There has been a huge debate among the comic geek community about whether or not Heath Ledger was a good choice for the role of the Joker or not. Many a geek was appalled at the idea of Ledger getting the role, even going as far as to insult the flick with immature names such as “Brokeback Batman” hardy har har. After this trailer was released, it seems the haters have quieted down -
I only checked the other day for a proper Dark Knight trailer and still didnt have it but its about time they do now. Looks good. Havent seen Ledger in much and what I have seen of him he wasnt particularly memorable but he seems to have the character cracked for this film. Bale is top class so youre guaranteed the goods with him.
P.S. Has anyone seen the new Coen bro’s film ‘No Country for Old Men’, really looking forward to that one.
I saw I AM LEGEND over the weekend. It was an alright flick. I was expecting better so I guess That’s why I’m not too excited over it. it was OK.
BUT the Dark Knight Preview ran before the movie! HOLY CRAP WAS IT RAD!
I’m sincerely stoked to see this new Joker. Ledger looks just like I always thought the joker should look…Maniac who got into mommies makeup kit and decided to be a clown… He loooks downright perfect for the part! I can’t wait to see how the story will unfold and how much screen time The Joker will get… If it’s as much as Scarecrow from the first one, it will be wasted.
Late,
grmpysmrf
They should make a film of the classic Killing Joke comic. I hear Nolan was at least partially influenced by that though, so my hopes are up.
I grew up on Batman and Transformers. As ridiculous as it is for a grown man to be into these things, to me it is a little bit as if those were the perverted version of the Odyssey or the Illiad for my generation. What a set of stories to base your understanding of the world on, eh?
Nice to see you are a fan of some of the finer writers of Batman stories. Batman is the only superhero comic I’m really into, probably because of the realism (relative to most other super heroes) and that the character and setting lends itself so well to noir and classic detective stories.
Can you remember any specific examples of the writers you mentioned suggesting the joker was a homosexual? I always saw the Joker as kind of asexual. Yes he’s certainly got his fruity side but he seems to get off mostly on sadism and homicide, as if that has been integrated into his sexuality. I think the fanboys were calling the new joker gay mainly because Ledger starred in Brokeback Mountain more than anything else, but yeah it is surprising how insecure these nerds are with their sexuality to be accusing fictional characters of having homosexual tendencies.
How would Nolan handle Clayface? I don’t think he’d touch Clayface to tell you the truth. He seems to be intent on keeping some semblance of reality in his series. Look at the Scarecrow in Begins… He would never be believable if he was portrayed like he is in the comics, but Nolan was able to take the great ideas behind the Scarecrow character and make him to be almost believable as a villain who could walk in our world. Genius. My guess is Nolan will totally avoid villains such as Clayface, Mr. Freeze, Man-Bat etc.
And yes, I totally agree that the charm of Nolan’s Batman is not being too over the top. Burton’s Batman movies were Burton movies first and Batman movies second, and the overpowering Elfman theme music epitomizes the overt melodrama of Burton’s Batman flicks. And yes Nicholson was fun to watch, but he did a lousy Joker. He basically played himself Jack Nicholson in Joker makeup. And what a horrible plot device to have the Joker be the killer of Batman’s parents! I understand some things need to be changed when adapted to film but that was just ridiculous!
Jupitreas - I’m not sure about the Transformers, but with Batman I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. The Batman character has indeed taken on an almost mythic quality in our psyches as a culture. Frank Miller, in response to being accused of perverting the Batman legend in some of his stories responded something to the effect that he felt he could write the character as he saw fit because the Batman saga is the modern equivalent of a Greek myth of sorts, like he somehow belonged to the collective unconsciousness of our culture.
am I the only one NOT excited about
HL as Joker? He looked OK… something about it I didn’t like. The initial shot in the cell was good. Then the laugh irritated me. It is a trailer though, and they usually irritate me. I’ll see it, so we’ll see how it goes.
[reply]And yes, I totally agree that the charm of Nolan’s Batman is not being too over the top. Burton’s Batman movies were Burton movies first and Batman movies second, [/quote]
Well said. All of Burton’s films have that definate Burton smell to them. You can tell he’s way more concerned with his image and maintaining rather than the strory of any of his flicks…disappointing.
…And yes Nicholson was fun to watch, but he did a lousy Joker. He basically played himself Jack Nicholson in Joker makeup.
I don’t think he was fun to watch unless you mean in like a “mystery science theater” type way, because you are right he was BAAAAAD. All he did was play his typical Nicholson “crazy guy” but with a prosthetic smile on his face. yucky!!
And what a horrible plot device to have the Joker be the killer of Batman’s parents! I understand some things need to be changed when adapted to film but that was just ridiculous!
“You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?” right after I killed your parents, pure shit! sounds like something that would be on a GOTH popcicle stick…
It’s been known to happen before but I’m with the Wad on this one I’ve always seen the joker as asexual. Although my reasons are slightly different. I don’t know where he got that “sex=death to him”-certainly seems possible but I haven’t followed enough spinoffs to to really say for sure…
I’ve always seen the Joker as the perfect sadist in every way…and regardless of how selfish sex can be usually both people are “enjoying” it at least to some degree. (Except for rape-But the joker isn’t into rape. if he wants to kill somebody he kills them he doesn’t rape them to death). The Joker want’s no one to have a good time except for himself that’s why sex is out! I think he wants to make sure he is always in control and if he starts fucking then the possibility exists for him to lose that control.
If you’re a sadist the worst thing you can lose is your control (for that reason I think he is terrified of conventional intimacy) So that’s why I think sex is out. If you’ll notice Harley Quinn (by far my favorite character in the batman universe. I was disapointed when the Dodson’s stopped drawig her, then disapointed when karl Kessel stopped writing for her, and even further disapointed when they cancelled her) is just a means to an end to him he has absolutely NO FEELINGS for her except for How can I use her for my ultimate end and SEX is never part of that equation. Anyway there is more to write but I don’t want to write an even longer diatribe… So I’ll wait around.
Late,
grmpysmrf
which ones disc 4 Jizz? is that the workprint? There’s like 5 different versions of the movie in that set right? I wouldn’t mind getting it, bit too $$ at the moment. What else comes with it? Little spinners and postcards and stuff? Does the inside of the briefcase look fancy at all or is it just a plastic piece of crap?
yeah, these versions, the rough “workprint” version and the bonus shit is going to be interesting to check out.
what i’m disappointed is the actual “final cut” version. there was so much hype about it - oh it’s gonna be the TRUE director’s cut, etc etc, the dvd version of '97 is not what it’s supposed to be, all that - so what do we have? the final cut is 99% THE SAME as the '97 version, but with better and cleaner picture and supposedly much better 5.1 soundtrack. couple of digital touchups and fixes, and the total amount of new scene extensions is maybe 2 minutes for the whole film - couple seconds more in the fights, couple more phrases here and there. final cut, my ass.
the “dangerous days” documentary is very interesting, many stuff is told about there, i liked the part about the visual/fx stuff. insane amount of work on the look of the film.
and the final cut itself has what, two (or was it 3) commentaries? thank god they didn’t record commentary for the documentary…
they even released 3cd soundtrack for the 25th anniversary. that’s great, but there are still music left unreleased. i’d prefer unreleased stuff from the movie, rather than a whole 3rd cd of new stuff.
Can’t say I’m too interested in “The Dark Knight”. I thought that “Batman Begins” started well enough and then got very very dull. It took itself very seriously. I wonder how long it will be until we get Kenneth Brannaugh’s Batman? It’s a guy who dresses up in a bat suit, there should be more joy.
If I’m going to see a superhero movie I’d rather watch “Yo-yo Girl Cop” again. Now that was a good superhero movie! It played it very straight too but every frame overflows with joy and hyper-drama.
Saw this last night. It’s really good. Very intense. You don’t get wracked nerves from a superhero movie very often, but this one did it to me.
A few problems. Without going into spoilers, I didn’t care for the ending, and they do the same calling back a line from earlier in the movie thing that irritated me in the first movie.
Also, it’s 2.5 hours long, so don’t drink the large soda if you don’t want to miss anything.
If it’s anywhere near as good as “Begins” I’ll be happy. While the first one had it’s flaws, I think Nolan’s Batman is the best cinematic adaption we’ve had. I wish Maggie Gyllenhaal had played Rachel Dawes in “Begins” instead of the talentless Katie Holmes. Feh… I bet the studio pressured Nolan into giving Batman a love interest and pushed for a popular but pish actress such as Holmes. Oh well… could have been much worse.
One of the most exciting aspects of this film is that they actually used an IMAX camera to shoot several key scenes. Even on a normal screen the resolution of the IMAX should look stunning!
I couldn’t tell which sequences were Imax specific and which weren’t, as I was too involved in the story. I suspect it was mainly the bits where Batman is gliding, and probably the opening scene where you see the Gotham cityscape.
Damn, Jizzy
I think you are setting yourself up for disapointment! I haven’t seen this flick yet but I know when I’m super stoked on seeing a flick the film rarely lives up to my expected hype! Just beware!
Late,
grmpysmrf
Fuck. You saw this already?
How?
Doesn’t matter! Spoil it for me!!! I love spoilers. Does Two-Face ace Joker in the end? That’s my prediction. Also - I have yet to see an official pic of Two-Face ( just photo-shops ) how good is it? Gorey? I’m thinking something like Peyton Westlake’s face in Raimi’s Darkman. Do they at least get the “eye” right? Who dies in the warehouse scene too? I predict Dawes - hence Dent’s motivation for killing Joker.
Fuck - 12:03 am Friday can’t come fast enough.
Oh yeah - in your own opinion - is Ledger’s performance REALLY Oscar worthy…? I have my doubts.