OT: The Dark Knight - Movie Review (No Spoilers)

First of all, unless you are under a rock you have heard about this movie starting today. It will be the biggest movie of the summer and...



...deservedly so.



I took my teen boys to the Midnight showing last night (er, this morning). Six (or so) theaters in a rural/suburban megaplex sold out. We arrived at 11:20pm, tickets pre-purchased, not being able to get there any sooner because all our children were in a swim meet that ran over due to rain delays.



When we pulled into the megaplex parking lot it looked like Friday night, 8pm type crowds. There was a sea of people in front of the theater's main building, and even more inside. Had to push past people getting into the theater rooms...standing in line for popcorn would have been a waste of time, that area of the megaplex looked like GA at a rock concert.



We spent the next several minutes once inside in the vain attempt to find three seats together, which then turned into the search for three good seats in the same theater...all the time moving between three of the six theaters until finally giving up. My youngest son and I in one theater, the other son in another. It was packed...and this was still at least 30 minutes before show time.



The movie started to fanfare; here are some non-spoiler highlights:



- The movie starts with action and you get introduced to the Joker played by the late Heath Ledger immediately. Ledger steals the movie. His performance is legendary. The question will be if he gets a best supporting actor or a best actor nomination...I think he has more than enough screen time for the former. He could very well win if nominated, regardless.



- Harvey Dent gets a lot of screen time as well, and those familar with Batman lore know his story.



- Stunts, fights, chases, fights, stunts, gadgets, bad-ass Batman, and more fights....that's the rest of the movie, with a lot of edge-of-your seat along the way.



- The movie is long, as most epic/blockbusters seem to be today, at 2h30m, but it doesn't FEEL that long.



The movie simply works on all levels. It lives up to the hype.



The biggest boxoffice opening weekend so far is Spiderman 3 with $151M. Don't be surprised if "The Dark Knight" takes a big bite out of it, or even shatters the record.



Enjoy your summer at the movies.



TJR

I am there TONIGHT!!! TY

Do you think it will be bigger then Mamma Mia?

my son is going this afternoon to see it.

he is really looking foward to seeing it

I find it funny that a swim meet was delayed by rain. But I have a weird sense of humor.



Thanks for the movie review TJR. I have been wanting to see this one having been such a fan of the last one. I may wait a week or so to see it because the crowds you described sound a little crazy.

Some friends an i bought tickets to last night's mid-night show about 3 weeks ago. we thought we'd be smart and try and get in line at 10pm so we're among the first. we were about 200 people late....



It's the best superhero movie i've seen in a very long time....very well worth it!

LOL@ Tommy..

I agree, I want to see it but I'm gonna wait till the crowds die down a little.. Every review I've read has said nothing but how AMAZING it is.

I can't wait. I grew up watching everything to do with batman, including movies, TV series, and cartoons. The cape I had my mom make when I was 5 became a permanent part of my wardrobe until......last month - time to break it out again!!

I grew up in the '50s and '60s reading all the comic books of the superhero movies, that are being pumped out nowdays. I will wait till the crowds get smaller.



One thing bothers me about some of the superhero movies. When they get into some of the historical stuff. I can pick apart the real history from the comics vs hollywood..

I don't think there is any movie out there that I'd be willing to go stand in line with crowds...can't stand crowded theater's. I either wait till it's died down or rent it when it comes out on the tube or download it from mininova

Just saw it today and it was a great movie.

I'm under a rock. I had no idea there was another batman movie.

:lol Ironbar



I figure if you seen one Batman movie you have seen them all. Most of what is paid for is the great special effects anyway.



Sex in the City -iI was mad when I heard they were shoing the premier season show at the theatres!.... but then I realized...I already knew the outcome of that movie too.



So I'll wait for the DVD on both to see them :lol:

I'm like Ironbar, I'd rather sit and watch it at home on my home theater. No lines and best seats in the house. If you haven't seen "Batman Begins" but have seen the other worthless adaptions, you are definately missing out. I was very skeptical when Batman Begins came out because of the other ones, but was amazed what a difference a director makes. Can't wait till the new one comes out on DVD.

i saw it thursday night at 12:15...movie was amazing ill see it again before the weekend is over. the joker was out of hand. my friend guessed 200 million this weekend....i say 175 million

I liked it but at the same time it was a major let down. I wont say why cause it would spoil it for others.

Went to see it today. Good flick. Very good ending.



I can't help but think, "The Batman" must be a Republican .....

Saw it tonight! Amazing movie! One of the few where I felt the $8.50 was almost justified (LOTR series, any Bond flick, etc). I don't know how many awards a single actor can win for a movie, but I believe Ledger will win many. He totally remade himself for this, and it's one of those things that he will be remembered for (he would have anyways if it weren't his last film) when you hear his name.



As for the movie, I would not recommend this for children. It was a very dark movie and I don't think most kids would understand it. Sure, they'll see the explosions and the action, but not fully understand the movie.

Saw it last night. Great movie. Heath Ledger was REALLY good as the Joker.



Definitely not a little kid movie even though I saw many there. But that just shows how many idiot parents there are today. Honestly, people should have to be licensed to breed in this country.

Just saw that it broke the weekend boxoffice take with over $155 million.