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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Disturbingly Dark, 3 Mar 2009
It is not often the case that the sequel is as good as, if not better than the original, but "The Dark Knight." is definitely a worthy successor to "Batman Begins". Words of warning though, pay attention to the certificate! Don't be one of those parents that let their eight-year-old watch this film and is then surprised that their child has nightmares. This is a very dark tale! Heath Ledger's well-deserved posthumous multiple awards, for his portrayal of The Joker, creates memorable and disturbing scenes, suggestive of deeply cruel violence; stealing every scene he is in. Christian Bale, as Batman, takes the story of our hero from triumph to tragedy; supported by excellent performances from Michael Cane and Morgan Freeman amongst others. But, of course, this is much more than intense drama. The special effects are stunning and the action will leave you breathless. The filmmakers have paid attention to every detail of the visuals and soundtrack to make this DVD worth watching many times over to pick up on everything that they achieved. If that is not enough for you, the second disk of features will probably give you all the information you could wish for about the making of the film. This two-disk release is well worth adding to your collection.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A QUITE BRILLIANT CRIME MOVIE!!!!, 25 Dec 2008
Excellent film - NOT the greatest movie ever made but still very good!
I found it to be a gritty, convoluted crime thriller that just happened to feature (a) Batman.
It's a very different film to the first, with the already subdued fantasy elements from that movie even more restrained. Case in point would be Gotham City; now looking completeley akin to New York, rather than the
slightly stylised metropolis of before.
Lot's of action, firearms, shotguns, and car/bike chases, with Batman throwing in martial arts moves that remind me of Wesley Snipes in the Blade trilogy. Much is made of the violence - I personally don't think it's any more or less violent than it's predecessor! Much of the harder violence is off screen, and there's no ott gore or bullet wounds. Have to say, the Two Face make up is quite shocking at first glance. It's a quite remarkable piece of make up, so much more than just a layer of latex just stuck on - it reminds me of the disfigured Darkman in the 1990 movie of the same name. I mean, half the guy's face is literally missing!
Christian Bale when as Bruce Wayne is strangely low key, and Messrs Freeman & Caine have lesser roles than before - good acting, but more like extended cameos. On the subject of Bale, what's with the really low voice when in the Batman role?? Doesn't quite work!
Heath Ledger as The Joker - Good, Yes. Very good, Yes. Oscar Worthy? No!
The performance & character are spot on (one scene of Ledger hanging out of a car window, lost in madness, is iconic) and it's a memorable performance BUT the actor's very tragic death shouldn't result in undue accolades for what is simply a very, very good performance, in what is the film's most 'showy' & scene stealing role. Praise should be lavished equally on Aaron Eckhardt & Gary Oldman for their excellent (& in Gary Oldman's case, a little overlooked) performances.
To be fair, it sagged a little in the middle, but it picked up SO well in the last half hour with a succession of twists, cliffhangers & shocks that I have to award the 5 stars, even though I don't buy into all of the hype.
Visual FX (very little CG or miniatures), stunts, choreography are all first rate, and there's plenty of full scale pyrotechnics to light up the screen. The movie looks good with a dark, bleached tone to it, devoid of bright colour (Joker make up, aside).
Somehow it reminds me of The Untouchables movie; it's far more of a crime thriller than superhero pic, and is a billion miles away from Spiderman 3.
Of the two, It's certainly a much, much better movie than Indy 4!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly entertaining, dark and chaotic, 23 Dec 2008
I thought this was a great film, with some truly stunning action scenes. it is so stylishly done and superbly cast and I surprised myself when I realised I liked it more that the original film (which I love!) Heath Ledger is fantastic as the sinisterly nihilistic psychopath the Joker, Christian Bale makes a great Batman and they are supported by a pretty flawless cast. This is much darker than the original films and quite different really so this should be considered before viewing. It is far better than Batman Begins, and puts other 'superhero' films to shame because it has many more dimensions and explores far more interesting themes.
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