The Dark Knight The Non-Spoiler Critic Review Thread

[Keyser Soze]

Over on the spoiler boards, they have a thread collecting reviews for the film. However, the thread has become spoiler city, with everyone discussing the ending in detail, and some not using tags. I've already had much more spoiled than I wanted, and I'm unhappy about that, as I only wanted to read/talk about reviews. So, so no one else falls into the same trap that I did, here is a thread where we can post the critic reviews as they are made available, without having to navigate through the spoilerific discussion.

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Rolling Stone - 3.5/4

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/16155928/review/21477208/the_dark_knight

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Film1 (Netherlands) - 5/5

http://www.filmfocus.nl/specials/item3.php?id=10309

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The Movie Blog - 8.5/10

http://www.themovieblog.com/2008/06/the-dark-knight-review

(WARNING: This one, while not overtly spoiling the ending, makes some allusions toward the ending that you might be able to draw some pretty big conclusions from.)

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San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/27/entertainment/e043445D39.DTL

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Emanuel Levy - A-

http://emanuellevy.com/article.php?articleID=10176

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Collider

http://www.collider.com/entertainment/news/article.asp/aid/8335/tcid/1

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MTV.com - separate reviews for different aspects, all very positive

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1590122/story.jhtml

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Comic Book Resources

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17013

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Ropes of Silicon

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/movie_review_the_dark_knight

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Australian Herald Sun

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23943142-2902,00.html

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IGN - 5/5

http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/884/884876p1.html

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Moriarty at Ain't It Cool News

I'm not linking to this one, as apparently the later part of the review goes on to discuss spoilery elements of the film. But here is the non-spoiler segment of the review, kindly provided by abcdefz:

Spoiler

Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.

The only way to truly discuss these films and why they matter is by getting into the marrow of them, the real thematic meat. That means spoilers, but I want to offer you some non-spoiler thoughts before that, so you can get the overview if that’s all you want.


And make no mistake... these films matter. If you’re a fan of film... not just comic-book movies, and not just nerd genre movies, but film of any kind... then you owe it to yourself to see both THE DARK KNIGHT and HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY in the theater, on the best screen you can find. These are big theatrical films, huge in scale, obviously high-tech in terms of film craft, but they’re more than that...


... these films are art. Real art. Undeniable art. Adult films about adult ideas. Richly imagined, beautifully acted by some tremendous ensembles, these are both films that represent the very best of what can happen when the right filmmaker gets hold of the right source material and then makes all the right choices.


I think it’s a shame that people have leapt right to merciless hyperbole in describing the merits of these movies, because it’s going to set audiences up with some unrealistic expectations. I’m reading that DARK KNIGHT is either THE GODFATHER PART II or THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and I’m hearing that HELLBOY II is as great as the original STAR WARS. Huge claims. Pretty much the pinnacle of hyperbole. You say things like that to someone, they’re going to walk into a theater with a chip on their shoulder, needing the film to do more than entertain or provoke. They’re expecting life-altering events at that point.


These are not life-altering events, of course. But they may be genre-altering events. When I wrote my reviews of WANTED and HANCOCK at the start of the weekend, I said that the films disappointed me because I felt like they aimed so low. They just didn’t feel like cohesive movies... instead, they were collections of decent ideas with nothing to hold them together.


With both THE DARK KNIGHT and HELLBOY II, you can tell that the filmmakers are aiming high. They respect the audience and they respect the characters they’re writing, the worlds they’re creating, the moral landscapes they are dealing with. It’s almost disconcerting how little they bow to the conventions of the genre so far with these films. It took me a while to settle into the rhythms of THE DARK KNIGHT because it wasn’t anything I expected it to be. Even having seen the prologue on the bigscreen once before, I didn’t get what tone Nolan was going to hit with this film, and as the film’s first act played out, I realized just how far he was willing to go, and it left me nervous, off-balance, exactly the way a film featuring the Joker should. For the first time ever, I felt like anything could happen whenever he would shamble onscreen, looking like something that just crawled out of a wet grave. I’ve always felt that when the Joker makes a joke, he should be the only one who laughs while everyone else is busy cowering in fear or throwing up. Well, looks like Chris and Jonah Nolan feel the same way, because this is a vile tornado of suffering that sweeps through Gotham, a destructive force in clown makeup, his facial scars a mere hint of just how twisted he is inside. He’s not a villain like we normally see in these movies, and he’s not even the Joker we normally see in Batman stories. He’s the film’s grand metaphor, given voice by an actor who vanishes into the role, and he’s only one of the many merits of THE DARK KNIGHT....

I think one of the reasons I’m so smitten with these films is because it’s next to impossible to make a “personal” film on the scale of these movies. You’re talking about an $85 million film for HELLBOY 2, and about $100 million more than that for THE DARK KNIGHT. These are gigantic investments for the releasing companies, and it would not surprise me in the least to see them diluted or dumbed-down. That’s just the nature of this industry, and we’ve come to expect it. So when you see films that truly seem to represent someone’s personal take on such gigantic archetypes, it’s bracing. It’s not just entertainment for a few hours in a theater... it’s an affirmation that there is room for greatness in this business, and sometimes, it’s allowed to happen, or even encouraged to flourish.


With THE DARK KNIGHT, for example, Chris Nolan accomplishes something that both WAR OF THE WORLDS and CLOVERFIELD tried to do, and with more grace and insight. Those films both used 9/11 imagery to resonate with viewers, and in both cases, the imagery is certainly arresting and upsetting, but to what end? Just to remind us? Just to tap into the fear we felt that day? Here, Nolan invokes 9/11, but he pushes past it to also deal with the fear that has stayed with us as a culture since that moment, and also the way it forced the world around us to change. This is the first mainstream movie to fully digest the events of September 11th and to deal with them in a way that starts to sort out who we are now as a result. Heady stuff for a movie about a dude wearing a bat suit who beats the **** out of criminals, but then... isn’t that the point?


I’m not sure why you guys like superhero stories, and I’m not sure what you require when watching one to say that it’s successful. For me, the notion of superpowered people beating each other up isn’t the appeal. It’s simply a way of getting to other ideas. The Greeks used gods as their storytelling archetypes, while we use superheroes instead. It's understandable, since superhero stories allow us to explore shades of gray using characters who are either all good or all bad. When you set up polar extremes like that and then you put them into moral positions where there are no easy answers, it’s a great way to deal with provocative or challenging material in a way that’s more palatable for many audiences. They may not even realize that you’re tackling the subtext... they just absorb the surface level, and everything else works on them in more subtle ways.


The script the Nolans wrote (based on a story they worked out with David Goyer, who told me today “I can’t believe my name is on a movie this good&#8221 uses the last scene of BATMAN BEGINS as a jumping-off point. This movie’s entire thematic subtext was established in that last great moment on the rooftop when Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) handed the playing card to Batman (Christian Bale) and talked to him about the notion of escalation. Here, every scene plays to that idea, and it’s obvious that the Nolans believe that a world of people living by the credo of “an eye for an eye” will quickly go blind. No one escapes this movie without fresh scars. No one gets out without losing something dear to them. If Warner Bros. wanted to title this like the first film, they could have called it BATMAN FAILS, because no matter what he does in this film, he finds himself unable to stem the overflow of **** that threatens his city. He can’t fly around the world to turn back time when something goes wrong. He can’t erase memories or do magic or just magically reset everything and try again. Each time things get worse, all he can do is adjust and try to move on from there, until it finally reaches a point where he isn’t sure there’s any way to adjust anymore. What do you do when every good effort has failed and every good man has been cut down? When chaos and darkness overwhelm you, and even a clear-cut hero can be corrupted, is there any point in even continuing the fight?


I’m not sure kids under 14 or 15 should see this film. For one thing, they won’t understand a lot of it. I don’t think moral ambiguity is one of the things kids look for in their movies. For another thing, the parts they do understand will probably scare the **** out of them. This movie pushed the PG-13 to the breaking point, and I’m not sure how Warner Bros. pulled it off. Harvey Dent’s face post-accident should have pushed them out of the PG-13 all by itself, but it’s saying something when that graphic image is actually one of the least upsetting things in the film. For anyone else, though, I recommend it highly. The action sequences are inventive and grand-scaled, but the character scenes and the quiet headgames are even more engrossing. The score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer is one of the year’s best, with the Joker’s themes coming across like razors being dragged across harpsichord strings. Wally Pfister’s photography is, as expected, stunning, and in particular, his work in IMAX is revelatory.


Oh, yeah... the IMAX. Have I said “Holy ****!” yet? Because if not... holy ****. I’m sure you’ve read that Nolan decided to shoot six major sequences in the film in IMAX. This is the first time a major studio narrative film has lensed sequences in the format. The cameras are a nightmare to move, they hold only three minutes of film, and they’re so noisy it makes it almost impossible to record dialogue live. Even so, I’ll bet we see Nolan work in the format again, because the results are so immersive and startling that they’re worth whatever headaches are involved. The way it works is the IMAX sequences are all projected full frame, so they fill the entire eight-story screen at a ratio of 1.44:1. When the IMAX sequences end, the movie pops into a 2.40:1 letterboxed ratio that’s still pretty damn gigantic. And for regular theaters showing the film, you’ll see everything at 2.40:1, although I’m willing to bet you notice a marked visual difference for certain scenes. It’s not just the size of an IMAX frame... it’s the clarity. It’s the way you get lost in it and no matter where you work, there’s some detail you can notice that might otherwise be lost. It’s the way each motion of the camera pulls you in and makes you feel like you’re moving with it. But more than anything, it’s the way the faces of the actors tower over you, the operatic emotion of this piece cranked up even further by the sheer scale of things. When you look into someone’s eyes, you get a sense of who they are. And in IMAX? It’s like you can see right inside them, which only makes Ledger’s work more disturbing.


Aaron Eckhart deserves some praise as well for the way he brings Harvey Dent to life, and for finding a way to play earnest without becoming overbearing. Dent’s a more difficult role than the Joker in many ways because there aren’t as many big emotions you can play. He’s a decent, upstanding man who believes in doing things right, in prosecuting criminals instead of fighting them on a street level, and little by little, he’s actually making a difference. Eckhart gives the guy an inner life, just enough quirk to make him seem human, so that when the inevitable tragedy (which really is awful as laid out in the film) occurs, it’s not a simple on-off cartoonish lurch into violence for Dent. We feel it. We believe it. Dent’s physical trauma may be exaggerated, but the emotional side of it is pitch-perfect. And his work as Two-Face is just sad and angry. He’s nothing like the Joker. Hell, I’m not even sure I’d call him a villain....

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Newsarama

http://www.newsarama.com/film/080630-dark-knight-review.html

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Acidic Insight

http://sans777.wordpress.com/

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The Sun (UK)

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/article1365223.ece

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First Showing

http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/07/01/the-dark-knight-an-extraordinary-cinematic-revolution/

(The writer, Alex Billington, says this isn't a review. But it does have lots of positive feedback on the film. If he posts a more in-depth review I'll add it here.)

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Film School Rejects - A+

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/reviews/movie-review-the-dark-knight.php

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/Film

http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/07/01/10-reasons-why-i-loved-the-dark-knight/

(Again, not their review, but an article praising the film)

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JoBlo's Movie Emporium: 10/10

http://joblo.com/review-dark-knight

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Bloody Disgusting

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/blog/entry.php?id=173

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Movieweb - 5/5

http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/81/4381/review5717.php

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Comics 2 Film

http://www.comics2film.com/index.php?a=story&b=34331

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Star Pulse

http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/Led..._21&vxChannel=Fox+News+Local+-+Detroit#header

(Video review. Click on "The Dark Knight is coming")

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CHUD - 8.5/10

http://chud.com/articles/articles/15382/1/REVIEW-THE-DARK-KNIGHT-NICK039S-TAKE/Page1.html

(Apparently the review contains some hints at spoilers. I've not read the full review, but posted it here if you're interested.)

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Variety (Justin Chang)

http://www.variety.com/VE1117937619.html

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The Hollywood Reporter

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=11376

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Batman on Film - A+

http://www.batman-on-film.com/TDK_TDK-review_billramey_7-8.html

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UGO

http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18860&sectionId=7

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Dark Horizons

http://www.darkhorizons.com/reviews/darkknight.php

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Coming Soon - 9/10

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/reviewsnews.php?id=46667

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TIME

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1821365,00.html

(Be warned, apparently there are spoilers in the fourth paragraph.)

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DVD Talk - 5/5

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/33874/dark-knight-the/

(Apparently there are quite specific plot points discussed in paragraph 2, so be careful.)

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Entertainment News International

http://enewsi.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=464&limit=recent

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Dave Poland's The Hot Button

http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotbutton/2008/07/the_darkest_longest_knight.html

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Inquirer

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/you/vidvibe/view/20080711-147869/In-darkest-Knight

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Newsweek (David Ansen)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/145509?tid=relatedcl

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The Associated Press (Christy Lemire)

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iUvapV7uiTjWOI_9iZLReK94LzRwD91RPTBO1

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Soundtrack.Net - 4.5/5

http://soundtrack.net/movies/database/?id=5812

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Ebert & Roeper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UELDTKPC-lo

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New York Magazine (David Edelstein)

http://nymag.com/movies/reviews/48514/

(WARNING: I've not read this review, because apparently there are heavy spoilers in here. Enter at your own risk!)

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Horror.com

http://www.horror.com/php/article-2022-1.html

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Sci-Fi Movie Page - 4/4

http://www.scifimoviepage.com/dark_knight.html

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Screen Daily

http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=39761

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The New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2008/07/21/080721crci_cinema_denby

(WARNING: This one is spoilerific. Immediately he launches into the spoilers. It might be stuff you already know (or have at least guessed) but still, tread carefully.)

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Urban Cinefile

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=14515&s=Reviews

(Be careful, some mild spoilage)

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[Firm18]

Wow Keyser it's a shame it spoiled some things for you...

But anyway thanks for this thread I stopped going in to the spoiler thread for a long time, I never knew how can people spoil stuff like that for there selfs.

The reviews looking good, and good raitings, I can't wait!

 

[kyuubijavi1]

God i love how every review states this is the best movie of the year
I hope they continue on like this, and this is a well needed thread i dont wanna know bout the ending a month away from the movie o.e

 

[JStorm]

I like the idea, and great thread.

However, from this point on - for me - I plan on just reading the "star" review, rather than the written.

 

[abcdefz]

Yeah -- with all the reviews coming out now, I'm off the spoiler board until
I see the movie. I was just there a minute ago looking at the thread Keyser is talking about and I think I clicked away just in time.

 

[the_monk]

THANKS FOR THIS THREAD! I'm staying out of that other place now.

 

[Yurka]

Great Idea Keyser, I like what Im seeing so far

 

[Frank Noir]

Thanks for this. I'm from the Netherlands and that review is great. I especially like this line:

Spoiler

You won't know if you have to laugh out loud or crawl behind your seat in terror when faced with the wicked ways of the psychopathic clown.

Great job!

 

[Anita18]

I'm also rather that people are freaking out over speculation and "how would Nolan top this."

Nolan does not think in multiple movies. Wally Pfister (who's worked with him for nearly 10 years) did not know they were making another Batman movie until they were nearly done with The Prestige. Wally's learned not to ask him about his long-term plans, maybe we should do the same.

Anyhows you can keep an eye on the first post of the critics review thread (which I will be adding reviews to), and I can keep on eye on this. Therefore, we'll definitely have all of them covered.

Nearly all of the reviews have at least minor spoilers in them, so I'd suggest people who want to go into this cold, just look at the scores instead.

 

[Frank Noir]

I'm also rather that people are freaking out over speculation and "how would Nolan top this."

Right, me too. Never underestimate Nolan & Co. They have a while to come up with something and I'm sure it will blow us away.

 

[abcdefz]

Well, Nolan is lined up to do a film version of The Prisoner next. That should be interesting.

 

[Anita18]

Well, Nolan is lined up to do a film version of The Prisoner next. That should be interesting.

I've never seen the original, but it sounds interesting already! t:

Who's writing it? I though Jonah was lined up to do "Interstellar" for Steven Spielberg.

 

[Pennyworth]

from this point on - for me - I plan on just reading the "star" review, rather than the written.

Me too.

THANKS FOR THIS THREAD! I'm staying out of that other place now.

It's hard for me, but I'm trying...I started looking at some of the photos that have recently been posted and regretted it.

I'm also rather that people are freaking out over speculation and "how would Nolan top this."

Seriously. Can't we just sit back and enjoy what's in front of us without fretting over what's next.

 

[abcdefz]

From slashfilm.com:


If that doesn't get you excited, than know this: The screenplay is being written by Janet and David Peoples - the scribes that previously brought you Blade Runner, Unforgiven and Twelve Monkeys.

 

[luke1234]

Thanks a lot Keiser, the movie was basically spoiled to me as well. kinda pissed but oh well. Great thread idea

 

[Anita18]

From slashfilm.com:


If that doesn't get you excited, than know this: The screenplay is being written by Janet and David Peoples - the scribes that previously brought you Blade Runner, Unforgiven and Twelve Monkeys.

Ah, interesting. We'll have to see how that turns out - to me, Nolan is best when he has a large part in writing the script.

 

[abcdefz]

Yeah, but I think Insomnia is really solid.

 

[the_monk]

The Prisoner was a crazy TV show. Totally weird stuff. The Simpsons did a parody of it once.

I can't wait to see what Nolan does with it.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

http://blogs.ktla.com/ktlamorningnews/2008/06/urgent-from-sam.html

''I just returned from a screening and I wanted to commit this to a public forum as quickly as possible. Heath Ledger gives a blockbuster performance in the new Batman movie. His work, as The Joker, will absolutely be nominated for an Oscar, and at this point in the year, Ledger is also a hands-down favorite to win it posthumously. Ledger offers perfect pitch, perfect tone, his Joker hits all the right notes. 'The Dark Knight' is among the better super-hero movies of all time, and Ledger is THE BEST villain in a super hero movie of all time. Really. It will only add to the conversation of all that Ledger could have accomplished had he lived. Amazing work.''

 

[abcdefz]

Nice!

 

[Keyser Soze]

Thanks for the support, guys. I'm glad you all appreciate the thread.

 

[Conebone69]

Love the idea of this thread being in the non spoilers. Now I can check the reviews without being spoiled

 

[Conebone69]

Hey keyser, you should put a little quote that sums up their review under whoevers reviewing it. Like anita did in the spoilers one

 

[Mike53421]

Short of the long: very good reviews so far.

From Anita's post:

Rolling Stone - 3.5/4

Quote:
Heads up: a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies. The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan's absolute stunner of a follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins, is a potent provocation decked out as a comic-book movie. Feverish action? Check. Dazzling spectacle? Check. Devilish fun? Check. But Nolan is just warming up. There's something raw and elemental at work in this artfully imagined universe. Striking out from his Batman origin story, Nolan cuts through to a deeper dimension.
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/...he_dark_knight

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Film1 (Netherlands) - 5/5

Quote:
Expectations for The Dark Knight, the sequel to Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins were astronomical after a briliant viral marketing campaign. This sets off most film critics' Spider Senses: "Surely the film can't live up to the hype" is your first thought. It also proves both right and wrong, as The Dark Knight doesn't just live up to your expectations, it breaks through the glass ceiling of your wildest dreams!
http://www.filmfocus.nl/specials/item3.php?id=10309

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Devin and Nick at CHUD have seen it but have yet to write reviews - we think it'll be around 7 out of 10

Quote:
Devin: It's okay to good. It's more consistently good than BEGINS, with no serious third act f***ery.
Quote:
Nick: I liked it. Didn't love it. So much good stuff, it's a shame some of the story and editing decisions threw it out of whack. Ledger, Eckhart, and Oldman ROCK.
I refuse to link to their site because they are tossing up big-time plot-revealing spoilers like rice at a wedding.

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The Movie Blog - 8.5/10

Quote:
This is a fantastic movie! Yes it’s too long, yes one or two of the characters are wasted… but aside from that it is a wonderfully told, MAGNIFICENTLY acted and beautifully shot comic book movie that ranks amongst one of the best films (not just comic book films) of the year so far. Not just a great comic movie… it is a great movie period.
Caution: contains a minor spoiler that may lead to rampant speculation - http://www.themovieblog.com/2008/06/...-knight-review

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SFGate - no score, but very positive, "a true crime epic"

Quote:
The buzz over Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" for the last several months was justified. With his final full film role, Ledger delivers what may be remembered as the finest performance of his career.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...e043445D39.DTL

 

[jm9843]

One minor correction: the review/early look being attributed to the SFGate is actually an Associated Press article. I spotted it on cnn.com as well this morning.