The TV Addict 

Answers to questions:
1. Yes, He was awesome. ONe of the best performances i’ve seen by him.
2. He chose Rachel he even tells the cheif he is going after her. So the JOker definitely tricked him
3. I’m an romantic so i go with love
4. I think it was a great choice
5. NOPE!
6. YeAh i gotta admit i fell for it.
7. LOL MAYBE
8. Maybe the people on the boats that showed that the were actually better than they even thought.
9. Hmmmm… makes for a dramatic and DARK ending. And sets up a great third movie.
10. I’m just a little confused about the lore between Batman and Joker. Wasn’t the Joker the man that killed Batman’s parents? HELP.. Truthfully i loved it.
11. LMAO that was the best scene. The entire movie theater laughed. Which come to think of it worries me a little about the American public. (hey maybe its just New York)
12. LOL no comment
13. I can’t think of anythink else coming out this summer that is making as much buzz. Hey maybe the Mummy will surprise us.

Jess - You’re right about No. 2. Because he was speaking in his Batman voice when he left the station, I couldn’t quite make if he said “Rachel,” but another friend assured me he did. Which means he did switch the addresses. Jerk.

About No. 11. I know how you feel. After that scene I was laughing and thought “That was a bad-ass.” The theatre felt the same. Then I stopped and thought: “Wait, I’m clapping at the fact that a guy just got murdered with a pencil to the face….”

Linda B. - Also, regarding No. 2. The Joker did actually know Batman was soft on Rachel. During the interrogation scene he mentions that he noticed Batman dived a little too enthusiastically after Rachel when The Joker threw her out the window. You also raise an excellent point with your No. 8 answer, haha.

1. Yes! Aaron Eckhart was great. Overshadowed by Heath Leger’s already buzzed about role and untimely death. I guess you could say the Joker’s theatrics and charisma stole the show, people were more interested in seeing wha sadistic move he was going to make next. But in his respect, Eckhart was great, very believable.

2. Yeah, I have to agree with everyone. Batman clearly chose Rachel and yes the Joker does make a reference in the interrogation room abou Batman diving for Rachel. Joker set the whole thing up.

3. Rachel of course, he loved her.

4. Taking out Rachel was a good thing, it was a great climax and introduced us to Two Face. It also set the tone for the dark premise of the movie. I liked the subplot love story…what does everyone think about the letter she wrote Bruce and how sad was it when alfred was ablout to give it to him until he thought the complete opposite. My questions…Should Alfred have shown Bruce the letter one day or was it better to burn it?

5. Well, I thought so. They did have a memorial service for him, but then again the Gordon death fooled me somehow. It would be great to bring Harvey back for a sequel and give Eckhart the shine he deserves.

6. Uh, see 5 tee hee…

7. In this movie, there aren’t enough death related questions well because…a lot of people die!

8. The citizens of Gotham won in a way. We were shown in the boat scene that Harvey Dent’s influenced them in believing that Gotham could be a better place and in the end to do the right thing. They are no longer the plaqued, savages that take advantage of their streets, they have in a sense learned to “protect” their city and each other (shown metaphorically in this scene).

9. Blaming the Joker would have diminished the hope in the citizens of a better Gotham. That would indeed claim the Joker as the winner. Batman also needed a reason to show Gotham that they didn’t “need” him anymore, why not start a rebellion to initiate the process…and then make a third film.

10. Yeah Batman’s emphysema voice! To Linda B’s number 10 answer…I was confused at first too about the scars. But that’s just the Joker’s way of having fun, he is a sociopath and not to be trusted. The fact that he actually got in MY head with those stories is so frightening that it reminds me of what a great job Heath Ledger did as The Joker. The Joker has no real emotion - no remorse, no compassion. My theory is that he feel so deep into his persona, that he gave himself the scars…to keep smile on his face.

11. Whenever I stabbed myself with a pencil…accidentally people…I was an art major! I just remember the lead having its own…special sting. So its one thing to be stabbed, another to be stabbed in the head with a pencil!!

12. I literally leaned over and asked that same question! Im like, wuts up with the man liner???

13. Bout as long as The Departed!

1) I couldn’t agree more. I almost enjoyed Aaron Eckhardt more because I wasn’t expecting it.

3) If I was Batman I would have chosen Harvey. Alfred even says in the first movie, “What you have to do can’t be personal. You have to be bigger than that.” Not to mention we’re dealing with a man who has a pathological desire for order and justice and Harvey was the means to that.

To be honest, Batman choosing to save a girl he found kind of fetching, instead of a good and great man, was the only low point in what is swiftly becoming one of my favourite movies.

1) Eckhart was great, completely erased the tommy lee jones abomination. if anything, i think that his performance isn’t being heralded as much because the bar was set so low. people do not look back and fondly remember batman forever’s two-face and that horrible manic acting. Nicholson created a very popular character (even if purists didn’t like that he was basically playing Jack in make-up), and there was so much controversy when Ledger was hired, that the buzz started right away. whereas most ppl said “oh aaron eckhart is dent? ya that will probably work”.. the expectation level just wasnt the same. he was great in his role, played the part perfectly. but heath’s performance is legendary now, there’s no getting away from that.

2) Batman chose Rachel; he definitely said that to Gordon. Joker DID know that Batman had feelings for her, how he “threw himself after her”, but beyond that, he had his plan to bring down the White Knight, but not to kill him; he needed Dent to survive, but to be ruined. Plus, its exactly the kind of thing Joker would do, play a joke nobody thinks is funny but him.

3) I would have wanted to choose Dent, greater good and all, but it was Rachel. He would have chosen her over himself.

4) Great move. Gave the character some depth, her last scene was great acting. Gave Dent the motivation to become Two-Face, his sense of loss was palpable. Took away Batman’s one chance at a normal life.. thematically speaking, it opens so many doors and the character served her purpose well.

5) 99% yes. his character arc was the soul of the movie, and it ended pretty on a pretty good note. however, i 100% think you cannot re-cast the joker, not yet anyway. no actor will want to do an impression of Heath, and if someone did it differently, they’d be ripped to shreds (only exception being an actor of day lewis or depp’s level that comes in and reinvents it, but i won’t hold my breath for that to happen). so if you lose the joker as the adversary, the personal history he know has with two-face would be a climactic end to the series if he is the villain in #3. but, i also want them to do BANE (not at ALL like the grunting henchman in Batman & Robin, he’s a criminal genius damnit), so i kinda hope he is dead. let batman’s sacrifice hold up.

6) not really… but i had read reviews saying that Nolan wasn’t holding anything back, so i did wonder for a bit where.. still tho, he can’t die before becoming commissioner.

7) nope. its a dark movie people. deal with it, or go watch iron man if you want a light comicbook movie. The Dark Knight is a graphic novel movie.

well the Joker won his main goal of destroying Dent, but only Batman and Gordon know that, so really I’ll agree that the city of Gotham wins, because they still have the memory of the White Knight, they proved they aren’t detonator-happy savages, and they still have the Batman protecting them from the shadows. They did however lose the groovy batsignal.

9) not a bad question.. likely because the Joker announced all his crimes so brazenly, and lept escalating things, it wouldnt be all that credible that he also was going around quietly shooting corrupt cops while also rigging ferries and threatening the whole city. besides, batman was getting weak because criminals knew his moral code.. even though he still has it, they now think that he will kill if he has to.

10) If anything, too short. I would love to see the 3 hr cut.

11) compare that scence to Nicholson defacing paintings in the museum or dancing around to prince. THAT is how Joker is supposed to be. The writing was phenomenal obviously, but look at what Heath did. “wanna see a magic trick” “and here we go” “lets put a smile..” those are just words on paper, Heath brought them to terrifying life. the pencil scene and him walking out of the hospital were my two fave Joker moments.

12) nestor looks like that in everything he does, laramie project, lost, etc. so either he’s OCD and cant leave the house without eyeliner, or he just naturally looks like that. i’ll go with (b).

13) watchmen comes out in march? yeah, around then maybe.

14) alfred made a similar decision to the one batman made. the truth getting out would only cause pain, so he’ll make the sacrifice to carry that knowledge on his own. It’s the kind of decision a father would make, and thats how alfred sees bruce, as his son.

15) LOVE that we never got a real origin story for Joker. He doesnt need one. did seeing how hannibal lector grew up make him more or less frightening to you? exactly (as long as you said less). this way, we can all project whatever history we want on the character.

1. I thought Heath Ledger out shown everyone in the movie. Eckhart did a great job. However, I was never convinced that he was the hero. He was set up by Batman as his alter-ego foil.

2. No

3. Rachel. There was nothing to gain by losing her and saving Dent. Dent was expendable. He was a plot device in Batman’s narrative with the people of Gotham City.

4. It was the logical choice. It will drive Batman’s desire for vengeance deeper into his persona.

5. No. But how do you top The Joker, one of the greatest film villains ever. There is a huge difference between The Joker’s total anarchic amorality, and Batman’s and Dent’s moral obsession for vengeance.

6. No. It was a logical progression of the story. Killing off Gordon didn’t advance the story. He’s the sort of humble heroic figure that the film needed to contrast with the various degrees of darkenss in the three main characters - Batman, The Joker and Havey Two-faced.

7. No. The movie is about death, both living and final.

8. The people of Gotham City who found the courage not to kill to save their own skins. They were the true heroic foil to the others.

9. Because they needed to maintain the myth of Dent’s heroism in opposition to Batman’s anti-heroism. Batman fights crime in the shadows, but can’t be the hero. The movie is saying where are our heroes, where is goodness, truth and hope. Subtly, it is saying it is within us.

10. If you had not seen Batman Begins, you would not as easily understand Batman’s motives. The picture forces the viewer to understand Batman not from who he is, but from who his arch-rivals are. I found his character a bit too obscure.

11. I thought was gratuitous. Not very believable. Though I’ve only seen it once, but the pencil was sticking in the table. If so, then he was impaled by the eraser head end. I’d have to see it again to make sure.

12. I’m certain that there is a subtext here that was left on the editing floor.

13. Another month, and then it will pick up when the DVD comes out.

14. Yes. Good call. I was never convinced by the romantic relationship between Harvey and Rachel. They seemed to need each other for different reasons. I think she saw in him the hero that she saw in Bruce/Batman, but could not reach. It was best for Bruce Wayne to believe that there was hope. It is about all he has left emotionally.

15. No, I didn’t need to understand. To understand is to find a reason to emphasize with him. That would have weakened the character. It was better that he was totally amoral, without any remorse for his crimes, without any clear reason why. What I found compelling is that The Joker understood his sociopathology as freedom. Freedom from all rules to do whatever you want. Total anarchy. To the filmmakers, is The Joker a legitimate choice in our society? If so, what is the answer in the end?

Jess no about number 10 because remember in the first movie the girl killed bruce’s parents murderer after the hearing. And bruce was going to, which he would have died either way. and also for question number 14 alfred should have burned the note because Batman was already depressed about rachel’s death and also that note said that she was never going to be with him which would destroyed and also he would have left the responsability of being the guardian of gotham and left it to fall.