To be honest with everyone, I wasn’t overly impressed with The Dark Knight. The growing anticipation and the worldwide hype of this film unwittingly had my expectations at an all time high. I walked into this film expecting to be blown away by it, but the outcome wasn’t what I had expected it to be.
Don’t get it confused however. The Dark Knight was a solid piece of work. Christopher Nolan did a terrific job in creating a sequel which would rival some of the best superhero films to date. The action was excellent, the pacing was good, and the cast put on some really solid performances.
The late Heath Ledger’s performance as the infamous and sadistic Joker will definitely get him in Oscar nomination and Christian Bale continues to impress as the Cape Crusader. My biggest disappointment with the casting however had to be the disappearance of Katie Holmes. Maggie Gyllenhaal filled in decently as Rachel, but I couldn’t help but notice the difference throughout the film and for some reason it really annoyed me.
It was the screenplay however that left me somewhat disappointed. Nolan overreaches in this film, and the density of the storyline felt somewhat overwhelming and over thought. With such intricacy, Nolan seemed forced to cut corners in some areas and over extend the film to bring all his ideas to fruition.
Overall however, The Dark Knight has so much more to love than hate. The Batman franchise was resurrected with the arrival of Batman Begins and Nolan’s successful production of its sequel has solidified its place in cinema lore.
Wow! This is the first review I read about The Dark Knight that contains some criticisms. I can’t say that I agree with you since I have not yet seen the movie. But I will definitely keep some points in this review in mind, and most important of all maybe I should start lowering my expectations.
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You can’t sway me! :P
I have to countdown 6 weeks and avoid too much talk about DK now. I don’t want to be swayed.
Michael- Dont be swayed. See it for yourself. Its a great film and for some I’m sure they’ll believe its the best of the year.
Ascietic- I’m just being completely honest with my opinion. I honestly felt that Batman Begins was a better feature. Going in to a film free of expectations is the way to go, unfortunately for me I fell prey to all the hype!
I didn’t like the acting from the minor characters. They are somewhat fake as they don’t seem to give their 100%. Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker brings this movie together. Without him, the movie would have been like any other summer blockbuster. I highly recommend seeing The Dark Knight…it’s the best blockbuster of the summer!
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I’m so glad you got to see this first, because now that you have lowered my expectations I just know I’m going to love it that much more. :) Thanks for the review Chris!
SP-Yes, without Ledger this film would not have been as successful.
Reg-Thats what my reviews are for! Enjoy the movie!
I guess we differ in opinion.
Sorry but Katie Holmes was a negative in Batman Begins. She was a second tier actress trying to hang with real actors! Maggie Gyllenhall was much, much better! And Nolan didn’t have so many ideas that he tried to put forth…he only had 2.
1. The perceptions of Batman’s place in society and..
2. How fragile the human spirit is when confronted and cornered.
That’s it. It was well thought out and it proved that having a smart script can work for a superhero movie.
I watched Batman Begins again right before watching The Dark Knight. The movie is still great, just not as great as I thought when I first watched it. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that it followed 2 very horrible Batman movies.
I was impressed by some aspects of The Dark Knight but not by all of them. The fight scenes in Batman Begins were definitely better than any in The Dark Knight.
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i enjoyed this movie.
katie holms was a little easier on the eyez…but i thought maggie was a better rachel
i disagree as well. i dont feel nolan was overreaching.
wonder whats next? Bane?
@Fred – Rumor has Johnny Depp playing the Riddler in the next Batman!
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Hay Trench, are you getting the Blu-ray of the Dark Knight to go with your tv next month?
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@Film – I’m sticking with DVD’s until they go obsolete. I have close to 500 in my collection. I can’t imagine giving them up quite yet. They look great with the full HDMi anyway. I can’t complain. I’d rather get myself my BOSE system next than spend on a new BLUE RAY player and the expensive discs. So to answer your question, no. I dont plan on purchasing the blue ray version.
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