Just got back. Definitely thought is was very good.
Heath Ledger was amazing.
My only critiques:
It did start to feel a bit long around the end, with the kidnapping of Gordon’s family. And my friend and I thought that the trip to Hong Kong could have been cut down without losing much of the story.
I thought the movie didn’t spend enough time with Bruce. With Ledger’s blowout performance and all the time spent with Dent and Gordon, he almost seemed like a supporting character in his own movie.
Still, overall it was incredibly entertaining, I loved all the performances and look forward to the next installment.
I hope that Rachel’s demise leaves the door open for Selina Kyle.
I think it’s brilliant, far better than the first one. I only have one question, which I see some of you share. What happened in the ballroom after Batman saved Rachel from her fall? Batman just left the Joker in the room with all those innocent people?
Otherwise, a perfect movie. I wish Heath Ledger was alive to receive the praise he deserves.
My best guess would be that the Joker fled - after all, his target was Dent (or his loved ones) and neither of them were available any more. Batman there or not, most of his henchmen were gone and I’d say he was outnumbered a good sixty-to-one.
Just because he’s a force of chaos and a freak doesn’t also mean he’s an idiot.
I recall reading something a few weeks back that claimed that Christian Bale said that he would leave the franchise if they attempted to introduce the infamous R character.
I’d have to agree that such a character would not fit in this universe or in this era. It may have worked in the era where every superhero had his boy sidekick (to hook in that audience segment with dreams of BEING that sidekick), but the world has changed. Long ago we had boys in military units and on ships (cabin boys, drummers, etc), and while the world had moved on from that by the time of the comics, it was still romanticized. But we don’t tolerate that sort of thing today, and a child cohort of this kind of person would be monstrous.
Ha, I thought you guys were talking about The Riddler. Now I realize you mean Rob&)&%#)#())(#in.
Not saying it applies to anyone in this thread, but often I wonder how often the people who complain about a movie being “too long” are the same types of people who bitch about ticket prices and how much it costs in general to go to the movies.
As far as I’m concerned, I got MUCH MUCH MORE than my measly money’s worth. They want to give me more awesomeness? Bring it the fuck on! If I wanted short snippets of easily digested whatever I could stay home and watch the stuff in between the commercial breaks.
To quote Ebert, “No good movie is too long. No bad movie is too short.”
I’m one of the people who thought it was too long. I don’t complain about movie ticket prices. I love going to the movies. And as far as long movies in general, I have nothing against them, if the length is justified. In this case, I don’t think it was.
I felt the Hong Kong bit was unnecessary; too many car chases (they all looked the same except for the big rig flip); the ferry boat/detonators bit was a cool idea thrown in because it was a cool idea. yes it reinforced some of the central themes of the movie, but good artists know when to stop.
It really would have been a better film if it was more tightly edited. As it stands now some of the scenes with the mob personnel get confusing with interchangeable minor characters; the fake batmen plotline was really unnecessary; the corrupt police under Gordon - another confusing storyline. It just did not have a clean flow.
Just my opinion of course. One which may be derided, who cares. For me, I cannot imagine sitting through this whole movie again. On DVD I would just jump from joker scene to joker scene.
And how about the couple on the couch as Bruce Wayne went into what they thought was a “panic room,” leaving them locked out. They’ll be having some choice words for Bruce wayne for sure.
The wife and I saw it yesterday (Saturday) and thought it excellent. They obviously intended to use Ledger again as The Joker in the future. So sad.
I thought it was very long - I could sense its ongoing length as it went. But it wasn’t too long. I thought it was the right length for the story it told.
