Early look at "The Dark Knight"

[wayfriend]

No one posted that the new Dark Knight Trailer is out?

Well... the new Dark Knight Trailer is out. It's Jokerific, with a hint of Two-Facity.

Start here.

You can really get a feel for Ledger's performance in this one.

[Cail]

1 Reason Not To See The Dark Knight

The release of The Dark Knight is only a few weeks away, and lead-up hype has reached a fever pitch. I can tell because a picture of Christian Bale is on the cover of my latest issue of Tiger Beat.

And while the massive success of the first film, Heath Ledger’s final and reportedly masterful performance, and numerous glowing previews aim to make TDK the Summer Blockbuster of 2008, I’m about to break a news story that could rock the very foundation of the franchise itself, and leave The Dark Knight’s spine broken across the knee of the Bane of poor box office reception.

For you see, there was one Batman authority you forgot to ask. And Adam West does not approve.

West, the original TV Batman and sometime cartoon mayor, has said that while he’s only seen “bits and pieces” of the new Batman films, he prefers the old days, when things were more “silly and funny.” Like how when Bruce’s parents got shot, instead of blood coming out, it was cotton candy!

West also praised the original series for being “Shakespearean,” a clear reference to the famous series finale, wherein The Penguin fed Batgirl’s corpse to Batman through the clever guise of meat pies, then revealed the same in blank verse soliloquy.

Well, I can’t in good conscience see this movie until I’ve taken all pertinent viewpoints into account, so as I see it there’s only one solution: a trumped up and self-important comparison of the two franchises, arbitrarily determining an ultimate victor. To that end, I proudly present:

THE LAST BATMAN COMPARISON GUIDE YOU’LL EVER NEED
(Unless you want to include the Burton or Schumacher movies)

Faithfulness to the Source: The Nolan Batman films take the original Bob Kane comic and update it for a modern audience by embracing the darkness of the themes and motifs and drawing inspiration from the bat itself. The original series, on the other hand, drew its inspiration from a rambling journal Kane wrote while tripping balls in the Mojave Desert.
Clear Winner: The Original Series.

Visuals: According to West, the new Batman films are “dark, gothic, sinister, and full of explosions,” whereas in the old series they “didn’t rely on special effects so much so everyone was challenged to use their imaginations.”
Clear Winner: The Nolan Movies.

Dialogue: The new films feature sparse, matter-of-fact dialogue that keeps the action moving while remaining as transparent and on-theme as possible. The original series strove to put the word “bat” into a new word each and every episode, and often flashed the word “KaPOW!” onscreen.
Clear Winner: The Original Series, mainly for effort.

Plot: While the new films slavishly follow a traditional Fieldian three-act structure, the original series took chances with a looser structure that could telescope to fit the needs of each episode, and/or to make room for the inclusion of a new Bat Dance.
Clear Winner: The Nolan Movies.

Characterization of Batman: Batman’s been everything from a slick do-gooding playboy, to a troubled, brooding force of blind justice, to Adam West, who I can’t really describe with mere words.
Clear Winner: Adam West.

Villains: The original series included nearly every major villain later used in the films: The Riddler, The Penguin, Catwoman, Two-Face, The Joker, King Tut, and so on. Meanwhile, Batman Begins featured Scarecrow minus his signature costume and Razz A. Ghoul, who doesn’t even exist in the four Batman comic books I’ve read. And Gordon’s not even Commissioner? Come off it!
Clear Winner: The Original Series.

Bat Devices: Batman Begins turned the Batmobile into a modified Hummer, whereas the original series turned it into a modified Lincoln town car. And while both iterations featured batarags and grappling hooks, the Nolan movies had that “bat call” that summoned thousands of bats, while the original series had shark-repellent bat spray, which either kept sharks away from bats or was made of bats (it was never really made clear).
Clear Winner: Draw.

Social Commentary: The original series often lampooned celebrities of the day by including characters like newscaster “Walter Klondike,” oil tycoon “J. Pauline Spaghetti” (John Paul Getty), and TV personality John E. Carson. And while these represent a level of social commentary on par with weaker issues of Mad Magazine, it’s still more than we can say for the Nolan movies.
Clear Winner: The Original Series.

Memorable Quotes: The Nolan Movies: “Why so serious?;” “We fall so we can learn to get back up;” “You need to lighten up.”
The Original Series: “Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed;” “To the batpoles!”
Clear Winner: The Original Series.

Sidekicks: The original series featured both Robin and Batgirl as sidekicks, and added a narrator character known as “Desmond Doomsday.” The new movies featured no one.
Clear Winner: The Nolan Movies.

Inclusion of Eartha Kitt: If you don’t understand why the inclusion of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman in the original series should earn it a bonus point in this contest, then I don’t want to know you.
Bonus Point: The Original Series.

There you have it. The scientifically-determined winner by a landslide is the original Adam West Batman TV series, with a special rogue point going to Mr. West himself. I know; I’m as surprised as you are.

Though the new movies may have some fancy effects and a well-structured plot, they’ll never beat the classic in terms of heart, social message, and the inclusion of Eartha Kitt. The final verdict? DON’T GO SEE THE DARK KNIGHT.

Although if you want to know what happens, just call me, because I’m going to the midnight showing.

[Worm of Despite]

I think the animated Bats with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill is the most faithful to the original.

That said, Adam West and Chris Nolan are so different the only thing connecting them is the name Batman and pointy ears. I think they're both great, but I also think it's nothing amazing to make Batman "dark and gritty." It was neat when Frank Miller did it in the 1980s, but then he did that with everything he touched and now it's like Bart Simpson in the early Simpsons--classic but no longer edgy or controversial.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

Did anyone else see the brief showing (2004) of "The Batman" animated series? It started out featuring an intro theme written and performed by The Edge (of U2). I thought it was fun, for a cartoon - then they apparently 'downgraded' it, and changed the music to something much more cartoon generic. I guess it didn't get the acclaim they were expecting...

dw

[dlbpharmd]

Did anyone else see the brief showing (2004) of "The Batman" animated series? It started out featuring an intro theme written and performed by The Edge (of U2). I thought it was fun, for a cartoon - then they apparently 'downgraded' it, and changed the music to something much more cartoon generic. I guess it didn't get the acclaim they were expecting...

dw

Isn't that the current Saturday morning series? We watch that quite often.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I guess it's still current - but the theme song is the 'new' generic one. They started out with a really cool one from the Edge.

dw

[dlbpharmd]

I guess it's still current - but the theme song is the 'new' generic one. They started out with a really cool one from the Edge.

dw

I'm sure we're talking about the same series, because the most recent season started out with a new theme. I can't remember the original theme though. It's a good series, but I still prefer the Kevin Conroy series.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

Here is the theme song as done by The Edge:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1iwm8ftjKk

I liked it and knew it was The Edge as soon as I first heard it.

dw

[dlbpharmd]

Here is the theme song as done by The Edge:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1iwm8ftjKk

I liked it and knew it was The Edge as soon as I first heard it.

dw

Yeah, that's the series I'm talking about. My girls and I love that, and I definitely like the original theme better than the current one.

[wayfriend]

Someone got an early glimpse and posted a non-spoiler review up at www.AintItCool.com.

... Heath Ledgers performance of the joker is truly one for the books. A man of no remorse or morals who simply wants to see things burn. ... Best supporting Oscar anyone?

... The film feels more like a crime drama in a grand city scape than a typical comic book movie. It feels like Heat except Batman is Al Pacino and The Joker is Robert De Niro ...

[wayfriend]

Another piece mentioning Oscar and Ledger in the same sentence.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The buzz over Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" for the last several months was justified. With his final full film role, Ledger delivers what may be remembered as the finest performance of his career.

... A best-actor Academy Award nominee for "Brokeback Mountain," Ledger has earned fresh Oscar buzz for "The Dark Knight," which could land him in the supporting-actor race. [link]

Is the Joker stealing the movie?!?!

[Rigel]

Is the Joker stealing the movie?!?!

It's not like there isn't precedent for it. Villains have a long and glorious tradition of being more popular than the so-called "heroes" who fight them

Pretty much any movie where Alan Rickman plays the evil superdude, for instance (most notably in "Robin Hood", where it's rumoured that Kevin Costner requested Rickman's role be trimmed, as he overshadowed the Kev).

Then there's Darth Vader, the baddest dude in the universe (at least until they cast that whiney teen* to play him).

*Actually I like Hayden Christensen, his poor performance in Star Wars notwithstanding. Of course, everyone turned in a poor performance for Star Wars.

[wayfriend]

Could Heath Ledger really win an Oscar?

Ledger's performance in the Batman tale "The Dark Knight" is so remarkable that next January 22, the one-year anniversary of his death, he could become just the seventh actor in Oscar history to earn a posthumous nomination.

... Ledger's performance is surpassing even the sky-high expectations hardcore fans have going in. [link]

[Cail]

It's really hard to say whether or not this is just post-death hype, but due to an overwhelming number of reviews like this, I think I'm gonna have to see the movie.

[dlbpharmd]

I'll definitely see this movie, but I do wonder if it's post-death hype as Cail mentioned above. Also, there may be a significant portion of people out there who are still steaming that Ledger didn't win for Brokeback Mountain.

[Mr. Broken]

Ill see it simply because before Batman Begins, I thought the whole series of films was crap, too goofy! Christian Bale is edgy to begin with, the edge he has brought to the character was necessary to win back my interest. I hate to say it but Ill watch just because he's in it. I could care less about the other guy, unless it really is a breakthrough performance, then Ill give him props too.

[aTOMiC]

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_dark_knight/

The Dark Knight opens it's rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 9 reviews, all positive. Tomatometer 100%

Not bad. The reviews are stellar so far.

[wayfriend]

I thought that this passage in a combined Hellboy/Dark Knight review over in AintItCool was interesting, particularly in how it also (unknowingly) seems to tie in with the Final Chronicles.

That’s one of the things I love about HELLBOY II as well. Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) is a great movie bad guy because he is absolutely justified in his rage. His reason for doing everything he does is not only understandable, but actually makes real sense. The points he makes are heartbreaking and sad, and I think he speaks directly for Guillermo in places. When he declares war on humanity, it’s not some hollow grab for power, or some desire to rule that spins out of control. Instead, it is a rational response to the genocide of not only his race, but every single magical creature on the planet. It’s a war on the “proud empty” things who are willing to pave over every inch of nature, erasing wonder and horror in favor of parking lots and shopping malls. He’s outraged at the idea of going gently into that good night, and he lashes out. Even when his methods are questionable, I never disliked him. I love it when the “villain” of a film is presented with real empathy, because it puts the viewer in the position of having to think for themselves. Is this a bad guy? Who do you want to see win at the end? Why? Even in serious non-genre drama, antagonists are often given simplistic motives so that the audience knows exactly what they’re supposed to think. Studios will force you to write and rewrite until you’ve cast everything in simple blacks or whites, so HELLBOY II amazes me in the way it manages to keep things so very gray.

...

But THE DARK KNIGHT and HELLBOY II are something else entirely. I’ve heard some complaints about THE DARK KNIGHT and certain plot points or action scenes, but that doesn’t matter to me, and I’ll tell you why. The moral choices that are set up for characters in both films are so difficult, so unanswerable, that I find the provocation to be far more valuable than a debate over whether or not someone can shoot a car chase. In THE DARK KNIGHT, almost every character ends up faced with lesser-of-two-evils choices at some point in the film, which is exactly what the Joker hopes to accomplish. In some of the new commercials, you get a glimpse of the interrogation scene where Joker says to Batman, “When the chips are down, these civilized people will eat each other. You’ll see. I’ll show you.” That’s what the film is all about... when good people are put in terrible situations, and there’s no easy choice to make, what do they do?

...

HELLBOY II has two moments where characters make awful, selfish, unreasonable choices, but they do it because they see no other way to save the people they love. So often in these films, superheroes make the selfless decision, putting the world ahead of themselves. Yet here, [minor spoiler]. It’s an unforgivable choice for a hero... but for a human being, it’s the only right choice. The other selfish decision is made by Abe Sapien, but again... I found myself nodding my head when he did it because I understood and, in his situation, I would have done the same thing. I’m not sure what audiences are going to make of those moments, or how profoundly they will feel them, but I was rocked when I realized what Guillermo got away with in this script.

[link - ware spoilers]

[High Lord Tolkien]

I miss the fact that Batman lost the "Detective" part of his character for the movies.
The TV show never strayed from that.
Now he just seems to know everything.

[Worm of Despite]

They say The Dark Knight will have some detective-y moments, though I'm not sure how important it will be--if they're commenting on the Bat's methods of crime-fighting or the film's atmosphere, which is usually being described as cops-and-robbers/Heat-like.