OT: Biggest "Dark Knight" gripe

[brywool]

Nothing worse than a low pitch raspy lisp for 2 hours. ugh... The movie rocked but was a bit too long at times. I thought they should have edited the film and killed off the Joker. At least that way if they do have another Joker, they don't have to pretend it's the same one.

You noticed that too, huh? I was just about to add that Bale speaks with a slight lisp that makes the growl even more annoying. The 2nd thing I really didn't like was that his cowl, though apparently more functional, didn't look nearly as good and didn't fit hit face well. He didn't have that classic "square jawed" Batman look that so many of the other actors did.

The suit was the best in the first Keaton one. The worst was the one that had nipples on it. WTF???

[finalfight]

I haven't seen TDK but Bale's American accents always bother me. It's the lisp, and I'm glad some here know what I'm talking about because none of my friends do...

The weirdest thing is he seems to have lost his identity in the real world recently. This Welshman now speaks in interviews with an accent somewhere between Brooklyn and Cockney!

[The_Noble_Cause]

Quite surprised at the negative reception to this.
I thought it was pretty much the same voice Bale used in 'Begins'.
In an otherwise brilliant film, I can't get too worked up over it.

[finalfight]

Quite surprised at the negative reception to this.
I thought it was pretty much the same voice Bale used in 'Begins'.
In an otherwise brilliant film, I can't get too worked up over it.

I believe he definitely had more lines as Batman this time, a fair bit of monologue in fact. Perhaps it just became more apparent over the lengthy running time.

I am sure the filmmakers will not be overly bothered whilst the money keeps rolling in.

[Ehwmatt]

I'm in the extreme minority both here and among my real life friends, but I like the voice a lot. Pretty bad ass to me. Oh well.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I believe he definitely had more lines as Batman this time, a fair bit of monologue in fact. Perhaps it just became more apparent over the lengthy running time.

Think you're right.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I'm in the extreme minority both here and among my real life friends, but I like the voice a lot. Pretty bad ass to me. Oh well.

When he delivers his lines in a muted whisper, (like at the scene of the bank heist), he is no worse than Keaton or any of his predecessors.
Its when he barks his lines that you begin to feel the occasional snicker coming on.
Again, no big deal.

[BobbyinTN]

I think it's the best Batman movie ever made and Heath deserves an Oscar. As for Bale's Batman voice, it was a little rough, but I think, (and don't assault me for this) but I think it fits the Bale's character he's created for Batman. When he's Bruce Wayne, he's the playboy billionaire, when he's Batman, he can let his rage out and channel it for what he has to do. The voice didn't distract me at all, but did make me want to clear my throat a couple of times.

As for Bale's "lisp" I think it's actually called a "lateral lisp" and for me that would be Bruce Wayne's biggest giveaway.

[Sarah]

I haven't seen TDK but Bale's American accents always bother me. It's the lisp, and I'm glad some here know what I'm talking about because none of my friends do...

The weirdest thing is he seems to have lost his identity in the real world recently. This Welshman now speaks in interviews with an accent somewhere between Brooklyn and Cockney!

He did interviews for Begins with American accents too. I suspect he just didn't want people to realize Batman was British...

[nutz4Neal]

Christian Bale had speaking lines in that movie? ...Didn't notice.

Me neither!

[Rhiannon]

Christian Bale had speaking lines in that movie? ...Didn't notice.

Me neither!

I knew I wasn't the only one.

[X factor]

I think it's the best Batman movie ever made and Heath deserves an Oscar. As for Bale's Batman voice, it was a little rough, but I think, (and don't assault me for this) but I think it fits the Bale's character he's created for Batman. When he's Bruce Wayne, he's the playboy billionaire, when he's Batman, he can let his rage out and channel it for what he has to do. The voice didn't distract me at all, but did make me want to clear my throat a couple of times.

As for Bale's "lisp" I think it's actually called a "lateral lisp" and for me that would be Bruce Wayne's biggest giveaway.

Right there with you Bob. Not gettin all the hate towards it. There are certainly some valid criticisms (the look of Gotham, for instance) but to say there's no tension, and it was a shitty film? Not getting that at all. I was completely rivited from start to finish...

[Don]

The first one with Michael Keaton is still my favorite. I know it was campy, but like Superman with Christopher Reeves, It was thrilling to see one of my comic book heros up on the big screen. It's really hard to recapture that initial feeling of excitement no matter how good the new ones are (for me anyway).

[finalfight]

http://black20.com/black20-trailer-park/battle-batmans

[Centaure]

http://timm84.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/dark-knight-review-how-do-you-respond-to-terror/

I approve this article.

Square peg, round hole.

That article is reaching way too far and crediting the movie as being something other than a big bang, high value popcorn movie. Beyond the occasional explosion or cacophony of noise the movie lacked tension and as such there are many better examples of movies that exploit the terrorism aspect far better.

Well... maybe you should read this great interview with the director... you will see that this is not only a big high value popcorn movie.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/145508 . Of course it wants to entertain the audience, like any Hitchcock movie. That doesn't mean it can't have some messages in it.

The film implies that Gotham's latest wave of psychos exist partly because of Batman, not in spite of him. His presence has unintended consequences in the same way that the U.S. presence in Iraq has consequences.
At the end of the first film we introduced the idea of escalation. Batman creates this extreme response to crime in Gotham—putting on a mask and jumping off rooftops. Well, what's that going to inspire from the criminals he's fighting? Batman has changed the world, but not all for the better. The use of force against an enemy is a tricky and fascinating thing to have in a story. And the film tries to make the point that everybody loses in these situations.

So it's not a stretch to look at Gotham and see shades of Baghdad?
Well, where I suppose I would see a parallel is the threat of chaos, which is something we very much deal with in this film. And in today's world, Baghdad is a powerful illustration of that. It's frightening to imagine in one of our own cities.

This is heavy stuff for a summer blockbuster.
[Laughs] In a way, but I hope it's also entertaining stuff. All of the political echoes that we're talking about—they're all things that rattle around in your brain afterward. The movie itself aims to be entertainment. But you've got to have some real fear that things are not going to turn out well. What we're trying for is genuine peril.

[NealIsGod]

I'm in the extreme minority both here and among my real life friends, but I like the voice a lot. Pretty bad ass to me. Oh well.

When he delivers his lines in a muted whisper, (like at the scene of the bank heist), he is no worse than Keaton or any of his predecessors.
Its when he barks his lines that you begin to feel the occasional snicker coming on.
Again, no big deal.

Yeah, I did like when the Joker said to Rachel, "A little fight in you. I like that." Then Batman appears out of nowhere and says, "Then you're gonna love me." and proceeds to kick his pasty ass.

[Rhiannon]

Yeah, I did like when the Joker said to Rachel, "A little fight in you. I like that." Then Batman appears out of nowhere and says, "Then you're gonna love me." and proceeds to kick his pasty ass.

That was my sig for like two weeks after I first saw the movie.

[RedWingFan]

Now here's a review that shares my gripes about the movie. I Love the part I highlighted below.

Batman's Worse Review Yet
Tuesday August 5 1:15 PM ET
By FilmStew Staff, FilmStew.com

Remember the name Rory Gibson, for he may well be the only person who can lay claim to having fallen asleep from boredom while watching The Dark Knight.

Among the journalistic duties performed by Rory Gibson of Australia's Courier-Mail newspaper is that of beer columnist for insert magazine The Good Life. His bio for the newspaper suggests that he "spends an inordinate amount of time researching the subject [of beer]," and certainly fans of The Dark Knight are going to assume he had a pint – or three – too many before taking in the box office busting Batman movie.

'It is way too long, way too boring and has a plot so convoluted it could only have been written by a dyslexic 12-year-old dosed up on Ritalin,' he writes on Monday, August 4th, revealing that he actually fell asleep at one point in the movie theater. 'When I woke up about half an hour later I honestly thought I had slept right through the movie and into the next screening session, because the story hadn't progressed.'

'The Joker was still blowing things up, and no one was doing anything concrete about it,' he continues. 'By my reckoning there were at least a dozen opportunities to put a bullet through his [the Joker's] brain and put us all out of our misery, but no, the film's director wanted us to suffer for almost three hours.'

Given the fact that the late Heath Ledger was born in Australia, it would seem almost a given that he would be afforded in this case automatic posthumous praise Down Under. But at press time, very surprisingly, nine of the 29 readers who had commented on the Gibson piece basically agreed with the writer's view of The Dark Knight, while a number of those taking him to task articulated the thought that he was deliberately being a contrarian just to attract attention.

'Sure, Heath Ledger makes a good Joker, but by keeping him on the screen for so long he ruined his good work,' Gibson concludes. 'Trust me, life is too short to waste time with this appalling movie.'

[finalfight]

This is comedy gold...!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYp33lD_RWw

[Ehwmatt]

I'm in the extreme minority both here and among my real life friends, but I like the voice a lot. Pretty bad ass to me. Oh well.

When he delivers his lines in a muted whisper, (like at the scene of the bank heist), he is no worse than Keaton or any of his predecessors.
Its when he barks his lines that you begin to feel the occasional snicker coming on.
Again, no big deal.

Yeah, I did like when the Joker said to Rachel, "A little fight in you. I like that." Then Batman appears out of nowhere and says, "Then you're gonna love me." and proceeds to kick his pasty ass.

Yeah that part was GREAT. Classic corny cheesy comic book line but delivered so bad ass that it was... well, bad ass