*SPOILERS* The Dark Knight *SPOILERS*

[TheReaper316]

ive gone to see a movie a million times by myself. its not my fault sometimes people are broke, not interested or busy. if i want to see something bad enough i go alone, and to be honest, probably enjoy it and take in more of it.

in other news, i have a 10:20pm ticket for tonight and cannot wait.

[livid]

After what seems like an epic struggle, I'm finally seeing it tonight at 7 in IMAX.

It's weird, I've never been this excited for a movie before so needless to say, I can't wait.

[Universal]

Saw it at 7AM. It was awesome. It is worth the hype it is given. I need repeat viewings to find out how great it is, but it is indeed awesome

Spoiler: Click here to view

Topping this is going to quite hard. If Ledger was still alive, I'd say it was possible, but without a proper Joker, what could top this? I almost don't want another batman movie cause i know it won't match up. Two-Face, to me, was done well enough in this film that we don't need him to come back. And if HE escapes jail, why can't joker and scarecrow? There is not much more they can do with Harvey Dent. Unless they can find an interesting way of using the character, without it dwelling into Tommy Lee Jones/Two-Face territory, he is done.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Universal

[Mr. X]

So 17+ hours after I saw the film I already want to jump right back into a seat and give it another go. But, I know the theaters will be packed and I'd rather see a noon showing of the movie.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Teej and I were discussing the movie and we both got a vibe from when Fox talked about Batman's new armor being able to take cat scratches. Is this Nolan just giving a nod to the comics or is he possibly thinking about bringing in Catwoman in a future film?

[gunnar hendershow]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Catwoman probably won't show up because her movie was such a flop AND these movies are all about a very young Bruce Wayne/Batman and Catwoman, as well as Robin, don't really play a role until he gets a bit older. I don't see much need for her either, because she'd just add 1000% camp to a series that has so far steered clear of it for the most part.

Also, my friend told me Black Mask was slated for this movie, but they opted to have the Joker instead. With all the gang leaders dying it is making a void, and with Joker out of the way they have to replace him with Black Mask. I think Black Mask is a definite for the next movie, get ready for some power tool chaos!!!!

[zero]

Villain talk

Spoiler: Click here to view

I know Nolan has said "no Catwoman," but I think they're just trying to keep it covered up like Raimi did with Venom. Catwoman could easily be done in the realistic Nolan way and if they could fix the franchise after Batman & Robin, they can fix Catwoman after the Halle Berry disaster.

But who knows? There's a lot of roads they could take - Poison Ivy as a modern day eco-terrorist could work and I'm sure Nolan could come up with a very unique twist for The Riddler. Honestly, I think the only major villain that's entirely out of the question is Mr. Freeze.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Zero

[Kyle_]

Just got back, it was amazing. My only complaint

Spoiler: Click here to view

Harvey Dent is dead? I was REALLY looking forward to seeing him as Two-Face for a whole movie. and although this isn't nearly as bad as teh lack of Venom in Spiderman 3, it was the only disappointment for me. Everything else was excellent.

[Maxx]

Spoiler: Click here to view

I'd say Clayface, Man Bat and possibly Killer Croc are also all completely out of the question. People hate the Penguin, but there is no doubt in my mind that Nolan could make something out of him. Black Mask, I support but I'm not sure how much could be done with him. I mean they raised the bar for villainy with The Joker, so its going to be difficult for whoever comes after him. I thought they'd create Two Face in this one and have him be the primary villain in the third film, which would have been fine, but who knows now really.

[zero]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Just a total guess on my part, but I have a feeling The Joker was to play a Hannibal Lecter-esque role in the third film, assisting/screwing with Batman from inside Arkham before finally escaping and either setting up the fourth film or the final confrontation with Batman. But without The Joker to spice things up, they can't just rely on a second-tier villain, they have to go with one of the big ones - Penguin, Ivy, or Riddler.

That's assuming they don't recast The Joker. Personally, I don't know if they could do it now, not that another amazing actor couldn't do it, but I don't know if the public would have it. Regardless, The Dark Knight felt like this generation's Empire Strikes Back - much darker, a tragic ending and setting up for the big showdown - so I feel like without The Joker/Batman's final confrontation, you can't properly close the trilogy.

[Mongrel]

Spoiler: Click here to view

As I understand, Nolan has said he didn't want to do The Penguin because he didn't see how he'd fit in to the dark, realistic feel. I hope they give Two Face another movie - Eckhart was fantastic in this one.

[King.]

Spoiler: Click here to view

I really hope that the third film will reveal that Dent's body was "lost among the rubble" of the hospital or something, and it turn out that he's secretly being kept in a new wing at Arkham Asylum thats being run by a specially chosen doctor Dr. Harleen Quinzel. In this wing is Two-Face, The Joker, Scarecrow, and Falconni (sp?).

[TheSqauredCircleMessiah]

Spoiler: Click here to view

My theory is that Harvey Dent's fate was left ambiguous as an insurance policy. If they can't Eckhardt to come back, he's written out and if he's willing to come back, we never actually saw a body. With Ledger's death, I feel Eckhardt's price tag just went up. I'd love to see what Nolan could do with The Riddler, but we don't need The Riddler & Two-Face causing shenaniginns again making the third movie, Batman Forever II: The Streets.

Weird thought just popped in my head, I'd LOVE to see Johnny Depp as a Batman villan.

[Captain Eo]

Spoiler: Click here to view

We did see a body if I recall correctly.

Spoiler: Click here to view

My theory is that Harvey Dent's fate was left ambiguous as an insurance policy. If they can't Eckhardt to come back, he's written out and if he's willing to come back, we never actually saw a body. With Ledger's death, I feel Eckhardt's price tag just went up. I'd love to see what Nolan could do with The Riddler, but we don't need The Riddler & Two-Face causing shenaniginns again making the third movie, Batman Forever II: The Streets.

Weird thought just popped in my head, I'd LOVE to see Johnny Depp as a Batman villan.

[Mysterio2000X]

Since the thread itself is classified as spoilers, are the spoiler tags really necessary? I understand why we're doing it, but I'm just saying, that's all..

Jesus fuck, the movie actually lived up to the hype and then some!

Spoiler: Click here to view

Did anybody else find it ironic, but welcome the fact that Batman himself seems to take on the role of a supporting character, while letting the trio of The Joker, Harvey Dent and Gordon run the show? Considering two of those three are pretty amazing character with which I'm sure Nolan & Goyer had a lot of fun delving into, I wasn't that surprised that Batman wasn't so much given an arc as he was just used as a plot device. After all, he'd already been established in Begins. The attempt they made (Batman reflecting on his position in Gotham, and the outcome of his existence) definitely seems good on paper, and could have been something great, but they never truly went into it.

And yes, the Joker is beyond words. Ledger's performance was near-perfect as he managed to craft an absolute psychopath with his own brand of humor, yet steer it free of anything truly campy and make the role his own. However, besides that, how fantastic was Eckhart? Joker aside, the scenes with Harvey Dent were probably some of my favorite, and the cast & crew managed to turn what could have easily been a very dry character into a fantastic one. And his transformation from Gotham's White Knight to it's Dark Knight (yeah, I'm going there. Batman just got his movie jacked, son!) was both surprising and terrifying. And I say surprising simply because I was expecting them to drag his transformation into a true villain out until at least the next movie, which is also a huge reason why his apparent death at the end both shocked and pissed me off. I hope you all are right and he's just holed up somewhere, because this iteration was nothing short of amazing, and I really want to see more of him on my screen.

Rachel dying was strangely pleasing, if only because she had done nothing but annoy me. That's not to say Gyllenhaal put in a bad performance - on the contrary, she was just as on-point as anybody else, there was just something that put me off on her.

And how awesome was Eric Roberts? Character-wise, he doesn't depart much from the role he played on Heroes (the only other place I've seen him), but Jesus, get this man some more work! He's too cool not to be on my screen more often.

And now.. for the sequel. I'd hate to be whoever's job it will be to create it, this movie just seems too perfect, despite some faults here and there. I'd love to see what type of character The Riddler would be in this world, and out of the main villains left in Batman's rogues gallery, he is definitely the most appealing, but I can definitely see Black Mask or even The Penguin working as "traditional" criminals trying to cash in on the power vacuum that's been created. I hope to god Catwoman is kept as far away from this series as possible, as I've personally never enjoyed the character in any of its iterations. And please, no more unrealistic high-tech shenanigans, okay? First movie had the Steam Machine (~!), and the Bat-Sonar in TDK wasn't much of an improvement. Still, it could have lent itself as a contributor to an interesting subplot by getting into Batman's more fascist side, but alas, it was destroyed after a single use to provide the film's sole happy moment of the last couple of scenes. Blah.

I can't wait to go watch it again. I'll hopefully go sooner rather than later, but everything seems to be sold out now. >_<

[EddieRuckus]

Spoiler: Click here to view

And how awesome was Eric Roberts? Character-wise, he doesn't depart much from the role he played on Heroes (the only other place I've seen him), but Jesus, get this man some more work! He's too cool not to be on my screen more often.

Spoiler: Click here to view

That reminds me, the scene where Two-Face confronts his character and shoots the driver was INTENSE in the way Eckhart delivered his lines, shot the driver, and watching the car crash. Definitely need some more Two-Face awesomeness in the next film.

[Hellfire]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Just got back, fantastic movie. Ledger definately went out with a bang, his portayal of the Joker was absolutely perfect. He just felt like a psychopath, more than anyone else I've seen on film before. Eckhart was great as Dent/Two Face as well, and I hope that he isn't really dead, as I think they could do some more cool stuff with him. I'm curious to see what they do with the whole Joker situation, and who they go with as the new villian/villians. Maybe go with a 2/3 mid range guys causing chaos, while building up someone big for the next one?

[DMN in the House]

HOLY...FUCK.

I can't say anything else. I don't have much time, I'll be back tomorrow/later with more thoughts, but holy fuck. I want to see it again. Actually, thats not true, I just want to watch Ledger on loop. There was ONE segment where I could see Ledger, the rest, he was lost in the character.

Spoiler: Click here to view

My personal favorite scene was Joker at the hospital, and the aftermath. It just was so surreal, it was perfect.

FUCK.

[gunnar hendershow]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Nolan has said Catwoman, Robin, and The Penguin are not going to play a role in his series. It makes sense, he's going for a more realistic interpretation of Batman so you can't really possibly explain The Penguin's presence. Also, people seem to forget, Batman's popularity which after the horrible campiness that destroyed him had really waned until the mid-80's with the Dark Knight Returns. The previous films, which Nolan pays no credence, were largely responsible for making pretty much every villain besides The Joker and Two-Face well-received. He knows this, so he knows he doesn't need a famous villain to carry a movie. He can make anyone a supervillain, after all the comic books turned The Riddler into a respectable character with Hush, with just building them the right way. How cool would it be, now that I think about it, to have a Holiday killer show up. An ambiguous killer who we never find the identity of? Leaving us quite a few suspects, but no answers when the killings finally stop. I could go on forever with speculation, but they're definitely heading in a very interesting direction with this and as long as they steer clear of any potentially camp situations with people like Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, okay any female villain, and of course the god awful Mad Hatter we'll be good.

[djmasterscooter]

I am absolutely astounded at how great this film was!!! Phenomonal performances all around. I've never ever been more enthralled and emotionally satistfied with a movie in my life.

There is one problem though......and it isn't spoiler related.

I am sitting in the theater watching this movie, and I'm seeing the best piece of acting in my life from Heath Ledger.....

and I start to cry. You can call me a pussy or a pansy for this, and I don't care if you do. You're looking up at this actor who had unlimited potential, and you realize that he isn't going to come back for a repeat performance. This was by far the biggest shock to my system, more so than anything in the movie, that Heath Ledger is gone, and his shoes can't be filled.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Someone mentioned it earlier. Who was the one actor who could come close to emulating the insanity and psychology of The Joker? Johnny Depp.

[The Mask of Norro]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Honestly, I've thought the same thing. If they re-cast the Joker role, Depp is the ONLY guy who could even come close at all to touching what Ledger left behind. Depp's a powerful actor, he practically transforms his look to fit whatever role he's put into, but that being said... I dunno, his voice would be hard to work with I think, it's just too different from Ledger's who, in my opinion, was utterly perfect for the role.

I'm loving the idea of the Riddler appearing in the next one, his character really could work out fantastically.

And Mysterio: thread may be marked as spoilers, but I think we should respect the folks who've not seen it yet and are coming in to look at people's reactions and whatnot still. Give it a week, probably not even, and we should be fine with posting spoilers without tags.