Go… See… Now!
July 20, 2008 – 7:03 pmBest superhero movie ever. One of the best movies ever. Period.
This is the kind of superhero movie I hope we continue to see as the genre takes its stranglehold on Hollywood. Drama first. Action second. Comedy third. I am really hoping the Watchmen takes this approach. Ironman was awesome… but it isn’t even in the same league as The Dark Knight (it’s true, he’s in the Avengers and Batman is in JLA…).
Why so serious? Why the hell not!? I’m a 28 year old male and, while I still get giddy over big explosions and cool special effects, I am much more interested in a solid story. This movie has it in spades (playing card reference intended).
Almost all the film villains we’ve been introduced to over the years all have some kind of motive. Money. Power. Revenge. It isn’t very often we meet one who is just in it for raw and brutal chaos. Best line you’ll hear in the movie (paraphrased). “You complete me. I think we’re destined to fight forever. The unstoppable force vs. the immovable object. You can’t kill me because you have some strict, uncorruptable code and I can’t kill you because you’re just too much fun!”
And I walked out of the movie with a deep sense of sadness (buried under total awe). They won’t fight forever because Heath Ledger is dead. I wasn’t too affected by his death when I heard about it all those months ago, aside from the normal feeling of “Wow, that sucks.” After watching this movie, for me, there is no other Joker. No comic book Joker. No Jack Nicholson Joker. Heath nailed it completely and made it his own. I hope they never revive the character again because it has already been done to perfection and anything less would be disrespectful to everything Heath put into it.
They say, if you’re going to go out, you might as well go out on top. I can say with certainty that this is the case with Mr. Ledger. The legacy of his Joker will last several lifetimes I’m sure.
I’m not going to critique the entire film, but suffice it to say, I think Christopher Nolan and company made a work of art that should be appreciated by everyone from comic book fans to non comic book fans. It transcends the genre (as I’ve read in other reviews and agree with 100%). It feels like it never ends (at 2:32:00 running time), but trust me, you won’t want it to.
I can’t wait for the third installment, but I don’t think they’ll be able to top this one. It’s just that good.
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11 Responses to “Go… See… Now!”
I just saw this today myself. I have to agree with you. The first Batman Begins made me forget the other Batman movies, this one made me sad as well because the raw brutality of the Batman and joker saga shined through.
No slapstick humor, just raw psychotic lunacy wrapped in a murderous lunatic. I think Ledger did an amazing job bringing the true Joker to life, just like Bale did to Batman.
I like movies like this. It is more realistic. More brutal true to how crazy a person can be and true to life that not everyone is going to live through something like this. I think the death toll in this hero movie tops all others combined.
By Brotik on Jul 20, 2008
Agree on all counts, mate.
It’s funny, not knowing it, I read the source material behind the Nolans’ Dark Knight a few months back when I picked up the graphic novel: The Long Halloween which was intended to be somewhere in between Miller’s Year One and The Dark Knight.
Watching the story unfold, watching the characters spiral downward into darkness… knowing that there wasn’t going to be a bright shiny ending, but rather one of hope. I was in awe.
And you’re absolutely right — there is no other Joker. Ledger’s sealed his place among the best actors of all time with this role. It won’t be forgotten for decades, if ever. And that probably makes his death all the sadder. There won’t be another Joker in Nolan’s Batman series.
And I suspect in 10-15 years after this series has run its course and DC decides to revive it again… it just won’t be the same when you see someone new take on such an iconic perfected role.
By JoBildo on Jul 20, 2008
I’d give the scenes without the Joker a B+/A- and the scenes with the Joker an A+. The whole movie was good, but the Joker was brilliant.
While I still will see the 3rd movie, I just don’t see how it could be any better.
By Travis on Jul 20, 2008
I was really sad that Heath Ledger is dead as well. He totally redeemed himself for being a gay cowboy. Probably one of the best ones. I really hope Heath Ledger wins an oscar for that one. I know they’re harder for dead people to win, but damn, that was an incredible performance.
He was terrifying and hilarious at the same time. I loved it!
By Cicadymn on Jul 20, 2008
We ordered our tickets online for Friday night at 10pm, and arrived at 8pm to stand in line about halfway down the line. It was worth it in spades, the audience actually gave it a long round of applause at the end, well after midnight.
I just don’t know how they’ll approach the character of the joker in the future (hopefully not like they approached the character of Rachael Dawes in this one, with a replacement actor, not that they had any other choice in this film)
By Knash on Jul 20, 2008
Okay, the joker was awesome - he hands down made that movie. But Batman as a hero has nothin’ on coolness factor for Iron Man.
The whole talking in a deep voice thing for batman just kills it for me whenever he’s in the suit lol. Even when it is someone that KNOWS he is Bruce Wayne and no one else is around he still uses that retarded voice lol.
By Blackwings on Jul 20, 2008
I think I have a wait before this comes to my local cinema (where I have a ridiculously cheap card for films for a year, so I always have to wait a bit), but I can’t wait. I’m a total comic geek!
Having said that, I was actually moved by the Watchmen trailer so I’m very psyched about that one now.
By arbitrary on Jul 20, 2008
Just got out 20 min. ago. Hands down, one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Instantly in my top 5. I’m moved, emotionally and mentally exhausted. That was close to a religious experience for me.
Amazing.
-JRW
By Johnny Walker Black on Jul 21, 2008
Why did they replace Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal anyway? Was this around the time Katie was pregnant or did Tom pull the Scientology card on her?
I’m usually a fan of Mags (more so than Katie, actually), but she was kinda “meh” in this film. It’s not entirely her fault I guess. The new face just wasn’t familiar enough and you didn’t get the sense that she was really connected to either Alfred or Bruce.
I’ve been driving the wife a bit crazy with my Joker impressions, which are disturbingly quite good. We got some quizzical looks at the fast food joint when, in between french fries, I stared deeply into her eyes and asked, “Wanna know how I got these scars?”
What are your predictions for the next villain(s) and story arc?
By Snafzg on Jul 21, 2008
My prediction is Catwoman. She’s the next staple villain in the Batman universe. Other than that, I can’t see them doing anybody except maybe the Riddler again… bleh.
-JRW
By Johnny Walker Black on Jul 21, 2008
Yeah, I’m thinking they’ll do Catwoman again too. They need to give him some kind of love interest now that Rachel is *boom-boom* and it would probably fit nicely with the “fall from grace” story arc they’ve set him on.
Both Nolan movies have had dual “villains” though, so I can’t really decide who they could also bring in. I think the Riddler, Penguin, Freeze, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy are pretty much out considering how terribly they were done in the previous movies. I just couldn’t take them seriously to be honest…
By Snafzg on Jul 21, 2008