TDK - Final Judgment - This is it?

[TVC15]

Well, something has beaten GTA4 as the most overrated thing of the year.  Or at least tied it.  If Heath Ledger hasn't died, this movie wouldn't have had a tenth of the zomg awesome movie hype it had.  In the end, I do think it's a bit better than BB (but note that I haven't seen that in like 2 years.  I need to unwrap my BD).  I can't really say that I didn't see the disappointment coming.  People will strangely stand in line for the opportunity to jizz over a dead celebrity.

Now I'm going to play some Kingdom Hearts to wash the mediocre out of my brain.

Final Judgment: Flopza of the year. 87/100

[fistfulofmetal]

Hellboy II > TDK

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Hellboy II > TDK

Iron Man > TDK

[Van Cruncheon]

it was good. merely good. heath ledger's performance was overrated.

[Bebpo]

TDK = Hellboy 2 > IM

TDK first time I saw it = 3/4
TDK 2nd time I saw it in Imax 3.5 / 4

Movie grows on you.

Iron Man would be better if the final battle wasn't a terrible finale.  RDJ's Stark > Ron Perlman >>>>>>>>> Bale

[Phoenix Dark]

I do think it's a bit better than BB

what the fuck? BB is pretty damn average and features some weak fight choreography, plus the lack of an interesting villain. TDK is better on every level. The only negatives: the stupid "Harvey died for our sins" bullshit ending, more (extended) Batman voice nonsense, and Joker's final Saw-esque prank (oh and the infared goggle bullshit).

9/10. The Joker makes the movie. Also Harvey Dent was great. In fact the biggest weak link is Batman  himself, once again. Same with BB

TDK>>>>>Iron Man>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hell Boy

[Mandark]

Hellboy II

I called how the climax would be resolved within the first five minutes of the movie, and spoiled it for a friend by leaning over and telling him.

[TVC15]

I still have to watch Hellboy 2.  I'm still bummed it's more fantasy than dark, even though I know it will still be good.  I just finished Sons of Anarchy over the weekend, and I'm going to wait until I'm in the pangs of Ron Perlman withdrawal before I dose up.

[fistfulofmetal]

Buy Hellboy 2 on Blu-ray!

[Bebpo]

I prefer BB because it has:
1) Batman training with NINJAS
2) Actual character development
3) Liam Neilson is good as Rah
4) Scarecrow is cool looking

TDK has:
1) Awesome joker
2) Way better pacing
3) Better cinematography
4) Maggie >>>> OMG WHY DID YOU CAST HER

I think I would like TDK better if it didn't have the Two Face arc.  I felt it wasn't handled that well and just wasn't very satisfying and took away time from the excellent joker arc. 

[TVC15]

I have it on Blu-Ray  What with Black Friday sales, I acquired a nice lil BD backlog, and it's not helped by the steady influx of netflix material.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

HBII is a much better film then the first one.  Much better.  Easily the modt fun I had at any of the summer blockbusters.

[Mandark]

I liked BB.  Had some gripes which I wrote about at the time but dug it overall.

I think TDK completely smokes it and smokes Iron Man, but I'm a sucker for action movies with a sense of urgency and momentum which just isn't a feature of origin stories.

[EvilBoris]

 that won't be your final judgement.

[Phoenix Dark]

Iron Man doesn't hold up to multiple viewings. I didn't like it much the first time I saw it but now it's just eh. Origin flicks with pedestrian villains=

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Hellboy had better action scenes then The Dark Knight.
a 58-year-old-man/stunt double under at least 40-60 pounds of makeup and prosthetics was a more convincing action figure then flipping Batman.

My point being that Nolan is a fine director, but he still can't shoot a fight scene to save his life.  His skills rose from BB, where he started at abysmal and upgraded to merely lousy with TDK.  To be fair credit should probably also go to fight choreographer Bradley James Allen (the white guy from the Jackie Chan stunt team) and blame should go to whoever the hell makes every action scene in a Nolan film nearly incoherent (probably some jaghoff producer who wants "real, gritty, and Bourne-styled heroics" in a friggin superhero film).

[fistfulofmetal]

the final action sequence in HBII is just 
the special effects are ridiculous.

[Mandark]

TDK > Frost/Nixon.

Not saying much.

[littlemathletics]

TDK > Frost/Nixon.

Well, yeah. Nolan >>>>>>>>> Howard

[pilonv1]

If Heath Ledger hasn't died, this movie wouldn't have had a tenth of the zomg awesome movie hype it had.

Pretty much. Good film over-rated by someone's death.

Same thing happened to Jeff Buckley.

[littlemathletics]

Grace is balls, but mostly because of the terrible production. His live stuff is much more interesting.

[Solo]

Speed Racer > any of the 2008 blockbusters mentioned in this thread.

[The Fake Shemp]

I really don't think Heath Ledger's death impacted the hype behind the flick all that much.  It was going to be a monster well before his death.

I think the film rocks and I really love it.  My only gripes about it now is that it could definitely be shorter and that it loses focus of the titular character in the second half.

[demi]

Kingdom Hearts

[Joe Molotov]

Speed Racer > any of the 2008 blockbusters mentioned in this thread.

I need to hear the story behind this post.

The story is that Speed Racer kicks ass.

[Cheebs]

People liked Hellboy II? That movie is so over-rated. Del Toro seemed to forget he was doing a hellboy movie and pushed all the main characters to the side to show off 2842984928492984 different random beasts every 5 seconds. Yes they were pretty but it was boring as hell.

[Eric P]

i enjoyed it but hated HATED the ending.

i totally forgot about the cell phone stupidity until this thread.

i liked heath's portrayal of the joker.

[Eel O'Brian]

i liked it, but boy you really can't think about it too much or it just falls apart

[WrikaWrek]

You know, overhyped whatever whatever, overrated yes yes, but still great.

I think The Joker became one of my favorite villains ever with this movie, and i couldn't care less that Heath Ledger had died before the release of the movie.

Now, what i don't agree and find absolutely absurd, is people putting Hellboy 2 in the same landscape as TDK. Give me a break, i loved Hallboy 1, Hellboy 2 felt like derivative crap, not even close to being as good as TDK or Iron Man, shit The Hulk was better than Hellboy 2.

[WrikaWrek]

Oh and i used to think The Joker was a shit character. Like Nicholson's joker, so lame.

Heath Ledger's Joker is amazing though.

Wha... seriously? how?

Ugh, of course not.

The movie sucks dick. It's just EB trying to find a gem where there isn't one, having all the colors of the rainbow being stabbed in your eyes doesn't make a movie suddenly, a hidden gem.

[muckhole]

i liked it, but boy you really can't think about it too much or it just falls apart

That's really it for me. I think the biggest positive was more in seeing a fairly lengthy and dramatic superhero flick hold the mainstream's attention for the duration. It gives me hope for future flicks in the genre not having to rely quite do much on the effects angle.

[Great Rumbler]

I saw Iron Man and Dark Knight twice in the theaters and my conclusion is that outside of RJD's performance, TDK outdoes Iron Man in pretty much every way.

Iron Man's definitely a fun movie and one of the better superhero movies in recent years, but TDK is the clear winner.

[WrikaWrek]

I saw Iron Man and Dark Knight twice in the theaters and my conclusion is that outside of RJD's performance, TDK outdoes Iron Man in pretty much every way.

Iron Man's definitely a fun movie and one of the better superhero movies in recent years, but TDK is the clear winner.

Well that's because Iron Mon is more focused on offering a fun, lite, super hero adventure, than on being a long, dramatic, detective, terrorism, kind of movie.

You don't watch TDK to see Batman or Bruce Wayne imo, but i watch Iron Man to see Iron Man and Tony stark.

[Solo]

Speed Racer > any of the 2008 blockbusters mentioned in this thread.

I need to hear the story behind this post.

The story is that Speed Racer kicks ass.

Pretty much.

[Tauntaun]

Ah, this is the anti-populous Evilbore I remember!

Yeah I tend to stay out of these threads because thar be some hatin goin on somefin fierce.

 

[Beardo]

Is this thread where evilborians hate on the most popular new thing?

[cool breeze]

The only real criticisms I'd agree with for TDK are that Bale's Batman voice was over the top (to be fair his yuppie Bruce Wayne voice was hilarious now), and that the movie would have probably been better if it ended with Joker in the car instead of continuing on (but personally I'm glad it ended so I didn't have to wait another few years to see the rest).  Other than that I think it's amazing, probably my favorite movie along with BTTF.  A lot of this is due to being a big Batman fan.

[cool breeze]

The reason it was weird is because he had three voices now instead of two from Begins.  Here he had the Batman voice, the private Bruce Wayne voice (basically normal), and the public yuppie Bruce Wayne voice.  It's because of the new one that having an even more hammed up Batman voice seems so unnecessary.

[TakingBackSunday]

Meh, it's pretty much expected.  Movie gets hyped to no fucking end, it's bound to disappoint somebody, especially one as judgmental as TVC.  No big deal.

I still think it's become the standard that everyone should go by for summer blockbusters now.

[Cheebs]

Speed Racer > any of the 2008 blockbusters mentioned in this thread.

I need to hear the story behind this post.

The story is that Speed Racer kicks ass.

Pretty much.

Solo you like Speed Racer more? You were one of the biggest TDK fanboys at GAF after you saw it the second time.


And TDK is my second favorite of the year so far, Rachel Getting Married is my #1. I expect Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and potentially Frost/Nixon (not a Ron Howard fan but it's politics and I LOVE Frank Langella) to all beat TDK for me though. Slumdog opens here this weekend and Milk next weekend...

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

TDK was an awesome movie and to be honest, I don't even know what the fuck you're talking about with some of the criticisms.

[Solo]

Speed Racer > any of the 2008 blockbusters mentioned in this thread.

I need to hear the story behind this post.

The story is that Speed Racer kicks ass.

Pretty much.

Solo you like Speed Racer more? You were one of the biggest TDK fanboys at GAF after you saw it the second time.

Yes sir. I was, and still am, a HUGE fan of TDK, but SR just clicked with me more.

[Cheebs]

I never understood the love of Speed Racer. There are plenty of films out there I don't like but a lot of people do and I can understand why they like them but Speed Racer's weird niche of fans totally confuses me. It was a flashy bright empty cheesey movie with over the top action imo, basically Batman & Robin but without memorable quotes. I can't find a single reason why anyone would enjoy it other than people who love flashy colors and pg jokes.  I almost want to watch it again just to try to comprehend why there is a fanbase for it because I saw it originally before the whole internet fanbase got crazy over it after it bombed in theaters, or at least before I knew about it.

[TakingBackSunday]

TDK was an awesome movie and to be honest, I don't even know what the fuck you're talking about with some of the criticisms.

The only criticism I can understand is the end of movie one dealing with Harvey.  That's about the only thing I get.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Speed Racer is my MOTY for sure, it's sooooo good

[duckman2000]

I didn't think Ledger's performance was anything incredible, but he absolutely portrayed the perfect Joker.

[Madrun Badrun]

TAS >>> TDK >>> Batman > returns >>> BB >>. the rest.

[TakingBackSunday]

TAS >>> TDK >>> Batman > returns >>> BB >>. the rest.

Begins at the end?  That's certainly odd.

[Cheebs]

The best of TAS is fantastic and some of the best animated tv ever but there is A LOT of shitty kiddy episodes in TAS most seem to forget, or try to forget. Those alone make it impossible to be better than TDK in my eyes.

[Madrun Badrun]

TAS >>> TDK >>> Batman > returns >>> BB >>. the rest.

Begins at the end?  That's certainly odd.

I disliked BB a lot. 

[TakingBackSunday]

Eh, to each his own.  I can see why some people don't like it.  It's the same with me:  I'm so sick of Burton movies that his Batman flicks disgust me.

[cool breeze]

The Burton Batman movies aren't bad.  Personally I don't think they are comparable to either of Nolan's movies, but outsides of some scenes which are unwatchable now, they ain't bad.  Specifically the scene where Joker's goons mess up the art museum makes me want to vomit on Johnny Depp.

[duckman2000]

They are just different. I thought Nicholson did a good version of The Joker. I don't like that Joker anywhere near as much as I like the one Ledger portrayed, but it certainly fit in well with some comic version of the character.

[Cheebs]

[modkennylaine]

The best of TAS is fantastic and some of the best animated tv ever but there is A LOT of shitty kiddy episodes in TAS most seem to forget, or try to forget. Those alone make it impossible to be better than TDK in my eyes.

Yeah, but the best TAS eps are way way better than TDK and Kevin Conroy's Batman IS Batman. And I prefer Mark Hamill's Joker better as well. Also, c'mon, Harley Quinn.

How about Return of the Joker>everything else Batman on screen?

Oh, and Christian Bale's 'yuppie' Bruce Wayne demeanor is basically his Bateman from American Psycho.

[Cheebs]

The best TAS episodes are fantastic of course but I prefer the cinematic more adult style of the films than saturday morning cartoons, although they are good. I just can't compare cartoons to films (well good films), it just isn't possible IMO.

[Oblivion]

I enjoyed it, but there were a bunch of things that annoyed me about it. The most glaring might be the Joker's whole plot. Wait, no actually that would be Bale's awful Batman voice, then the Joker plot. Cracked explains it best:

"First, we find two empty buildings. Without the cops noticing, we'll secretly sneak in hundreds of drums of explosive liquids, and wire all of them to explode. Next, we'll orchestrate an attack on the convoy transporting Harvey Dent. This will involve blocking busy streets, blowing police helicopters out of the air and launching missiles at the armored car. All of this will be done, not to kill Dent (though that could happen at any moment) but to cause Batman to intervene so that he will throw me in jail.

Then, while the whole town is on alert, we go ahead and have our henchmen kidnap both Dent and Rachel Dawes and strap them in with the bombs in the two abandoned buildings. Then I'll send Batman after one of them, knowing that this will result in Rachel being killed and Dent being a certain distance from the explosion as to become grotesquely injured and disillusioned. Then I'll blow up the jail without accidentally killing myself. Gentlemen, it couldn't be simpler."

......


THE PROBLEM:

Really nothing, as long as absolutely every single event happens exactly as it did in the film, down to the millimeter and microsecond.

If the rocket blows up Dent's armored car instead of hitting the Batmobile, if the Batmobile doesn't happen to have a motorcycle hidden inside it, if somebody clears the makeshift roadblock out of the way before the convoy gets there, if traffic allows the cops to get to Rachel before Batman gets to Dent, if a cop happens to be stations out in front of Rachel's building when the cops get the coordinates, if a hunk of debris from the building hits Dent and kills him as he's escaping the explosion...

You get the idea.

Also, for the whole movie being based on the premise that Batman is the ultimate good, and would never kill under any circumstances, he sure created a helluva lot of collateral damage. You would think that launching missiles on the sidewalk would not be the safest thing to do...

And of course, the whole "Harvey died for our sins" thing was extremely nauseating. But I still enjoyed it more than most of the other movies I saw this year. (note: I only saw 2 other movies. One was the new James Bond film)

[Phoenix Dark]

this is the worst thread of December

[Cheebs]

this is the worst thread of December

go re-watch your ron howard dvd collection

[castle007]

Speed Racer is awesome