*SPOILERS* The Dark Knight *SPOILERS*

[Captain Eo]

Dent's fate.

Spoiler: Click here to view

I'm not sure how much this plays into this situation, but isn't Batman's only rule that he doesn't kill? So technically speaking it wouldn't have been in his character to have killed Dent in that fall so the "answer" is as how most of you have already said that Dent was just knocked out.

[Animal]

Saw this today and I really loved it, it's like Nolan created a whole new batman universe, I personally think that if there is a sequel they could make any of the villains work in this universe. Like Poison Ivy could be a environmentalist gone crazy, Clayface could pretty much stay true to his origin in the comics being an actor that goes mad on the set of a horror movie and so on.

The way Nolan managed to incorporate the villains in the first two movies leaves a lot of possibilities open I think!

[RoyWill Rumble]

Dent's fate.

Spoiler: Click here to view

I'm not sure how much this plays into this situation, but isn't Batman's only rule that he doesn't kill? So technically speaking it wouldn't have been in his character to have killed Dent in that fall so the "answer" is as how most of you have already said that Dent was just knocked out.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Even if it's not in Batman's 'character' to kill, which it certainly isn't, that doesn't mean he can control if a man dies from such a huge fall, especially when he has no armor on like Batman did.

For the sake of a third movie though, they'll probably bring Dent back.

And I want to see this again, because I need to really pick up on all the little things.

Still, I cannot believe nobody else mentioned Nolan's decision to include NO MUSIC AT ALL

Spoiler: Click here to view

during the armored car chase scene.

Personally, I thought that was fucking awesome.

And the magic trick scene, fuck that was awesome too.

[TGC]

And I want to see this again, because I need to really pick up on all the little things.

Still, I cannot believe nobody else mentioned Nolan's decision to include NO MUSIC AT ALL

Spoiler: Click here to view

during the armored car chase scene.

Personally, I thought that was fucking awesome.

It was mentioned actually.

[Captain Eo]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Even if it's not in Batman's 'character' to kill, which it certainly isn't, that doesn't mean he can control if a man dies from such a huge fall, especially when he has no armor on like Batman did.

For the sake of a third movie though, they'll probably bring Dent back.

Spoiler: Click here to view

But Batman would have never allowed Dent to fall to his death, he would have thought of a different means to solve the situation. Also thinking about it now,Batman's reaction after the fall isn't exactly "shit I killed Dent" so I expect to see him in the next film.

[SeanDMan]

Batman let that dude in the first film die.

[Mike Ockizitchy]

So I haven't been around or near a computer for a few days, pretty much since I went the midnight viewing on Thursday here and.... well.... wow? I put a '?' because, is there a better word to put it. I mean, I was blown away, simply put. There were SO many things that amazed me about this film and the people that made it.

For 1, Christopher Nolan -

Genius. I've read before he had no experience in Batman, growing up, from the comics/movies or anything, which says alot. That alone and the execution he's put into making these films though doesn't say enough of how good of a director he is. I think even if we lost a couple of key actors Nolan could help write and still direct a 3rd Batman that, albeit wont be anything like the first two, a solid movie in it's own right.

2, Christian Bale -

To me he was a bit better in Begins, but after thinking about it he may have just taken a backseat to the performance Heath was giving so to speak. Not that it was much of a difference, because he was still great.

3 Heath Ledger -

What can I say? I mean honestly, it's all been said here. Absoloutly Phenomenal. My favorite villian of all time, period. I remember watching Silence of the Lambs with my father when I was younger and then seeing him soon after in Hannibal, and I was a quite a bit scared. Anthony Hopkins was chilling and brilliant. Now I'm not generally ever scared at movies. I mean really, I don't jump when they throw things in your face out of nowhere, or peak the music etc. Point being I did this time, and you can pretty much attribute that to Heath. I remember reading a quote from Sir Michael Cain, a very established and respectable actor, to paraphrase he said "I had never met Heath before we were on set shooting a scene. His performance was so chilling and convincing he made me forget my lines" How validating that statement is after seeing this movie.

4, The supporting Cast (Gyllenhall, Eckhart, Cain, Oldman and Freeman)

With these two lighting off the set it was nice to see everyone else deliver so well in their own respective manner. Not much to say outside of spoilers about these guys, but great job done by all.

Now I'm going to go into spoiler tags as I ramble more about the movie:

Spoiler: Click here to view

Not sure how coherent or chronological to the movie these thoughts might be but 'heree we go'[/joker]

I saw the opening scene numerous times online, but it was still a solid fucking start. "I believe what doesn't kill simply makes you (mask off) stranger." I think as much as Heath did an outstanding job, where he should get at least an Oscar nomination if not a WIN, it's not entirely out of the question to recast The Joker. As soon as his death happened my mind ran as to how you could keep the most nortorious Batman villian in the works. My thoughts are, as many people have said, is you keep him in Arkham. He could serve a small role in the third film and in the end somehow managing to escape because well, he's the Joker.

IMO, Dent/Two Face will definetly be a main villian in the third installment. They never gave it complete closure. I think the funeral was a red herring of sorts. I wouldn't say I'm a fanboy, but definetly an avid follower. So for people like me it was just another example of how brilliant Nolan can be with his work, keeping options open from any point of view. Then for the movie goers and general population who went because they saw the first and like it, or just because of the hype, it's going to be a great swerve to start the movie off next time around. I think Two Face and the Joker should be villains that come and go almost throught the franchises life.

Maggie Gyllenhall did a great job, and was much better then Dawson's girlfriend, IMO. I had known she was going to die, it was something I read along time ago, but still I was so wrapped up in the movie and into what was going on it didn't even occur to me. Not even until the last second when it happened, I was like 'oh ya fuck'. Whoever brought up the idea of her returning in place of Dent and becoming insane or something, I'm sorry but horrible idea. I don't know much about the comics or their origins, but I'm guessing her character doesn't serve much purpose now. I'm figuring her death is something that's going to push and shove at the internal battles and everyday life of Harvey Dent/Two Face and Batman. Her death and impact on these two could serve more of a purpose then her actual presence. I would like to see some form of Catwoman or another love interest, but sparingly, not every film. It should give another good reason as to why Bruce could never truly settle down (unless he does in the comics, again, not to familiar with those).

And going back to Heath as the Joker, his scenes were so electirfying. The Magic Trick was both hilaroius and devious. He had so many one liners that showed how uniquely funny he could be, making you forget the maniac he truly is. "Yoou complete me!" / "You think you can rob us, come in here and make threats and just walk out alive?!" "Yea" Then there was the other part of his performance. He could go from a funny semi-comftorable presence in the room to so fucking "God I'm glad he's accros the room with that knife, OUT of MY bubble" scary. The transition in meer seconds was flawless. His adaptation of the Joker was by far the best so far. I LOVED the fact he had conflicting backstories as to his scars.

Now looking PAST the 3rd. I think this franchise has been too well done, too well executed and way too well built from the ground up to not try a fourth. The third will be huge on past success alone, not to mention that everyone should be back that matters. Theres a few reasons I think it could/should go past three. For one, is the Tumbler the final Batmobile? I'm not thinking so. It should be modified in the next one and show the real deal (BTW, the Batpod FTW!? sweetness). Wayne Manor isn't even built again. I'm guessing we'll be picking up and it's about done or done. Also the Batcave, not very complete. Now these aren't intricate to the movies/stories but minor but lead to this: my real reason is, I feel we've just scratched the surface. He just lost his true love interest. Give love a movie off, develop Batman a little further, and then have him ready to 'love again' in the fourth. The progression of Batman himself isn't even complete. I'm guessing he still has more to learn, farther to come before he actually settles into Batman. The Batman that can handle taking on a Dick Grayson and handle other aspects of his personal life. I guess mastering his Duel personalities.

I think the role of the Joker is obviously one of the toughest obstacles ahead, but a casting replacement isn't inevitably a failure. Whoever said it had the best idea. Let the role of Joker be ever changing. At first I figured now that Heath set the bar, someone could do a damn good adaptation of his role. But I like the idea of someone being given the role to make it what it's worth in their eyes. As someone said in the comics he doesn't even konw who he is anymore, etc. Plus he shouldn't need to play a big role in three. Four should be where he shines and six if they ever did more.

Now reaching six, you're probably thinking I'm nuts. Most of it would rely on the quality of the fourth if they did it. Like I said an approval for fourth wouldn't be hard, but getting it to move to 5 would. Nolan's a bigpart of this franchise I think so if the writing, tempo, momentum isn't up to par like the first ones, it could be scraped soon after. That being said, if you get competent people you're not going to tarnish the reputation of the frist 3. And why throw this all away? Batman could be handed off at some point if neccesary. Once your past the basic 3 the releases of Batman movies could be a little more sporadic. More like these 3 being the true part of the franchise and anymore past it being more 'stories of the Batman'.

[Protoman Version 2.5]

Batman let that dude in the first film die.

To be fair, he didn't exactly let Ra's die. It was a gray area to be sure but it stayed within his general code and single rule he goes by. As he said in the scene, just because he wouldn't kill him doesn't mean he has to save his life either. Ra's taught Bruce all Bruce knows and Ra's clearly had a few tricks he didn't teach his pupil, and has been shown to be rather resilient (even in this version). Batman/Bruce gave him a means to escape (the window) if he wanted to take it and they did the old Hollywood trick of cutting away from Ra's & leaving it vague enough that the question does linger (whether he died or not). Which I think was partially some thing Nolan did on purpose (as a seed to leave behind if he ever needs Ra's again or if another director takes over and wants to bring him back).

For 1, Christopher Nolan -

Genius. I've read before he had no experience in Batman, growing up, from the comics/movies or anything, which says alot. That alone and the execution he's put into making these films though doesn't say enough of how good of a director he is. I think even if we lost a couple of key actors Nolan could help write and still direct a 3rd Batman that, albeit wont be anything like the first two, a solid movie in it's own right.

Not sure where you heard that, the Nolan brothers have said time and time again that they've been fans of the comics for some time (I believe since childhood). Admittedly, having not liked certain aspects of the comics which makes me doubt we'll see them on the big screen any time soon (namely Robin...not that it is a bad thing Robin will be missing).

[Mike Ockizitchy]

For 1, Christopher Nolan -

Genius. I've read before he had no experience in Batman, growing up, from the comics/movies or anything, which says alot. That alone and the execution he's put into making these films though doesn't say enough of how good of a director he is. I think even if we lost a couple of key actors Nolan could help write and still direct a 3rd Batman that, albeit wont be anything like the first two, a solid movie in it's own right.

Not sure where you heard that, the Nolan brothers have said time and time again that they've been fans of the comics for some time (I believe since childhood). Admittedly, having not liked certain aspects of the comics which makes me doubt we'll see them on the big screen any time soon (namely Robin...not that it is a bad thing Robin will be missing).

Something I read via imdb... trust me I know imdb isn't reliable, but it was just a link to an article through imdb. Maybe I misread it though... point was he's fucking nailing these films, quite well too.

EDIT: by the way, I kinda wanted to check out the acutaly comics. From the past couple movies, what would be a good one to read, a direction they might take? or which ones would be good to read related to the first two or just anything solid for a first timer.

Edited July 22, 2008 by Mike Ockizitchy

[Maxx]

For 1, Christopher Nolan -

Genius. I've read before he had no experience in Batman, growing up, from the comics/movies or anything, which says alot. That alone and the execution he's put into making these films though doesn't say enough of how good of a director he is. I think even if we lost a couple of key actors Nolan could help write and still direct a 3rd Batman that, albeit wont be anything like the first two, a solid movie in it's own right.

Not sure where you heard that, the Nolan brothers have said time and time again that they've been fans of the comics for some time (I believe since childhood). Admittedly, having not liked certain aspects of the comics which makes me doubt we'll see them on the big screen any time soon (namely Robin...not that it is a bad thing Robin will be missing).

Something I read via imdb... trust me I know imdb isn't reliable, but it was just a link to an article through imdb. Maybe I misread it though... point was he's fucking nailing these films, quite well too.

EDIT: by the way, I kinda wanted to check out the acutaly comics. From the past couple movies, what would be a good one to read, a direction they might take? or which ones would be good to read related to the first two or just anything solid for a first timer.

Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween have been influencing the last 2 movies, good place to start.

[Mike Ockizitchy]

This might sound stupid: how do I go about not buying these? I'm guessing 'no', but would a library have them?

[Maxx]

I've been able to get graphic novels out of a library before, so maybe.

You can get Year One on Amazon for about $10 including shipping. Long Halloween for $13, and thats definately worth it, as its pretty lengthy, and is written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale, making it spectacular.

Edited July 22, 2008 by Maxx

[punky]

It's possible since I found "Watchmen" in the library today but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

[Protoman Version 2.5]

Also pretty much any of the Joker based graphic novels they've published as they have inspired a lot. (The Man Who Laughs being where they got the scars and the Killing Joke inspiring a lot of his mentalty in the movie).

You can get these at Barnes & Noble and Borders for pretty cheap. (Including Watchmen, Hellboy, Sin City, tons of Marvel and other DC stuff, JTHM, ect).

[Scott McFly]

Without reading the thread since I'm trying to avoid spoilers, is it recommended to have seen Batman Begins before The Dark Knight or are they pretty much unconnected? I'm definitely planning on seeing TDK, but I can give BB a rental if there's stuff in there that'll help with understanding/enjoying TDK.

[C-MIL]

Basically, you only need to be familiar with the characters to enjoy it. If you already gathered that Batman's a mysterious good guy, you're pretty well set. I saw bits and pieces of Begins but never really the whole thing and it didn't diminish my enjoyment of TDK really.

[TGC]

You won't fully understand the history of the relationship between Bruce and Rachel and a few other minor tidbits, but it is doable.

[zero]

How have people not seen Batman Begins?!

But yeah, what Teej said... plus you won't fully appreciate the Gordon character and his interactions with Batman, but if you're familiar with Batman at all, you should be fine.

[Scott McFly]

Oh I'm familiar with Batman from the older movies and bits and pieces of the animated series, just nothing really from this "reboot", which I think is what Batman Begins is classed as...? I might just rent Batman Begins to be on the safe side. If it's on the 360 video marketplace then that would be ideal since I'm guessing any copies from my local Blockbuster will have been rented out by people with a similar idea

[Captain Eo]

Speaking of 360,is there not a videogame tie-in?