The Dark Knight (No Immediate Spoilers Upon Click)

[Lavarinth]

(No spoilers yet.)

Experience:
So the movie finally released last Friday at midnight. Now get this. I swore I would see it in IMAX first. The reason for this is simply my friend works at one of like seven local AMC's, and well, this lets me get employee screenings. My friends all come over Wednesday night, and upon his arrival banters "Dark Knight. 12:30 AM. ONE DAY EARLY." So none of these guys have tickets or any advanced planning for the movie, while I held tickets for an IMAX showing at, well, 3:10 AM. The midnight showing was already sold out when I bought my tickets, which I bought them a month ago. Dark Knight is having showins in this interval in IMAX: Every three hours. Midnight, 3AM, 6AM, 9AM, 12PM, 3PM, 6PM, 9PM, repeat. For Friday and the weekend, after this it's only during business hours. These showing are sold out for the next two weeks. So obviously, they go. I stay. The following day I refuse to answer anyone's call for the sake they will spoil something before the next 24 hours of my watching. My cousin, however, who also went, was at my house and started to complain about how the movie didn't start until 2AM, but that it was worth it. To my excitement I decide to go at 9PM to wait in line for my 3AM showing. Ends up, well, the line wont be forming until after the 12AM lines go in. The downside? I just drove 30 minutes to the closest IMAX theater. So I'm not driving back with gas prices. I wait. Upon them letting the 12 AM shows in, they make lines for regular non-IMAX showings of 12:45, 1:30 and 2AM. I wonder where the 3 AM line, having been one of the first there. My friends just sort of waltz around looking as well. As they let in the 12:45 line I spot it.. Next to it practically hidden, with around 40 people already waiting. Hum. So now we wait in line. Luckily a group of idiots talking about rap with their low IQ realize that this is the 3:10AM showing, not the 1:30AM showing, after their line goes in and they notice it's 1:45AM. Funny, considering someone asked them if it was the 3:10AM showing and they said yes. So that freed up around 10 seats. We wait longer. The midnight IMAX showing started a little late, due to terrible planning, the previous IMAX film had just been ending by the time it reached midnight. So, near our time to go in, we all go in and take a seat. I got to refill my drink and upon my return I guess someone pulled the stupid "no seat saving" and tried to take my seat. Obviously- If someone is was sitting there previously, as I was, I arrived before you (likely 5-6 hours before you), so I don't care WHAT you say but that's my seat. I guess the culprit moved anyway before I returned, however. The best part of waiting? I shit you not: They were playing Diablo 1's dungeon music. The music you hear in the first few levels of the cathedral. Yes. That music. It was highly nostalgic and I always did find that music to be memorable. Anyway- Then the movie started playing. And everything was going amazingly well, except.. The most dreaded thing to occur. During a crucial key moment.. Thirty minutes before the end.. The screen went black. The room went pitch dark, and everything went silent. The IMAX projector DIED. The lights were still on, so there was power. Five minutes later, we're told the power to the projector is offsite and they're checking it, ten minutes after, we're told it'll work again and we'll get free tickets anyway.. Ten more minutes later... We're told.. It's the projector and it wont be working again for our showing. In my disgust, I leave. I walk out at 6:25, clearly 25 minutes later than the next showing, sucks for them. I arrive home at seven, and sleep. Upon waking up, after my dream of the movie, I head towards my next goal: Finishing. I look up movie times at my local theater, and plot my master plan. Showing at 3:05 PM? Get a showing of another movie at 5:30 PM, go in at 4:30PM to the Dark Knight showing, finish watching, walk out, ask for a refund as I wont make it to my movie, and leave. I enact this plan with pure success. Except the refund as I was too lazy to wait in line for the movie and received free IMAX showing tickets (more expensive) so basically evened out. And thus, I completed my journey.

(Possible and likely Spoilers - Okay, there's a lot of spoilers.)

The Movie
Amazing. Fantastic. Best movie I have ever seen, without a doubt. My ultimate favorite most favorite movie of all time was Clockwork Orange. The reason being it was about a thug without morals. He harmed, he raped, and he wreaked havoc. For what purpose? Enjoyment. The Joker- The same except worse. He is, as he says, the classic criminal. Even those lines being spoken by him gave me goosebumps. His sheer passion for senseless violence to prove his point is amazing. The character itself was the exact character I would love to play if I pursued acting. Heath Ledger has transitioned from an actor with a questionable reputation after his performance in Brokeback Mountain, to a man with pure respect. His dedication to the role of the Joker was, without a doubt, the best role I have ever seen played in a movie. No where, did I suspect this was a man in make up just acting. Every scene I felt as if the Joker was sadistically real. His chaotic laughs, expressions, and quirky remarks just make him an absolute enjoyment to watch. "I have a magic trick I'd like to show you." From the first moments he shows himself in front of the mafia-related folk you get a sense or eeriness thanks to his voice. The pitches, they shift as if unstable in his personality. His quick remarks towards comments thrown at him show his struggle to withhold his urge to just snap. And as always, he has some trick up his sleeve.. Or jacket, to make sure he just can't be killed quite yet. By far- He has made this movie what it is.. A masterpiece. A shame to not see a glimpse of the rumored Harley Quinn, but none-the-less she wasn't needed to make this movie, only to satisfy fans wanting to see her in person for the first time. The transition of Harvey Dent was steadfast and well done, except I thought it was a little too.. By chance. He somehow tips over a chair he's tied up and AND a barrel full of gasoline AND happens to be JUST in reach of the flames catch on fire after the blast? Either way, the transition of personality made the now Two Face personality appear strong and fearful. It was a shame to see him killed off though, I would of loved to see him become a more feared character and more brainwashed by the Joker in the following sequel. Overall though, the introduction of amazing new gadgets, old school "guns and explosives" techniques, and the genuine real traditional non-CG effects were a great experience to watch. It's simply a pure damn shame to see this amazing character's actor unable to receive the respect he deserves first hand. I can only hope future installments will only show the Joker as a locked away character in Arkham Asylum who doesn't speak or isn't clearly seen as this character, as I would love to remember the Joker as the final performance by Heath Ledger and an amazing one at that.

Clearly, this is the best movie experience I have ever had.

[Revan]

tldr

Now to get serious, good for you! In my country it will be released in the beginning of August... Can't wait for it.

[Lavarinth]

tldr

Now to get serious, good for you! In my country it will be released in the beginning of August... Can't wait for it.

Sucker.

[Marco]

Yeah yeah, it was a great movie, SO WHAT?  Hahahahaha, I don't care I'm so cynical that I can't appreciate ANYTHING!

Ok, I'm done channeling Doack. 

Lets see now, it was good, saw it at midnight with my friends.  Theatre was ridiculously packed, like you had to park like 5 miles away and they made you fill out like 50 forms before you saw it promising that if you exploded from how awesome it was you wouldn't sue the theater.

[Thalraxal]

I saw it on Thursday at midnight with acouple of my friends.  Theater was packed, to the point where my friends and I couldn't even get seats together.  As for the movie itself: pretty darn awesome.

Ledger's Joker was great.  It's a shame he won't be back in the sequel

@Lav: My theater had projector issues too, although not as bad as yours did.  When they started the film, the projector was out of alignment with the screen, so the bottom was cut-off and shown at the top of the screen.  Fortunatly, they sorted it out, but we ended up watching most of the opening scene like that.


(SPOILERS BELOW!)




They handled Harvy Dent's fall from grace well.  Especially considering most of the fall from graces in modern media (We're looking at you Arthas andAnakin Skywalker!).  I was surprised at Two-Face getting the chop in this one.  I was expecting him to stick around and be the major villain in the next one.

I doubt we'll see anymore of The Joker (outside of Arkham Asylum anyway).  Well... not until the next reboot of the Batman movie franchise.  Ledger's a tough act to beat (plus the whole final performance thing), and The Joker is way too hands-on to work in the background.

[Lavarinth]

CONSIDER SPOILERS FROM HERE AND BELOW ON ALL REPLIES









Thal, I'm going to past what I posted over at SA in their discussion of this, I was reading up a few things people posted on IMDb and it kind of made sense:

I'd prefer him have that "I'm watching over you" personality after this movie, where someone may be cast as him but they don't say of do much other than be inside the Asylum. I simply find his performance INCREDIBLY amazing. You know when he claps when Gordon gets commissioner? Improved. Not a big deal, right? But to know he was SO into character that he could even have that sarcastic-as-hell clapping with that smirk going on at the same time and not even have been asked to do that.. I don't know how to surpass that mentality. I was really hoping for Harley to step in though, pre-dependant disorder when she was a Doctor. Much like he brainwashed Dent to insanity. Also- A lot of speculation going on at IMDb in relations whether Gordon's final speech for Dent was a funeral (doubtful, no casket shown or any mention of death) or simple a "private withdrawal" from the race for DA where Gordon gave the speech instead. I guess according to "Dark Knight Returns" comic, Harvey regrets his actions and gets fixed up. Is later once again turned insane by Joker and becomes the "true" Two Face. Although, Christopher Nolan expressed no immediate interest to continue the series, but he said this after Batman Begins as well and look how that went.

[Zilla-]

SPOILER: joker died before the movie came out lol

No but srsly, he made the movie. It was a true pleasure to watch him "I'VE GOT A MAGIC TRICK ^_^" etc. Pity he cant be recast in a sequel.

[AA7Dragoon]

The movie is a true masterpiece.  It is the best superhero film I have ever seen.  Now, I understand, according to the comic geeks, that superhero stories should not be so serious and require some lighthearted fun.  But!  The movie was so well done being as serious as it was!  The realism was terrifying.  Rarely have I ever sat through a movie, holding my breath and waiting for what the Joker was going to do next. 

The real tragedy of Dark Knight is that we can no longer experience Heath Ledger's Joker, and it would be an insult to the film if any subsequent sequel attempted to replace him.  You can't duplicate a passion that contributed to the actor's death.  After seeing Ledger's Joker on film, I believe the character has had some part in his death.  His speech to Harvey Dent about "Plans" and how he likes to undo and destroy the hopes and plans of others.  Isn't that what we all expected?  For Heath Ledger to continue doing amazing sequels and brave new films?  But alas, the Joker and Chaos had their way.

My heart sank when Heath Ledger said to Batman, "We could do this forever."  If only, Heath, if only.

Next villain?  Mr. Freeze would be a good choice.

[Revan]

Next villain?  Mr. Freeze would be a good choice.

Schwarzenegger should play him again. It would be ice to see that.

[Jadefang]

For a squel, I think the Penguin is one of the better villans. There should certainly be no Robin. If the Joker is to come back then only as a whole new concept, kind of like the difference between Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger (both great in their own ways, not really comparable).

One thing I saw on the internet and found fascinating is the dubbing of Joker's voice in other languages. They differ in quality, some are just like a parody, others very good. Notice that all but the Russian version kept Heath's original laughter.

(Russian) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZH_lzJEZys
(French) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beiWQ6qfl9M&feature=related
(German) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDoslwYoa-g
(Italian) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpN1mIq20vI&feature=related
(Spanish) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klGqx7xICP8&feature=related

[Thalraxal]

I'd prefer him have that "I'm watching over you" personality after this movie, where someone may be cast as him but they don't say of do much other than be inside the Asylum. I simply find his performance INCREDIBLY amazing. You know when he claps when Gordon gets commissioner? Improved. Not a big deal, right? But to know he was SO into character that he could even have that sarcastic-as-hell clapping with that smirk going on at the same time and not even have been asked to do that.. I don't know how to surpass that mentality. I was really hoping for Harley to step in though, pre-dependant disorder when she was a Doctor. Much like he brainwashed Dent to insanity. Also- A lot of speculation going on at IMDb in relations whether Gordon's final speech for Dent was a funeral (doubtful, no casket shown or any mention of death) or simple a "private withdrawal" from the race for DA where Gordon gave the speech instead. I guess according to "Dark Knight Returns" comic, Harvey regrets his actions and gets fixed up. Is later once again turned insane by Joker and becomes the "true" Two Face. Although, Christopher Nolan expressed no immediate interest to continue the series, but he said this after Batman Begins as well and look how that went.

Holy crap.  That sarcastic clap was improvised?  Yeah, that basically cements my opinion that Ledger cannot be replaced.  And I really can't see The Joker being happy to work out of Arkham.  He's gotta be out there to see all his pretty explosions.

I really got the 'Harvy Dent is dead' vibe from that ending scene, and his story feels complete to me.  I don't see him coming back.

As for the next villain?  Gotta admit, Harley Quinn taking The Joker's place would be interesting.  Other then that, Bane used as something other then a giant door opener would be awesome.

[tipereth]

I donlt know why people liked this movie so much. It was awesome. Fucking awesome. I was genuinely sad when Gordon died, they played that really well.

Then Rachel died. What the fuck. Batman was sad for like two minutes, but Alfred came along and was all 'WHAT HO OLD CHAP OLD PIP JOLLY GOOD WHATNOT!' and its like she never existed. Seriously. The only character that actually acknowledges her death is Twoface, and that makes him seem almost rational since nobody else seems to give a flying fuck. The third act of the movie was just fucking awful, and Twoface is one of my favorite villains ever, so that's saying something. They would have had thirty minutes of the Joker running around blowing shit up because that was the highlight of the movie.

[Maglok]

I skipped past all the spoilers. Seeing it this friday, can't wait.

Lavvz, dude, you have had seriously bad luck.

[Marco]

I think I'll go IMAX this.  It used to be a 5 minute drive, now its a half hour drive where I live today.  Oh well.  Never did go into that theatre anyways.  Guess I'll go see what its all about.

[Lavarinth]

I think I'll go IMAX this.  It used to be a 5 minute drive, now its a half hour drive where I live today.  Oh well.  Never did go into that theatre anyways.  Guess I'll go see what its all about.

Worth it. IMAX sound quality and picture quality far surpasses that of regular theater.