's funny how The Dark Knight makes Batman look like its from the Adam West era.

at least Goyer knows where he stands (after The Invisible and Blade Trinity).

Jay1187

I just got back from the Dark Knight screening. Awesome movie!!! Go see it at the IMAX theater if you can its spectacular in IMAX. I think i'll be seeing it again.

alfredog1976

Christian Bale "Today Show" interview:
<iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/25674029#25674029" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

PopcornTreeCt

I was gonna say that it looks Christian Bale.

RichC2

Is it just me or is Bale starting to adapt a cross NY/Chicago accent? Listen, you know. Doesn't sound as Welsh as it did.

TheMovieman

Thanks for posting that. It seems he doesn't do many interviews, so it's nice to see him once in a while.

PopcornTreeCt

That trailer reminds me how I much I still love Burton's Batman and as original as The Dark Knight appears to be it's still not all that original.