Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight...

Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/01/06 07:01

You knew it was coming....the thread.

Official confirmations have been released. Heath Ledger is signed for The Joker and the official title is "The Dark Knight." Not BB2: TDK...just TDK.

As for the other cast. Bale, Caine, and Oldman are all back for their roles. There will be a 2nd villain...The Penguin. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has been offered this role, but an insider(a reliable insider that leaked this Ledger casting 2 weeks ago and also leaked that Katie Holmes and Ken Watanbe were cast in the first one) say he might pass.

Of course, District Attorney Harvey Dent will be in this and will make his transformation into Two-Face for the third film(and probably in the third film). The most recent rumored actor up for that part is Ryan Phillipe.

Anyway, that's it for now. As always, keep up with the latest here: http://www.batman-on-film.com/batmovienews.html

Quote:

BURBANK, CA, 31 July 2006 � As a follow up to last year�s blockbuster Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan is set to direct Warner Bros. Pictures� The Dark Knight, written by Jonathan Nolan, based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. The film will be produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan. Additionally, Christian Bale will resume his role as Bruce Wayne and Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has been cast as The Joker. The announcements were made today by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Christopher Nolan revamped the Batman franchise in 2005 with the immensely successful Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale in the title role, which chronicled the early years of the superhero. Nolan first garnered attention from critics and fans in 2000 with the groundbreaking drama Memento, which he wrote and directed. He went on to direct the thriller Insomnia, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, and recently wrapped production on The Prestige, with Hugh Jackman and Bale.

Bale was most recently seen in the ensemble cast of Terrence Malick�s The New World. His other credits include Little Women, Portrait of a Lady, Metroland, American Psycho, Laurel Canyon and Steven Spielberg�s Empire of the Sun, which was his first starring role.

Ledger most recently earned Oscar Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award nominations and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in the award-winning drama Brokeback Mountain. His other credits include Casanova, Monster�s Ball, Lords of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm and The Patriot.

�Chris� unique vision is what made Batman Begins such an outstanding film and we could not imagine anyone else at the helm of The Dark Knight,� said Robinov. �We also can�t wait to see two such formidable actors as Christian and Heath face off with each other as Batman and The Joker.�

�I'm excited to continue the story we started with Batman Begins,� added Nolan. �Our challenge in casting The Joker was to find an actor who is not just extraordinarily talented but fearless. Watching Heath Ledger's interpretation of this iconic character taking on Christian Bale�s Batman is going to be incredible.�

Production is set to begin on The Dark Knight in early 2007.

Nolan's "The Prestige" looks like it will be a knockout: http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/theprestige/

Check out the teaser and trailer to Darren Aronosky's "The Fountain" too. He was the director originally hired to film Batman: Year One but left to make this and Nolan and Batman Begins was born. The script to that is out there if you can find it: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thefountain/

Posted By: Blattsalat

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/01/06 13:50

what?! the beginning of the beginning?
i can understand sequels of good movies or some where story is left to be told. but this is getting rediciulous.
we all know how the villains (joker, penguin aso) died. why prequeling or explaining all this stuff again.

as a big batman fan (even liked the trashy series because it was way too funny) all of this is killing it.
while part one (a really good one and the one and only real batman movie) and part two where good, cloney and schwarzi killed the last bit of sense in this movies.

batman begins 1 was simply very boring to watch (the only good thing was his training and they should have stoped there

) and i dont give bb2 good chances based on what we heared so far.

of course it will get "darker" and "more shifted to an older audience" and blah, blah but to be honest i dont buy this anymore.
they said that about star wars as well and it was a piece of junk compared to the originals.

i still say not everything ever written into a book should find his way on the screen

cheers

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/01/06 14:49

im looking forward to this. i really really am. im just glad holmes isnt returning...
i wanna see more playboy wayne in this^^

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/02/06 07:26

@Blattsy: These new Batman movies have nothing to do with the four older films. This is a relaunched, new franchise and a completely different continuity and aren't prequels. For comparison, the recently released Superman Returns was a true sequel to Superman and Superman II...right down to Marlon Brando coming back from the dead to reprise his role.

Forget about the death of Joker/Pengy from the Burton movies. Joker has been around for almost 70 years, so I think we can have another incarnation..it'll certainly be more accurate than Nicholson's silly take. It's already been stated that this Joker will be nothing like Nicholson's. It will be "very creepy and very extreme." In other words, as it should be. He won't even show up until halfway through and will have a full backstory.

Anyway, these new films are much better(assuming TDK maintains the high standard set by the perfect BB) and although some liberties have been taken, they are for the best and enhance instead of detract. Begins was very popular and many rank it as one of the best if not the best film of that year. It also made a ton of money with a very small advertising campaign(one of the smallest for this sort of film).

Posted By: Zio

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/02/06 21:00

Personally I don't care so much who the villains are, I just want more Batman! I'm a big fan of Bale and I think he plays a great Bruce/Batman.

I have to say though, I was worried when I found out Joker was going to be the villain. I was afraid of someone trying to imitate Nicholson. It's great to see they're taking a different approach and I think a creepy-Joker fits much better in this darker, more realistic series.

It feels great to have such a key part of my childhood remade so well. BB is one of my all time favorite movies, can't wait for TDK!

Posted By: Blattsalat

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/03/06 12:14

i think this is wishful thinking. i cant imagine (it still hasnt happened as well) a big company paying millions on licensing and then to transform and swap a whole running and selling product.

fact is that batman need to be rated 12+ years to attract most customers. so there goes everything that could make a movie dark or the joker some sort of scary villain.
same with movies like spiderman or star wars. if you aim for teenagers or the broad mass as audience you simply cant produce 3 things:
+scary and dark atmosphere
+complicated plot
+deep character development

i know how i was as a 14 year old and most important for me as for everyone else at this age where fast, easy and effect loaded movies.

so bb2 will be as spiderman3 or any other blockbuster in the last 4 years: a flat and hollow arrangement of special effects combined with a easy and predictable story and no real character development at all.

and this is ok because movies like this should be made as well. but to be honest i would rather see another batman

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/03/06 18:10

Quote:

i think this is wishful thinking. i cant imagine (it still hasnt happened as well) a big company paying millions on licensing and then to transform and swap a whole running and selling product.

I don't think you understand. This IS a brand new franchise. Batman Begins has jack and crap to do with Batman, Batman Returns, B Forever, and B & R. It is not the same continuity. Yes, a big company has paid millions of dollars and essentially dumped an entire already existing continuity and started over. However, this is old news from about 3 years ago, yet you don't seem to understand that. Batman Forever and Batman & Robin completely ruined the old franchise. This is why they started over with people who actually care about the property and have done it justice. This is official info....WB has come out and said it's a new start(starting with Batman Begins), so wishful thinking my ass.

TDK will continue this and take it even further into the darkness within this new Christopher Nolan/David Goyer created universe....as they should.

Quote:

fact is that batman need to be rated 12+ years to attract most customers. so there goes everything that could make a movie dark or the joker some sort of scary villain.
same with movies like spiderman or star wars. if you aim for teenagers or the broad mass as audience you simply cant produce 3 things:
+scary and dark atmosphere
+complicated plot
+deep character development

Batman is rated 12+(PG-13 in the US). The PG-13 of today is not the PG-13 of 10 years ago. Films that get that rating today would have probably been a soft R around that time. And, you're wrong on your 3 things that you can't have if you aim for a lower market. I simply don't know what a lower rating has to do with any of it, and given the fact that BB disproves this, as well as a multitude of other films, the point is moot. Also, they aren't aiming at a lower market, and there's no reason to make it R if it doesn't need to be. There doesn't need to be a bunch of unnecessary swearing, sex and nudity, or extreme violence to make a Batman film. Also, the US versions of "The Ring" and "The Grudge" scared the living hell out of a lot of people, and it was rated PG-13. A perfectly, dark and spooky Joker can be done in a 21st Century, PG-13 movie.

However, neither one of us has seen what they are going to do with it, nor seen an millimeter of footage given they haven't even started, yet. So, let's not get too positive or negative either way until we do.

However, I'm not going to play the negative card for reasons that make little sense or go against what I know to be true.

Quote:

so bb2 will be as spiderman3 or any other blockbuster in the last 4 years: a flat and hollow arrangement of special effects combined with a easy and predictable story and no real character development at all.

and this is ok because movies like this should be made as well. but to be honest i would rather see another batman

BB1 was not a "flat and hollow arrangement of special effects combined with an easy and predictable story and no real character development." The characters were well developed, and most of the special effects were practical. There was little CGI in it. The entire collapsing train sequence at the end was a large model that was enhanced with a few CGI tricks(mainly compositing).

Anyway, you haven't seen Spider-man 3, and you have no idea if it will be "flat and hollow." The first two certainly were not. Those two films were about as great of a Spider-man movie as you're going to get.

You are going to see another Batman, and it's called The Dark Knight.

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/03/06 20:39

brat�s right thats all i can say...

Posted By: Blattsalat

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/03/06 21:11

the problem starts if you think movies like spiderman are good ones. I was bored to death or wished i would go deaf so at least i wont have to hear all the babbling.
Though i like comics i dont think that they should be copied 1:1 onto the screen since movies have other fields to cover then a book can do (and the other way round).

i also dont agree that "oh, this will all get darker and meaner and so on and so forth" promoting of the companies. none has so far and none will ever.

and the younger the sequels are the worse they get.
alien 1 was one of my favorite movies -> AvsP was a [censored] joke
anyone seen miami vice. now tell me more about how got sequels or remakes are that are "daker" then the original

same goes for bb1. its not bad while he is in training (also thanks to his tutor) but everything else is just boring. and its not "meaner", "more vicious" or "darker" then batman 1.

the point about the rating is simple:
you dont present the same dish for different audience. while kids love pizza and burgers this doesnt have to stay that way.
and please dont tell me now either batman begins nor spiderman had a plot or any bit more of a story then my breakfast today.
making a remake puts you into a difficult situation because people know the stories, so you will have to find a balance between what is known and entertain them with twists and unexpected news that still fit into the sheme.

i get your point about that you think bb2 will not be a sequel or something similar because a new "team" is behind it.
but if ther is one thing i have learned from big companies: never change a running system.
if the old batman sells the old batman is what you will get and thats the end of story.
nobody pays that much for a lizense to rewrite it 100%.
first of all the risks are to high to lose the old batman fans and it simply doesnt pay off.

and even if everything would be rewritten and remade do you really think this movie will aim to a chosen part of the audience (people who like comics, action movie fans and so on). definitely not.
it will cover as much ground as it can to attract as much audience as it can.
and fact is that if you try to please everyone you wont have a good product.

batman begins 2 will need to be:
+easy to understand or no "once in a while" movie viewers will see it
+a love story or no female audience will accept 2 hours of leather wearing males on screen
+lots of effects (i am not talking about cgi...effect in general no matter how they are made) or teenager will rate it "lame"

this of course doesnt fit to all cinema users but does fit onto the broad market of them (80-90% maybe). and the company who bought the batman franchise will rather aim at those 80% then on the 20% left.

its like in the game industry. adventure titles are a dead nuttshell according to the publisher though this is not right. some of the best games i remember have been adventures or at least had lots of adventure impact.
the problem with those games are the needed involement of the player. you can not play any adventure once in a while or you wont be able to get suck into the whole theme.
result: the 230483948030849 world war shoter will be released next month and hit double platinum. and adventure games will not.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/04/06 00:07

There must be some miscommunication here. I never said The Dark Knight(TDK) is being created by a new team and is being taken into a different direction than Batman Begins(BB). TDK is being made by the same team(director, writer, etc) that made BB and is a sequel to that film and will continue the arc(s) established in it. It will build on the continuity established in BB. And, just how Batman Returns was a much darker film than Batman 89, TDK will be a darker version of BB. With that said, BB was much, much darker than Batman '89(the first Burton film) and much more realistic(which was the aim of not camping it up and using true costumes with the villains...Joker in TDK will not necessarily be a purple suit wearing fool, although that remains to be seen).

B89 was just downright silly in places. Nicholson's Joker is not The Joker as he should be potrayed. Yes, he looked like him and laughed it up and had his little electrocution buzzer and an accurate origin(in regards to how he became Joker), but the behavior and stupid Prince soundtrack completely contradicted everything else. It's Hollywood legend that Nicholson basically did what he wanted to do, and would take no direction from Burton on how to do it. In some instances he got it right(early on), and then he just turned into an idiot. If you want to witness an accurate potrayal of the character, watch Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker(Uncut version) or watch the episode of Batman: The Animated Series called "The Laughing Fish." That's the psycho, not silly Joker that they will hopefully aim for in TDK.

There will be a third film, and likewise it will continue what transpires in TDK. Two-Face will be the primary villain in it. Harvey Dent(who becomes Two-Face) will be a major character in TDK and if rumors are true, The Joker will play a hand in his transformation in the 3rd film.

Quote:

AvsP was a [censored] joke

Yes, but it has nothing to do with either the Alien or Predator franchises. It completely overlooks continuity(set forth by those films), and the director is a hack by the name of Paul Anderson(Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Soldier, and Event Horizon(which I consider his only decent film)). If you hated AvsP, then you're going to love the sequel.

If the script review I read is true, then it takes place in Texas and a bunch of stereotypical type characters do battle with the Predien hybrid thing that was born at the end of AVP. I think there's even a scene that takes place in a Wal-mart of a type of store like it.

Quote:

making a remake puts you into a difficult situation because people know the stories

Yeah, but they aren't remaking anything. There are 70 years worth of Batman plots. Literally, thousands of potential directions or inspirations to choose. They aren't remaking the 89-97 movies. Batman Begins was primarily based on 3 comics stories(The Long Halloween for Scarecrow, Year One for the basic premise, and the other I forget...it's from the 70s but it's one of the early days of Bruce Wayne stories and shows how he trained. Anyway, the first hour training portions of BB is inspired by that).

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 08/14/06 21:54

Quote:

i really really am. im just glad holmes isnt returning...

She is returning, and I'm glad. She did a great job and having Wayne's best friend just disappear would be a bad move. Casting someone else to play her would be too. Word is is that she is "working out like crazy" to get ready for the beginning of filming in March. Preshoots start in January. Morgan Freeman is also returning.

The other new info is that there will be costume changes. The suit will be made to look more like fabric than rubber and it will not necessarily be all black. It was already a combination of a dark black cape and a greyish/black rubber, but it looks like they may be going(hopefully) the grey and black fabric route, although it is supposed to be the same basic suit..just evolved.

Batman on Film now has a Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/batmanonfilm

Posted By: Orange Brat

The Dark Knight... - 08/23/06 23:56

Quote:

Nolan has finally spoken publicly about the upcoming film, THE DARK KNIGHT. Via BETTERTHANFUDGE.COM, here�s a bit of what the director had to say:

Regarding the theme of the film: �I suppose in loose terms I can say it�s about things having to get worse before they get better.�

Can anything be inferred from the title of the film? �Ultimately yes. But I�ll leave that for people to infer The title has been chose very specifically. It�s quite important to the film.�

Will The Joker be different that past live-action interpretations? �Yes. I would certainly point to The Killing Joke but I also would point very much to the first two appearances of The Joker in the comic. If you look at where The Joker comes from there�s a very clear direction that fits what we�re doing very well.�

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/25/06 17:58

Quote:

and fact is that if you try to please everyone you wont have a good product.

Well, I have to disagree, Pirates of the Carribean II is a good example of how they can infact do almost everything right imho. It's is one of those movies who IS trying to please everyone if you ask me. It has action, humor, romance a good story and plenty of interesting events in it for everyone. They even did a pretty good job with Miami Vice if you ask me, but they might as well get rid of the Miami Vice title, it's a good action movie with plenty of interesting things, but it's not really like Miami Vice the series back then, but should it have been like that? (Okey, I admit Collin Farrel can't act like a tough guy at all, but his buddy fully makes up for that

)

I'm really looking forward to this whole wave of movies, mostly sequel unfortunately, but hopefully very good once.

Spiderman 3, Batman Returns 2: The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Carribean 3 and Aliens vs. Predator II and way more on the way ...

Cheers

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/27/06 13:21

To sum up the info below...Sean Penn was their first choice for Joker, and he passed, and the creator of Joker will advise/consult during the shoot. They're using the plotline of the very first Joker appearance from Batman #1 mixed with his "comeback" story from the 70s called "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge." That's the story that transformed him from an idiot(the 60s series Romero garbage) to the maniac that kills his own men and for his own perverse reasons. Elements of the "The Killing Joke" will presumably be thrown in, too, given that's the Joker back story one off.

Quote:

According to INSOMNICAMANIA.COM, Jerry Robinson -- who was instrumental in the creation of The Joker -- will work as an advisor/consultant on THE DARK KNIGHT...

�Our Best Source� is back with some interesting revelations:

�You might want to dig up one of my �scoops� for you from a long time ago -- just after Goyer leaked that The Joker would be in the sequel.

If you recall, I let you know that they would be going back to The Joker's first ever appearance, in BATMAN #1 1940, as the plot-line for the sequel. They will also be mixing in some plot threads from The Joker's celebrated �comeback� tale from the 1970s, �The Joker's Five-Way Revenge.�

You may also be interested to know that Sean Penn was their first choice for Joker, and passed.

Doing an article search on one-time candidate, Aussie Lachy Hulme, I also found an old article in an Australian newspaper comparing him to Sean Penn in terms of looks and acting style. Small world, eh?�

He's right on with that Joker inspiration info -- I remember distinctly that info. It's somewhere in the archives and I'll dig through them later and find his scoop (Unless one of you BOF'ers beats me to it). Anyway, I found this blurb on "The Joker's 5 Way Revenge" from WIKIPEDIA.ORG:

THE GREATEST JOKER STORIES EVER TOLD "In 1973, the character was revived and profoundly revised in the BATMAN comic stories by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Beginning in BATMAN #251 with the story "The Joker's Five Way Revenge", the Joker became a homicidal maniac who casually murdered people - even his own henchmen - on a whim, but enjoyed the battle of wits with Batman. This take on the character has been predominant since. Steve Englehart, in his short but well-received run on the book, added elements deepening the severity of the Joker's insanity."

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 02/15/07 02:13

Maggie Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Secretary) looks to be the NEW Rachel Dawes (potrayed by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins).

Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking, The Black Dahlia) is 90% locked to play Harvey Dent/Two-Face. It's not confirmed by WB (nor is the first item above), but all the solid, inside sources are all saying the same thing.

No word on Morgan Freeman returning as Lucius Fox, yet.

Release date is July 18th, 2008.

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 02/15/07 02:53

o how sweet it is to know that holmes is out... how glad i am i cant tell you, but im sure you thougt of me when you read tat holmes i sout....^^

Posted By: Stansmedia

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 02/15/07 14:57

Bat man begins was a great movie (i thought it was going to suck, but I ended up watching like 10 times haha). AvP was good. Good because I knew before I stepped into the theatre it was going to be based on blowing stuff up and people getting killed and fighting aliens. I don't think Heathe Ledger would be a good joker cast, but I guess we'll see how he does.

On a side note, the movies Crank, Beerfest, and Clerks 2 are also very good. Especially clerks 2, silent bob is a master at film making.

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: Batman Begins 2...The Dark Knight... - 02/15/07 15:15

Quote:

AVP was a good movie...
On a side note, the movies Crank, Beerfest, and Clerks 2 are also very good. Especially clerks 2, silent bob is a master at film making.

oh yes Silent Bob aka Kev SMith is a genious...

and AVP sucked big time, from a directing point of view... Anderson makes everything right a director can make right, but his pictures just dont live. they dont feel... oh and as an author he is horrible...

Posted By: Orange Brat

The Dark Knight... - 04/23/07 04:22

The first blurry image of Heath Ledger in an early incarnation of his The Joker gear leaked a couple days ago. It's kind of hard to make out what he looks like, but it's a start.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=5530

Supposedly, some pages from the script have leaked online. I haven't read them, nor do I know if they are real:

http://www.filmick.co.uk/2007/04/side-after-side-of-rorys-first-kiss.html

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 04/24/07 01:16

yeah seen that a while ago... the script pages are real, they shot a few scenes of thos epages already^^

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 04/24/07 01:37

Yep, I've seen a few behind the scenes images from it. There's one of Ledger wearing his pre-accident, clown mask and getting into a vehicle. He's in the same clothes from the blurry image above.

I removed all the makeup test shots from my previous post, too. They all turned out to be fakes, so we'll have to wait a bit longer to get our first look at what the post-accident Joker will look like. These fakes are pretty convincing. I'm guessing they're aiming for this, although not quite as monstrous:

...or maybe even this... (and, yes, this is a joke...er...)

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 04/24/07 13:10

Hehehehe, I liked the Nicholson Joker, his appearance was very much like in the comics, however yeah perhaps he didn't take his role serious enough back then which seemed to have ruined it a bit. I do hope they will get someone with a similar face and smile though, that would be perfect.

(By the way, the best Batman villain so far in a movie was Mr. Penguin in my opinion...)

Cheers

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/20/07 01:03

The official Harvey Dent campaign site:

http://ibelieveinharveydent.warnerbros.com/

The Joker's hacked version. Go through the email verify process and take a pixel away. When they're all gone, it's believed the first official pic of Mr. J is what is left:

http://www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com/

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/20/07 11:52

...and here's the pic...this is Ledger's Joker. It looks like his self-applied lips are kind of bat symbol shaped as a jab to Batsy, and the scarring is what forms the smile. There's talk that this may not be the final final look. This could be a "left for dead" moment with the makeup applied by a 3rd party:

Nolan said they were going back to the very first Joker story in 1939 as their main inspiration for the look, and except for the scarring (which is the modern Joker), they accomplished their goal perfectly:

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/20/07 13:03

that closeup is pretty strange., cant tell anything yet, except that things seem to turn out wuite good, wich is obvious.. its a nolan^^

ill wait for a better picture, but thanx^^

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/20/07 13:13

Yeah, that's one thing to keep in mind: This is out of context, you don't see the hair, the "costume," the actual performance, eyes, etc. This could be a makeup test shot, it could specifically for the Harvey Dent, Too website, or it could be "left for dead" Joker as some have suspected (based on script rumors). The one question it definitely answers is what they were going to do about the mouth. I also wonder if the white skin is real or if it's applied.

There is a very famous Batman graphic novel called Arkham Asylum, and in it Joker doesn't have red lips or green hair. He only has white skin. He applies the other stuff himself, so there is a precedent for self-application of at least some of the famous Joker characteristics.

Now, they just need to release a picture of the new Batsuit. It will be lighter in color and more fabric-like as it should be. I want to see what they came up with for the Batcycle, too.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/21/07 21:12

That I Believe in Harvey, Too site has been taken down, but highlight it for a surprise:

http://www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com/

There's supposedly a secret message somewhere in there that says something like see you in December or something like that. I guess we'll know what it's all about in 8 months.

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/21/07 21:51

it is. its written there, just with all those hahas... every now and then there is a letter wirtten thats not H or A and if your have them all...

Posted By: Matt_Aufderheide

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/22/07 04:39

Quote:

however yeah perhaps he didn't take his role serious enough back then which seemed to have ruined it a bit

Lol, how the hell do you take something so stupid seriously? He did a great job.. the first Batman was only decent movie of the bunch.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/22/07 10:59

Actually, no he didn't do a great job. Nicholson's Joker was not The Joker of Batman but Nicholson unhinged doing what he thought Joker should be like. I doubt JN knows anything about Batman and The Joker beyond what he watched of the Adam West show, so I don't think I trust him to give me an authentic portrayal.

It's already Hollywood legend that he took the excellent Sam Hamm script and changed his part to suit what he wanted to do with it. His version was somewhere between a semi-authentic take (there are actual moments of authenticity after all) and goofy campy C. Romero from the 60s series. Hamm's original version was more inline with the character at the time. I'm not saying his performance was bad or that he wasn't funny, but Joker isn't really supposed to be funny and goofy (to himself maybe but not to those around him). I'm simply saying Nicholson's Joker was Joker in name and look only.

The best version of Joker, off the page, is Mark Hamill's from the Animated Series (and it wasn't until halfway into the series that he finally got it right..even he admits that in interviews...his Joker stunk in the first few Joker episodes), but I doubt Nolan/Ledger are going that route. They're going to give us the true, comic book version which is a psycho killer that just happens to look like a clown and doesn't dance to Prince songs and act like a goofy Jack Nicholson. You can't really pull off mass murder and a true psychotic personality in a "kid's show," so they really never got it truly right in the show, but it was close enough.

I liked the first Burton Batman movie and the one after it (and in some ways the 3rd one Batman Forever was more faithful than any of them but too campy and let's not utter Batman and Robin). However, with the exception of Mask of the Phantasm (Animated Series movie), Batman Begins is the most authentic and best Batman movie made. Given it has no relation to the previous four films, that should be of no surprise. TDK is shaping up to take the crown.

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 05/23/07 08:18

Quote:

Actually, no he didn't do a great job.

When it comes to accuracy of personality, yes definitely not a great job, when it comes to simply playing a great villain character �nd having striking resemblance to the Joker, it was pretty amazing.

Quote:

Lol, how the hell do you take something so stupid seriously? He did a great job.. the first Batman was only decent movie of the bunch.

I do definitely agree that the first Batman movie was one of the best, but I liked Batman Returns best and uhm I probably like Batman Returns more than Batman Begins actually, I didn't like the way the movie was split up in these two parts.

Batman 1 definitely wasn't a bad movie and I can live with what Nicholson did with his Joker character, but if you know the comics it's obvious it wasn't all that accurate, eventhough very enjoyable indeed.

Cheers

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/01/07 20:45

A couple new Joker pics released from IMAX. TDK is the first movie to be partial filmed in 70MM IMAX. There are four scenes being filmed this way, one of them being the introduction of Joker during the already filmed bank robbery sequence. Every other movie to show in IMAX are unconverted. Only documentaries and short films are made in the true format, and it's too expensive to shoot an entire feature in it, but it will be cool to see at least part of it in pure IMAX format.

Here's the two shots. One is intentionally blurred and tampered with to continue the show him but don't show him game that WB is playing. The 2nd is Mr. J in his "Point Break" style heist mask (which again continues their little game). Between the two, we catch a look at one of the costumes, the green hair, and a bit of evil posing:

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/batimax1.jpg
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/batimax2.jpg

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/15/07 01:35

The very first pic of Bale in the new Batman suit. It has a lot more detail in it:

http://www.aintitcool.com/images2007/DKbatsuit.jpg

It's supposed to be more of a medium gray in color, but it's hard to tell from this lighting setup. It's also supposed to be a bit more like fabric, but a better term is chain mail with armor on top, and this is confirmed by the article. The bat emblem is also the same color as the utility belt which you can make out from the picture if you look hard enough, so it's gold. Actually, the comic book version of Bat's suit is a form of chain mail, so this is totally faithful. For the first time, Batman will be able to turn his head independent of the suit since it is now detached from it. Everything is sleeker and better built, and the only thing that is exactly the same are the boots.

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/15/07 03:36

It makes a lot more sense now, since this suit was originally designed as something the army could use in a near future, if I recall correctly the original comics had the same background story.

I personally liked the not being able to turn your head independently thing in the older movies, it has since then become one of those signature moves identifying Batman. It looks odd at first, but in the movies they've always used it to show Batman's decisiveness, if it's really possible to move the head independently then it might have ruined that 'medieval knight' style of movement,

Cheers

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/15/07 03:52

Yeah, but the lack of head movement is probably the #1 complaint from Batman purists. He should be able to move his head freely not appear to be encased in armor. He's supposed to be agile like a cat and not like the original quadrilogy in the 90s. In the comics, his suit was always something he came up with, although perhaps the various materials may or may not have been military in origin.

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/15/07 05:45

i dont know, i love the new design. i mean, how stupid is it to wear a rubber armor that basically prevents you from turning your head?

in a fight, youre like: oh, and please dont run around me because then i need to turn my whole body like a cheaply animated videogame figure because.. you know.. my head is like.. stiff...

thats silly. i like the new turning head.

what i would also like is, if they would lend a few things from the animated series, like the wa y batman walks with his caple closed or his shadow resembling the bat symbol from times to times (could be done with cgi easily)...

i loved this...

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/15/07 05:56

Quote:

what i would also like is, if they would lend a few things from the animated series, like the wa y batman walks with his caple closed or his shadow resembling the bat symbol from times to times (could be done with cgi easily)...

This actually occurred quite a bit in Batman Forever (the one with Val Kilmer). There's lots of cape action and using it for purposes other than just a cape. They used a CG Bats for some of those scenes but there was some on location wire work stuff, too. I really like the Batman, Bruce, Dick, Robin stuff from that film but the villains stunk. In a lot of ways it's one of the most faithful movies but then it gets into that comedy garbage (which they took into overdrive in Batman and Robin). There's supposedly a "secret" regarding the cape in TDK. We'll just have to wait and see what it is.

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/15/07 08:32

I liked the 'bulletproof' cape idea of Batman Beyond,

Cheers

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/22/07 21:42

A few tidbits:

The teaser is rumored to be on the front of the The Simpsons movie this Friday or possibly even The Bourne Ultimatum. Here's a description:

Quote:

I have seen The Dark Knight Teaser. I don't want to reveal everything...

It starts out with the WB logo gracing the screen, followed by the DC logo and the Legendary pictures logo. The screen goes black.

It opens back up as a commercial paid for by the friends of Harvey Dent. We are shown shots of him talking, making public speeches, and walking in a suit, while a deep voice comes on and talks about Harvey Dent. A generic politician commercial.

What seems to be halfway through the commercial, it is interrupted by static, and blacks out. Out of nowhere a crystal clear image comes onto the screen of a blacked out man with large windows behind him. The camera slowly zooms in on him. He's talking (about what I won't say) and as he finishes he begins laughing. Lightning strikes, lighting up his face, as the laughter grows more manic. Cut to black.

The Batman Begins (now The Dark Knight's bat) emblem is shown with the words The Dark Knight. Then it says Summer 2008 and has the website at the bottom.

What is said... is a surprise that I must keep for now. It gave me chills.

The Batcycle is officially called the Batpod. Here's a video of it in action:

http://www.batman-on-film.com/TDK_Chicago2_shoot-report_batpod-on-set_7-18-07.html

You can see all of the current Joker pics and vidoes that are floating around out there here. There's one of him skateboarding in some kind of chase sequence:

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=278778

It has been semi-confirmed that Anthony Michael Hall's character is that of Edward Nygma aka The Riddler. Cillian Murphy was spotted filming a scene in his Scarecrow garb, Mr. Zsasz, played by Tim Booth in Batman Begins, may show up again since he's still at large, and Aaron Eckhart, who plays Harvey Dent, has basically let the cat out of the bag and confirmed that Two-Face will show up in this movie at some point. Eric Roberts has been cast as Mob Boss Sal Maroni and that's who splashes the acid on him in the comics, so I'm assuming the same is going to happen here.

Michael Jai White (Spawn in the Spawn movie) plays another mob boss called Gamble.

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/22/07 22:41

yeah, read that too. im so looking forward to this. cant wait for the trailer.
i wonder what the joker has to say..
oh and by the way, i want mark hammill to resynchronize the joker...

THAT would be awesome...

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/27/07 23:02

A brand new pic of Joker and Rachel Dawes from the movie itself, as well as a link to a high definition teaser can be found here:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33478

A copy of the new logo only teaser, only in non-HD Youtube quality, that's attached to select copies of The Simpsons Movie can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boIhrBtsj-Y

It consists of the logo and some dialogue between Bruce and Alfred, as well as our first exposure to Ledger's voice and laugh. You can find an additional piece of Joker speak at the link below. Click or place your cursor over the dollar bill He almost sounds like the Animated Series version of Two-Face here:

http://www.whysoserious.com/d_rt89rrb.htm

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/28/07 00:24

ah how i love it...

i knew ledger was the right man...

in nolan we trust...

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/18/07 08:05

Lots of new pics leaked out. These weren't put out by the studio, so somebody is probably going to get fired for this one. Some of these are obviously behind-the-scenes moments, and none of them are post-processed. Recall that Batman Begins had a brown tone to it and more blue at the beginning. There's nothing like that here, and those who saw actually footage at the San Diego Comic Con last week say these pics don't do it justice.

Also, notice that Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow in Begins) is sitting in one of the Batman imposters shots. I think there's a scene where a bunch of Batman villains ban together and dress up like him or something. I'm not too sure, and I'm trying to stay away from spoilers as much as possible from here on, but sometimes stuff slips by. Batman also is wearing both the suit from the previous film and the new, much more articulated version that allows him to turn his head and be much more agile than any previous incarnation of the modern, live action suits.

The Con trailer also confirms that Two-Face does make an appearance in the film. I'd bet it's near the end. Dent walks into a bar, and it only shows him from the back but some scarring is slightly visible on one side of his neck. The bartender says something like, "Harvey, I heard you were dead." and replies back, "Half."

The only thing I'm not liking is that Bale is no where as bulky as he was in the last one. He's much more Patrick Bateman from American Psycho looking here than Bruce Wayne.

Posted By: EX Citer

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/18/07 08:33

He has all the gadgets:

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/19/07 12:57

yep this will rock. and while im unsure wherever its a good idea to have the joker just apply makeup or not, i love him^^

Posted By: Mondivirtuali

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/24/07 13:43

Does not looks the joker

Posted By: EX Citer

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/24/07 16:15

Quote:

Does not looks the joker

Well, it does look like SP|KE, and SP|KE was Joker some time ago.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 08/25/07 09:11

Quote:

Does not looks the joker

He looks exactly like the 1939 Joker which is the version they are using as the main source of inspiration. If he doesn't look like him then what does he look like? Purple suit, green hair, red lips, a permanent smile, white skin, dark circles around eyes. It's self applied but this isn't something they made up. Would I like to see a permanent white skin version? Sure why not, but it looks exactly like the original, and that's exactly what they promised and exactly what we're going to get. And, who's to say he doesn't get a permanent bleach job somewhere along the way? Even with the little we've seen and heard so far, this is far and away much more accurate than what Nicholson shoved down our throats.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 12/07/07 12:12

It's been a while, but here's the main gist of all things Dark Knight.

.........

The first 6-8 minutes of The Dark Knight will precede the IMAX version of I Am Legend (click here for a review) on December 14th. It's the bank robbery scene featuring The Joker and is one of four scenes filmed in the IMAX format. See the IMAX The Dark Knight Prologue behind-the-scenes featurette here:

http://www.imax.com/ImaxWeb/xtras/?dl=beo/screeningroom/btn1/dk/dk_prologue

The 2nd teaser trailer will also be featured on some if not all copies of this same movie, although this might just be the last few seconds of the IMAX prologue. Here's the first teaser:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknight/trailer1/

It's been confirmed that Two-Face will have decayed skin and will have an exposed eyeball and exposed teeth.

Here's one of the best interviews I've seen with director Chris Nolan. It hits all the bases:

http://www.batman-on-film.com/TDK_nolan-talks-joker-tdk-and-more_12-6-07.html

The 2nd official movie poster:

Lots of new images....some official....some leaked promo......

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/06/08 20:09

First Joker-centric trailer shown on the front of I Am Legend (non-IMAX): http://www.atasteforthetheatrical.com/deathtrap/default.htm

The 7-minute footage from I Am Legend IMAX is out there and in really bad quality if you care to look for it, but it is not an official release.

3 more posters including the two non-US teasers and a couple more pics:

In The Disenfranchised news....will hopefully have something new to show in the near future but don't see the point in bumping that thread.

Posted By: JibbSmart

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/07/08 00:27

heath ledger looks and acts great

julz

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/07/08 02:02

This is very promising! Can't wait for the movie,

Cheers

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/22/08 22:20

Heath Ledger is dead, so TDK will be his farewell it looks like. It appears pills are the culprit. The movie has finished filming, but I don't know how this will affect post-production re-recording of dialogue that can't be heard clearly. He had a 2-year-old daughter.

Posted By: fastlane69

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/22/08 22:29

Dammit! You beat me to the punch and all sensitive like!

I was going to say: "It's a good thing the joker wears makeup cause it will be easier to recast!"

Posted By: ventilator

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/22/08 22:53

terry gilliam must have the worst luck ever when it comes to filming his movies.

Posted By: Captain_Kiyaku

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/22/08 22:55

NOOO, i liked heath ledger, especially in "A Knight's Tales", one of my favorite movies. Poor him :<

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/22/08 23:40

a sad day in movie history...

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/23/08 05:21

Quote:

Heath Ledger is dead

Omg?!

Died on a overdose? Very sad indeed!

Cheers

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 01/24/08 05:07

The autopsy was inconclusive and no drug residue was found. A $20 bill rolled in such a way that it could be used for snorting drugs was found, but it has been determined that it was not used for this. There were 6 kinds of prescription drugs found and no illegal drugs were found. The drugs were for insomnia, anti-anxiety, antihistamines, etc. Ledger has said in interviews that he suffers from severe insomnia and took a sleeping pill that didn't work, so he took more.

We'll know (maybe) in a couple weeks when the toxology results return. Suicide has been ruled out. Jack Nicholson's response to it was "I warned him."

Quote:

terry gilliam must have the worst luck ever when it comes to filming his movies.

Yep. Don Quixote springs to mind......among others.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/20/08 18:43

It's been 5-months, and a lot has been released and discussed. Here are the highlights. We're about a month away:

Two-Face official clip: http://whysoserious.com/myhero/

Trailer 4: http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/06/15/alternate-comcast-on-demand-trailer-for-the-dark-knight/

Trailer 3: http://www.whysoserious.com/happytrails/trailer.htm

Early Two-face concept art (not final product and the real deal is said to be even more extreme): http://www.aintitcool.com/images2007/DentBurn.jpg

There are also 4-5 TV spots floating around out there, but there's nothing in them that can't be found in the various trailers. There has also been a large number of high resolution images leaked within the past month or so. Check the Superhero Hype forum for those.

Posted By: fastlane69

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/20/08 18:52

Anything more definite on a possible Batman/Superman movie?

My brother made a good point the other day: this is the first time in the DC franchise history where they have strong versions of both these heroes at the same time. As he said, if they don't do it now, they may never get a chance to do it again.

Posted By: ArtimusBena

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/20/08 19:15

I didn't really enjoy the new superman that much; the movie seemed to push that epic feel, and though the movie was well made, the industry is a little over-saturated with that type of film-making. The original movie is perfect in my opinion. I'll bet money Batman Begins, like Casino Royale (ohhh yes!), will live on in people's memories and Superman Returns will not. I can barely remember what happened in that movie...

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/20/08 20:13

Superman Returns has pretty much been forgotten; however there is a sequel coming with a real villain (enough of the Lex Luthor crap), Brandon Routh, and called "The Man of Steel." It was well made, but it was missing something. It was essentially a remake of Superman: The Movie, although Bryan Singer (director) said he was trying to capture that Superman I and II feeling.

There will be a Superman/Batman movie one day. Wolfgang Peterson was attached to direct a few years ago before Batman Begins was made, and they tried to do a Justice League movie (which was thankfully shelved...sounded terrible but that will get made too but recast and rewritten). As long as Bats gets himself an oversized pair of Kryptonite gloves and pounds the crap out of Supes (and wins as he always does), I'll be happy.

Posted By: PHeMoX

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/20/08 22:57

Originally Posted By: Orange Brat

Is that sequel still in production or did they shelve that one as well? I heard they also want (or wanted?) to make a sequel based on Superman's son that has superpowers as well.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 06/20/08 23:01

It never went into production, although it's still going to be made. It might have gone into preproduction. Hopefully, the kid makes no appearance. I wouldn't mind a Hulk style relaunch to get eliminate that subplot.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/04/08 21:42

You can check out 12 clips from the movie at Youtube. Use "dark knight iesb" for your search.

http://www.youtube.com/results?q=dark+knight+iesb&search_type=

Here's a new Joker clip that came out of nowhere and is 55-seconds long:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgqew6mUtHY

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/17/08 07:31

This time tomorrow I will have seen The Dark Knight in its entirety. I can't wait.

Posted By: Skeksis

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/17/08 08:20

I'm glad this movie is finally being released (24th over here), seems like forever since they finished filming. Bale owned his role in Batman Begins and the few scenes I've seen from the Dark Knight Heaths performance is amazing, really looking forward to seeeing this.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/18/08 08:26

Just got back from it. You have to see it in IMAX if you can. This movie will get a Best Picture nomination and a Best Supporting Actor for Ledger. There also might be a Best Director in their as well. It's a huge leap forward from Batman Begins, and it is the first truly epic "comic book film." Ledger's Joker is dead bang perfect and puts Nicholson's sorry goof ball antics to shame.

Posted By: lostclimate

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/18/08 13:32

me and my friends went 2 hours early to see it last night, and tickets were sold out for 8 hours by the time we got there.

Posted By: tD_Datura_v

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/19/08 01:29

In the case of death and Heath Ledger, the use of a rolled up 20 dollar bill can be determined, but cause of death cannot?
Does something stink here, or is it merely the ~atmosphere mixed with a bit of time?

"Ledger's Joker is dead bang perfect."
A fair expression, R.
I must be more than a bit slow today.
That one slipped by the first time.

Is there anymore to offer on Ledger's supposed untimely expiration?
Is it good publicity or something else?

Perhaps there was another brilliant execution performed by a die-hard fan with access to certain materials typically found in a medical facility?

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/19/08 07:52

His cause of death was an accidental overdose from 6-7 different prescription drugs. The list and names can be found easily via a search. Most were anxiety drugs, as well as Lortab and whatever the antihistamine was that's in Nyquil. That doesn't mean he took all of these at once and then croaked. It just means that all were found in his blood. These drugs stay in your system and may have taken them here and there over the course of a few hours time but too close to one another. I'm not sure why he took so many different anti-anxiety medications, though. They all do the exact thing, so he really only needed one. The only real difference would be their efficacy.

Oh yeah, the use of the expression "dead bang" is one I've used a few times on here. I stole it from Eric Draven from The Crow.

Anyway, TDK has a shot at the title meaning beating the all time biggest opening weekend. It pulled in 18.5 million from the midnight showing (and in ~1,000 less theaters than the regular run will play in...the amount of theaters this movie is playing in is also a record as is the number of IMAX screens) besting Episode III's 16.9 million. If it does beat the all-time record this will be even more impressive given it's 2.5 hours long.

One last thing, if any of you wanting to see this have small children, you may want to reconsider taking them. It's rated PG-13 in the US, but it's a very hard PG-13. I'm surprised it didn't get an R even in its current form. If it had a bunch of language or much blood it might have. Actually, there is one scene that has been altered, and most likely via CGI, because of a ratings glitch. I won't say what it is but it involves a pin or safety pin (can't recall which). There's an older leaked image out there of this shot, and instead of a pin it's a knife. Christopher Nolan didn't reshoot anything (he never does), so it had to be changed in post production.

Posted By: ISG

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/21/08 02:13

Great movie.

Posted By: tD_Datura_v

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/21/08 17:30

In this context, that is a fair reply to the question.
Thank you.

Quote:

Oh yeah, the use of the expression "dead bang" is one I've used a few times on here. I stole it from Eric Draven from The Crow.

I wonder (no, not really) if Brandon Lee smiles in film hick-up purgatory when the expression is used in the right way.

Quote:

if any of you wanting to see this have small children, you may want to reconsider taking them.

Ah, prior to reconsideration, what was the assumed preference for child viewing.

Perhaps, it will not appease wee beasts.
If the piece lacks heavy helpings of THE staples -> violence, carnage, cruelty, gore, innovative murder (off screen implied acts are a no no), etc., I think some (+small) children in these parts would find it unacceptable and boring.

If viewed at all here, it may be several months, so the thing should certainly be spoiled through disclosure long before then, if that is even possible.
Thus...

Quote:

Great movie.

What is great about it?

Posted By: sPlKe

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/21/08 18:23

its a great movie, but its overhyped.
and i found the ending lacking everything, even comon sense...
i�d give this a 9 out of 10

Posted By: lostclimate

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/21/08 21:58

amazing movie, one of the few im glad i went to the theatre for.

Posted By: TigerTao

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/21/08 23:33

Just got the Gotham Knight DVD.

So cool to see Batman given the anime treatment. Cant wait to see the movie this week.

Posted By: Orange Brat

Re: The Dark Knight... - 07/22/08 20:46

@Spike: What was wrong with the ending?

@Tiger: Yep, GK is fantastic. I wasn't sure how I'd react to it, but it didn't let me down.

@tD_Datura_v: It was great because it's first live action Batman movie to truly capture the feel of the comic book and featuring an established Batman. Begins was good for an origin movie, but TDK is 1-year into it, and it felt like the books. In regards to the appropriateness for smaller children, it's just that its very mean spirited. The Joker was a very psychotic, scary Joker, and Two-Face's disfigurement was pretty gory without resorting to blood and guts. It's definitely an on-the-edge hard PG-13.

Anyway, it's the best movie of the year; thus far and lives up and exceeds the hype. It broke somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 box office records this opening weekend and is well on its way to breaking more. It has a stellar 94% Rotten Tomatoes score (an average of all of the reviews), and is one of the best reviewed movies of the year from both the critic and average moviegoer POV. In other words, people are going to see it and recommending it 99% of the time; thus it's going to have "legs" and stick around for a while and has more than a better chance of receiving some Oscar nominations. Ledger will at least get nominated. It might have a chance at the Titanic box office title, but I don't see any movie ever beating that one. I hope it does, though.