I'm not saying enhanced appreciation can't be gained from second viewings. You also migh enjoy the foreshadowing in most novels if you re-read them.

But the second viewing can't be required to enjoy the film or it's a failure, in my book.

The Dark Knight's plot seemed a rambling mess to me. And I still loved it. But if the plot only becomes concrete to me this weekend when I see it again, it gets a fail from me in the plot department. In fact, it gets a total F from me if there's a concrete plot that cannot be comprehended on the first viewing.

I happen to think it's just a rambling, chaotic story. That's not a disqualifier for me. In this case, the chaos adds to the theme while distracting from the plot. It all comes out a wash.

For a lesser film, the rambling plot would have been a death-knell. For Dark Knight ... not so much. Too many other charms. Heck, I frelling HATE Christian Bale as Batman ... and I still love this movie.

I sort of more or less agree with you. I didn't feel it was plot-less. I just felt the plot lacked depth. In the end I found a coherent point that made sense, but too much of the movie seemed to not serve that point but rather existed purely as filler. Or, the parts that were serving the point were doing so redundantly, rehashing the same thing several times rather than imparting anything new. The question remains for me whether that feeling is the result of an actual lack of depth or a failure to communicate the depth it had. If the latter, it'll go up a notch in my book. Yes, I agree, it will still lose points for failing to communicate its depth the first time around, but the fact that, to me, the plot redeemed itself in the end, plus the existence of Beyond, which I felt did an exemplary job of communicating its point throughout with very little wasted effort, is enough for me to give it somewhat of a chance to redeem itself.

I think the plot was meant to be chaotic. The Joker was chaotic, the movie was Jokercentric. We were experiencing their lives while living with chaos. Poorly edited, maybe - the ballroom scene was the only scene I did a wtf, what about.... in.

I also want to know when the Joker was able to retouch his make-up. In jail it was caking together and you could see bits of flesh on his forehead. After he escaped it was covered up.

Baloney. There's a difference between communicating chaos vs. actually not creating a coherent plot. Again, I didn't feel confused or lost, I just felt unengaged and like nothing meaningful was happening. If that's what was intended I suppose it succeeded.

I wish I hadn't seen Dark Knight again. I was bored.


Yeah, there's no plot. It's just a series of events, admittedly all adversarial between the Joker and the rest of the world. Heath Ledger was still entertaining. Christian Bale's Batman growl still retarded (it annoyed the hell out of my first-time-viewer companion). But the lack of any kind of actual story just left me feeling blah about the whole thing.


Still, it's the darkest, most moody, least comic-ish Batman movie, and i give it props for that. But I hold it in less high regard now that I've seen it again. After the debacle with Indiana Jones, I think I'll adhere to a once-only summer movie policy from now on.

Probably a good policy, but I still contend that if you didn't pick up on the fear theme running through Batman Begins you owe it another viewing.

I've seen it twice. Now, of course, I'm anxious to see it again, and will soon.

Wow.

Do I have this straight?

TDK is at $314,245,000.00 at this moment.

Indiana Jones 4 is at $313,626,000.00 at this moment.

TDK came out last week!
ID4 came out on May 22nd!!!

Indy just got his a$s kicked! And Iron Man is next it seems!

ETA: Okay, TDK didn't exactly come out last week. More like July 18....

Yup. Biggest single day, biggest opening weekend, biggest 2nd weekend, fastest to $300 Million, beating Indiana Jones and the Last Frigidaire by 4 days. At this rate you start wonder if it's time to start talking Titanic. I don't think this is the greatest movie ever, but I sure as hell liked it enough better than Titanic to consider that a good thing.

Hmmm, I had no trouble getting into the prime Saturday night showing at the largest theater in West Los Angeles. Wasn't sold out, just walked up and bought tickets. Hmmmm. Must be playing on a zillion screens.