Very thought provoking themes make this a powerful film. It’s definitely not your typical comic book movie. No “flame-ons!” and no “up, up, and aways!” And that’s just what I like.
Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, and of course, the late Heath Ledger deserve a standing ovation. Ledger seems truly psychotic in his chilling role as the Joker. Sadism and brutality in movies have never been so convincing.
Ah, how could I forget. There were just too many good movies out that year.
Agreed. Let’s not forget Iron Man, also from 2008.
I gotta say, Wick, as far as movies go, I’d say 2008 was the best year for movies since 1994 and movies such as “The Dark Knight”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, “The Wrestler”, and “Milk” prove my point.
Totally, on the flipping truck part.. I saw the behind the scenes.. it was pretty amazing how they pulled it off too!
Totally, on the flipping truck part.. I saw the behind the scenes.. it was pretty amazing how they pulled it off too!
Regarding loisamorton’s Review
Great review w/ lots of interesting details. I wasn’t aware this was the first movie to have a real flipping truck.
And now the advertising dominates an awards ceremony, sayeth the Hollywood Reporter. Seems a year late, but whatever. Well deserved. One click on the MoviePosterDB link atop this page confirms that.
It’s a shame, but I think that it sent a big message to the Academy as well as Hollywood as a whole; big-budget, fantastical movies can be serious, engaging and just as award-worthy. I expect this to impact heavily with the release of films such as Watchmen – Lord of the Rings cleared the way for fantasy and blockbuster movies to be recognised, and perhaps one day the snooty idiots might begin to realise public opinion doesn’t often run parallel to their perceptions of what is “successful” or not.
What a gyp that Dark Knight wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. It just goes to show how divorced from the audience the Oscars are, which is not to say that huge box office alone makes a movie Best Picture material. By the same token, neither does puny box office and prestige topics.
I thought it lived up to my expectations, but I was struck by how it felt so much more like an actual crime film that happened to star Batman, as opposed to a Batman film.
Agreed AMC, though I’d like to rescreen the original Batman movie to do a fair heads-up comparison.
So funny story: I got out to see The Dark Knight about a week into its run, on a Thursday night. Was privileged to catch it at the Century 21, the biggest screen around, damn near IMAX sized. So after the movie, some guy in the row behind me says “I still get chills the third time.”