what?!! thats awesome. that about half of what i pay at night. im sure you didnt have stupid ppl talking throughout the movie as was the case when i went. then again those stupid ppl talking were my friends (even i got annoyed and i know them, imagine what other ppl thought) they really need some etiquette on watching movies.
The movie was good but forgettable. I haven't thought about any of it since I left the theater. I will say it is the best Batman film made to date...for whatever that's worth. I absolutely hated how the Joker had a plan and back-up plan for every little thing. It was basically a bad guy's wet dream. I still believe all of it, including Heath's performance, is an overhyped pile of cow dung. I will say it was all good...but didn't live up to the hype for me. Then again...what does live up to the hype? I don't think Heath's performance was worthy of an Oscar...albeit he did do a good job. I think a lot of that character was just getting the mannerisms and voice down for the character. Being in full make-up the whole movie, it's not like there was a lot of dramatic acting involved. I couldn't even make out any facial expressions. All I could basically see were his eyes. Granted, it's an action flick based on a comic book. I didn't expect more than that. Jack Nicholson's Joker was a completely different beast that you can't compare to this Joker. Does that mean Jack's performance was bad in comparison? I don't think so. I seem to recall people hyped up his performance at the time as well...except he didn't die before the movie came out. Don't get me wrong...I give the cast, crew, and production thumbs up. I thought the movie ran too long, however, and had trouble buying into the bad guys having all the bases covered all of the time. The silliest thing was how the whole hospital went up with the press of a remote control button. How in the world did they ever wire that hospital to go up in such an explosive fashion with noone noticing? lol. Even at the end, I was waiting on Joker to get away with some other plan. I guess they ran out of time. The Batman submarine sonar cell phone locator technology was the plot's way of countering all the bad guys having the bases covered. I thought that was a silly plot ploy to catch up with the Joker. How else could they catch up with the all-knowing, all-planning villain who can get out of anything? Oh...let's locate him by sonar on his cell phone. Duh!
I thought the sonar thing was a jab at the FISA bill to be honest. I forget but there was another political jab in the movie as well.
Batman Jones, does Catastrophic Theater have anything coming up soon? I'd really like to check out a show but I see one just wrapped up on the 19th.
I think most of the time the Joker's facial expressions were largely the same; menacing, psychotic but fully in control...insanely sane if you will. But there were moments, character driven moments where you could see his expressions or the tone of his voice change... Spoiler like the first story he gave about his scars...the "why so serious line?" ...he got dead serious real quick, you could see it in his face and hear it in his voice. Or the big rig chase sequence...after it flips over and he gets out and starts taunting an approaching Batman and riddles innocent cars with bullets, it was as if he became impatient, a little frustrated and angry. Then the patronizing jail cell clap...that wasn't even in the scrip; that was all Ledger but it fit so well with his character. And obviously there were plenty of humorous moments from him too...like the hospital explosion scene where the remote detonator wasn't working. But these are all just a few examples of the depth of his character and the range Ledger shows as an actor. I can understand the hype surrounding the movie and his performance...but I think once you allow the hype to die down and then observe the film on it's own merit, your tune might change. As for Joker's crazy schemes...that's the beauty of his character...he's always one step ahead of Batman. And how was able to execute all these well laid out plans? Spoiler remember by the end of the film he has pretty much the whole mob in the palm of his hand. He has all the help he needs
I love how the Batman thread has also become the Batman Jones thread. Yes! We do have something coming up. And I am super excited about it. I'll post an announcement in about a week, but here's a hint... Two plays, running in rep, at DiverseWorks. One features 11 superheroes telemarketing from their submarine headquarters to raise money for a production of The Tempest. The other features three characters -- George W. Bush, John Kerry and Jim Lehrer -- in an existential comedy that marries the first 2004 presidential debate to The Stranger by Camus. And, in many ways, Bush winds up as the sympathetic hero. I'm directing both of them. They open in October. More details next week. Thanks for asking!
You couldn't make out facial expressions? You might need glasses, it's not like he was wearing a mask. SPOILER, WHY SO SERIOUS SCENE: I can make out his facial expressions even in this muddy looking bootleg clip. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RIEWFfNEmrg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RIEWFfNEmrg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
The biggest things about Joker's performance is that you really forget who he is. Nothing stands out to me because everything was so natural. He was the joker, that's all.
Spoiler I’ll never forget the expression on his face at the end of the movie as he watched as neither ship decided to detonate the bombs. That look of disappointment on his face was priceless. He went from gleefully happy to heartbroken just like that. Almost makes you feel bad for him.
Another nice, but somewhat subtle, wrinkle was how poorly he took to being called insane. Watching it a second time, that seemed to be the one moment where someone struck a nerve with him.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I just got around to watching this tonite. My impressions: *the movie itself was pretty good for the most part. i definitely enjoyed it, will likely watch it again, but i do think a few things could have been done differently. *from the raves, i went in expecting heath ledger to be great. he wasn't. he was absolutely incredible. his performance literally blew me away. i found myself on the edge of my seat every time his character was on the screen. that was easily one of the best acting performances i have ever seen. *not sure why everyone is complaining about bale's batman voice. i kinda like it and think it adds to the darkness. *if you are to choose between two terrible acting performances, you might as well go with the attractive one. katie holmes > maggie. maggie was a downright eyesore throughout the movie. there wasn't someone else they could have used to fill that role? *maybe it was just the bat suit, but i hated the fight scenes and found them incredibly childish. they really took away from the "darkness." one of the things i liked best about "batman begins" was how you never really saw him fighting. the screen just shook, you saw a few blurs, the bad guys scream and then disappear. it made him appear dark as hell and terrifying. i liked the scene where he's beating the hell out of the joker in the interrogation room and the one where the joker is beating the hell out of him with the lead pipe/bat. the other fight scenes were pretty childish though, IMO and not too dark. *some scenes were absolutely brilliant. ANYTHING involving the joker esp. the "wanna know how i got these scars?" narratives took my breath away. the bank robbery scene was also exceptional with the badass bank president taking matters into his own hands. i could have done without the forced explosions and action scenes but i realize some of that is necessary for this genre.
Ok I'm wondering ... some people are saying differently IS THE GUY PLAYING SCARECROW in movie? the same guy in part 1 ? they look the same but some people tell me is not the same person
No. The bank manager was played by William Fitchner, most recognizable as Agent Mahone from Prison Break. Initially, I thought it wasn't him, but IMDB lists Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow so I guess it is the same.
No. I really can't emphasize my thoughts on the joker enough. every last second that this character was on the screen was mesmerizing. there was no wasted action or dialogue. the costume, the theatrics, the humor, i practically crapped my pants a few times. wow. it's funny how when the movie was announced, the consenus was that it would be a mistake...you couldn't follow up jack's joker. heath's joker made jack's joker look like...well, maggie's rachel dawes. literally and figuratively. the bar has been set too high now. i pity whoever the lead villain role is in the next one because you cant follow this up.
Just gone done skimming through this thread. Damn, that took forever. I definitely think the hype has led to alot of the 'best movie of all time!' hyperbole, but at the same time, the overtly contrarian sentiments expressed in this thread are amusing. just give it credit for what it was - a damn good film. i don't think it was perfect by any means, as some are insinuating, but its far and away the best we've seen in this genre. another thing i fail to understand is why so many people in this thread are expressing disappointment that there was no explanation of the joker's origins. wtf? are you 10 years old and need everything spoon fed to you? that would have ruined the character. the fact that he was absolute and just appears out of nowhere as this psychopath added to the brilliance. overall, my biggest disappointments with the film were probably the fight scenes appearing way too childish. either make it look good or find a way to graphically distort it like the blurring/shaking effect of batman begins, but showing him street fighting like some ordinary character takes alot away from the effect. i also thought they tried to lump way too many themes in together at the end. but eh, you cant ask for too much.
