The Unknown Stuntman said:
i saw this film when it 1st came out and all it did was remind me why i stopped watching the batman movies in the 1st place, i had it figured in the 1st 5 mins that Dents coin was double headed (some 1 said like it was in the last 1 with 2 face but i quickly pointed out i hadnt seen that movie) as for heath ledger although his joker was closer to the original of the 20's n 30's comics before censorship set in and they had to tone him down i still dont think it was very good, hown can u take a role that jack nicholson played so well n make it better. Oh yes and christian bale i jus have to add THE WORST ACTOR I HAVE EVER SEEN IN ANY FILM and even in terminator salvation he was bloody terrible
You figured it out in the first 5 minutes? If I recall, there's less than five SECONDS between the coin being introduced and the "reveal" that it's two headed. The two headed is NEVER a mystery, there's nothing to figure out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the scene goes something like this: "Toss for it? HEADS!" "How can you leave something like that to chance?" "Haha! Double headed!" I really liked the introduction of the coin. Rather than just being a "Oh, he's insane now, so he needs a gimmick" the coin is introduced as part of him from the start. First with him just dicking around, then using to torture someone, and then becoming a key part of his fractured world view. I loved Eckhart's portrayal, and I really wish they'd given him more time (say, by cutting out the entirely unneccesary trip to Hong Kong)
I'm firmly on the Heath side of the Joker debate. I like Nicholson, but his version of the Joker was a clown first, a criminal a distant second. Everything he does is overly light hearted. After the "How 'bout a magic trick?" scene the electric hand buzzer seems rather tame. And vandalising an art gallery? That's pathetically small-time. Ledger's Joker was much, much more sinister. From the Arkham Asylum demo, Hamil's Joker is a nice middle ground.
On the topic of Bale: Have you seen Manos: The Hands of Fate? Then think carefully about calling people the worst actor ever (Okay, you said that you've ever seen, but I refuse to believe you've been spoiled enough by films for that not to be hyperbole) Yes, Bale dropped the ball in TDK, but there was nothing for him to do. All his does is react to the Joker, throw a party, and then mope when Maggie Gyllenhaal dies. This is something I think is the glaring flaw in the film: There's no drive. The entire film is just people reacting to what the Joker does. And since a lot of it happens off-screen and for little apparent reason the narrative feels...bizzare.
Watch The Machinist, The Prestige, and American Psycho then tell me that Bale is a terrible actor. He's slipped in the past few years (anyone know what he's like in 3:10 to Yuma?) but he's capable of some very good stuff.
On the other films that have come up: Distric 9 is phenomonal. I'm talking up there with Aliens/Terminator 2. Give him a few years, Blomkamp is the new James Cameron.
Slumdog Millionaire: Somewhat contrived set-up, but I'll forgive that. The plot that it set up was pretty good, and the phonecall at the end (along with the fantastic "BURNN!" feeling of the last question) was very tense. The resolution made me furious (DESTINY? Blech. Should have taken the money) but that feeling was washed away almost immediately by the dance-off in the station. Genius.