film is AMAZING, heath ledger regrettably overhyped...definitely a great character, but all the pre-discussion raised the bar of expectations so high that i wasn't awed by the real thing.

I am Batman

Good, but too long. When will directors realize that audience attention spans are shortening?

Ledger will probably still get the Oscar, posthumously.

unbecoming of bruce wayne, perhaps (although beating up your long-ago murdered mother would be pretty darn extreme). but it seems like patrick bateman might do.

LAT!!!

Do an open thread on bonus predictions for this year at Vault15 firms (arbitrary, but I had to set a cut-off somewhere).

I work at one and I predict we will get zilch.

He must have put his mother and sister in apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact. Damn! I hope my mind goes back to normal after the bar exam.

fyi, Jones Day had a Batman viewing last Friday.

The movie was AWESOME! Definitely lived up to the hype! and so did Heath Ledger.

it was great - i saw the premiere at the chicago imax and some of the scenes were dizzying. definitely worth seeing, at an imax theater if you have the option.

Maybe he was faking it like in the end of Batman Begins to get his family out of the hotel before villains burned it down!

Of course, my theory wilts if the hotel wasn't burned down.

Absolutely lived up to the hype. Not sure what 2 is talking about, Ledger was amazing and carried the movie.

Ummm...American Psycho anyone??

4:48 - he might have just attempted a battery

Holy restraining order!

If your son / brother was a millionaire movie star, why would you complain about his "lashing out" at you, and risk having him end up in prison (where he would earn no money)?

I have to return some videotapes.

people do not worry, he will have simpson thatcher defend him as they are great and early batman fans

I hope he sues them. You make a little bit of money and everyone wants their share. Bale deserves an oscar for this movie.

20 - when your own family turns you in for something, you probably did it

19: That was funny as hell.

While I admit, I am not a huge fan of the Batman comic book, the movie was great. I agree with some earlier posts though in that it was a bit long, but it was otherwise an excellent second addition to Christopher Nolan's rendition of Batman. Again, not a huge fan of Heath Ledger's prior works, but he played one hell of a joker - disturbed, demented and all around devilish. It was convincing and comical. I would recommend the movie.

As for Bale's legal troubles, who cares? Guys in my high school assaulted their sisters and mothers all the time.

Great movie, lived up to the hype (which so few things do), and Heath Ledger was absolutely amazing, completely disappeared in the role. Really less of a super hero movie and more of a crime drama a la Heat (which the director cites as an influence). More than any other comic book movie I've seen, it was grounded in a reality (albeit one with a guy dressing as a bat to fight crime).

Does anyone else have no interest in seeing this? I feel like I'm an outcast - I just don't care about it. Next!

The movie was over-rated - dime store philosophy to dress up predictable action sequences.

She must've touched the f-ing face. Don't touch the face!
(drops chainsaw on her from above)

"I've beat up my mother and sister. You're my lawyer so I think you should know. I've killed a lot of people. Some girls in the apartment uptown uh, some homeless people maybe 5 or 10, um, an NYU girl I met in Central Park."

- LOL @ 27

"I left her in a parking lot behind some donut shop. I killed Bethany, my old girlfriend, with a nail gun, and some man uh some old faggot with a dog last week. I killed another girl with a chainsaw, I had to, she almost got away and uh someone else there I can't remember maybe a model, but she's dead too. And Paul Allen. I killed Paul Allen with an axe in the face, his body is dissolving in a bathtub in Hell's Kitchen. I don't want to leave anything out here. I guess I've killed maybe 20 people, maybe 40. I have tapes of a lot of it, uh some of the girls have seen the tapes. I even, um... I ate some of their brains, and I tried to cook a little. Tonight I, uh, I just had to kill a LOT of people. And I'm not sure I'm gonna get away with it this time. I guess I'll uh, I mean, ah, I guess I'm a pretty uh, I mean I guess I'm a pretty sick guy. So, if you get back tomorrow, I may show up at Harry's Bar, so you know, keep your eyes open. "

- 27

This is all small potatoes, people -- doesn't anybody care about the massacres in Sri Lanka?

It seemed to me that the majority of the film's focus was on Harvey Dent's transition from Gotham's White Knight to the villainously insane Two-Face. Joker was crucial and impressive, but clearly third in terms of importance to the plot behind Batman and Two-Face.

Aaron Eckhart is fantastic.

Someone moderate the spoiler-dropping TTT jackass at 31. Not everyone has read the comic book, fatass.

holy canole batman! Oh and just in case that goes over your head that is from the original with other great classics like bam! and wham! thrown in.

Money messes everything up! Poor Bateman; they were in HIS hotel room. If you don't like it get the f~*^ out!

Do you like Phil Collins?

25, agreed. I was busy getting laid this weekend while these losers were seeing a movie about some comic book. (And no, I couldn't have done both - not the way I do it.)

did they really think they could keep Batman in a prison??
Muhaha!

29 - good job quoting the book off some website you copy and pasted that from, even though he was in the movie, not the book!

try making reservations at dorsia now you stupid fuckin bastard!!!

32, it's hardly a spoiler when Batman Forever already covered the topic a decade ago.

So let me get this straight:

You decided to have a man arrested and released who spends his evenings beating hardened criminals to a pulp with his bare hands? Good luck with that.

I thought the movie was great. I would have appreciated it if Maggie Gylenhall's character had more to her.

I hope the whole assault thing is bs. Yeah, they're his family, but he has made it big, so the incentive to sue might be pretty high.

Guys in my high school used to shoehorn American Psycho references into comments following tangentially-related blog postings all the time -- it was no big deal.

Oh yeah, and if you look closely, you'll see that this comment even has a watermark.

37 I want to stab you to death and play with your blood.
-29

i bet you're into that whole Yale thing

SPOILER ALERT:

Did not like killing off Two-Face AT ALL. He's a major villain, and this is the third screen adaptation (the campy tv series, the Schumacher movie, this) that has either not even bothered with him or failed miserably in trying. Two-Face deserves an entire movie, not just the back-end of a Joker/Batman showdown.

And the CGI on his face was AWFUL. Should have been real makeup, it was a joke. (badump-bum)

But the movie was good, and the Joker rocked. Nicholson is still king, but this is like his worthy son inheriting the throne and doing almost as good as Dad.

"32, it's hardly a spoiler when Batman Forever already covered the topic a decade ago."

Of course! And surely, *everyone* watched "Batman Forever!" Next you will be telling me that something is not a spoiler because Chris Nolan told you about it when you blew him at last year's Comic-Con.

"I would have appreciated it if Maggie Gylenhall's character had more to her."

I would have appreciated if she wasn't a huge butterface.

From what I understand Bale was only accused of verbal assault, not physical assault, which is apparently a crime in London. So nothing to be excited about. Sounds just like his mom and sister trying to extort money out of him and using the release of the movie to gain additional leverage.

Also, the movie was pretty good. I enjoyed it, and thought that Heath Ledger did a good job as the Joker. Honestly, though, I would never have known it was him playing the part if they hadn't made such a big deal of it since he died. You couldn't recognize his face, voice, nothing.

38, it is a spoiler. this movie is not Batman forever. At least 43 had the decency to warn us it was coming.

Here's another spoiler for you: Clark Kent IS Superman.

Bryan Singer told me that over dinner btw.

He just...wants...to...FIT IN.

Bale's thought, ten seconds before the incident: "I can't believe mom prefers my sister's card to mine."

(i) Michael Keaton is the best Batman (by far).
(ii) Jack Nicholson is the best Joker (by far).
(iii) All the hype can't erase the fact that this "idea" was already conceived and superiorly executed.
(iv) Of course, no one cares when you make 1559032980293840293 dollars.

I didn't like how Rachel Dawes dies at the end.

5:20pm: it's the watch, not the face.

It seems like it's Batman's mom and sister that was the problem.

http://celebslam.celebuzz.com/christian-bale-assault/

Guys dressed as Batman used to assault their mothers and sisters back in high school all the time and it was no big deal.

She did not die!

Not at the end....

47 and 32, the fact that Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face is a well known part of the comic book lore. It's even on Wikipedia, so I don't think it is a "spoiler".

However, as I hadn't read the comics or remembered the name Harvey Dent from Batman Forever, I was unaware that he became Two Face while watching the movie, and in fact didn't even know Two Face was going to be in the movie at all. I did figure it out pretty quickly though after he kept flipping a coin all the time, which made me realize who he was.

You like Huey Lewis and the News?

Their early work was a little too New Wave for my
taste. But then Sports came out in 1983, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically.

The whole album has a clear, crisp sound and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that gives the songs a big boost.

He's been compared to ELvis Costello but I think
Huey has a more bitter, cynical sense of humor.

55 - okay not at the end end, but in any case, she died when joker gave up harvey and rachel's locations and tricked batman into thinking he was saving Rachel, when instead, he saved Harvey! SO TRICKY THE JOKER!!!!!! TWICKY TWICKY TWICKY!

55 - okay not at the end end, but in any case, she died when joker gave up harvey and rachel's locations and tricked batman into thinking he was saving Rachel, when instead, he saved Harvey! SO TRICKY THE JOKER!!!!!! TWICKY TWICKY TWICKY!

55 - okay not at the end end, but in any case, she died when joker gave up harvey and rachel's locations and tricked batman into thinking he was saving Rachel, when instead, he saved Harvey! SO TRICKY THE JOKER!!!!!! TWICKY TWICKY TWICKY!

Now that Rachel Dawes comment was a spoiler, a big one, and it was quite the asshole who posted it.

"I would have appreciated if she wasn't a huge butterface. "

Between her and that droopy-faced Tom Cruise fucker, I almost hate the whole Batman franchise. Can't they get a super hot asian chick with huge cans to play Rachel?

I agree with 56- most places I have read refer to his character as "Harvey Dent/Two-Face". I have only read a few of the comics, none involving either Dent or Two-Face, and I absolutely knew going in that it was going to happen. Not a spoiler at all.

My only qualm is they didn't bring back Billy Dee Williams.

61 - i do not respect anyone who has yet to find the time to watch the movie.

New stage name: Christian Bail.

58-60 however: total spoilers.

61/66 - why bring attention to it as a spoiler. You should have just said "that is simply ludicrous". If anything, you are spoiling it by confirming it to be so.

"It's even on Wikipedia, so I don't think it is a "spoiler." "

Dude, you can find synopses of brand new movies on Wikipedia, the week of their release. A Wikipedia argument doesn't mean anything.

/s/ Zombie Rachel Dawes

67, you are trolling right?

21, you've obviously never had anything to do with family law. Lies, lies, lies, even to their attorneys.

**Semi-Spoiler...but not really at all**

Did anyone else think of the Patriot Act when Batman's plan to find the Joker was revealed? It might be necessary to find evil, but is it worth it infringing on the privacy of the citizens?

55 - okay not at the end end, but in any case, she died when joker gave up harvey and rachel's locations and tricked batman into thinking he was saving Rachel, when instead, he saved Harvey! SO TRICKY THE JOKER!!!!!! TWICKY TWICKY TWICKY!

Isn't that what everyone with a pulse thought, 71?

69 - what do you mean trolling?

SPOILER ALERT-72 IS A DUMBASS

No, 72 you dumbass, he thought he was saving Harvey. Because they needed him.

73

I would assume so, but no one had mentioned it. And, when I leaned over and mumbled the scene's relation to the Patriot Act to my date, she looked at me like I had just tried to explain nuclear combustion.

Of course, that says more about the girls I date...

48 made me laugh out loud. Clark Kent indeed. That should end the discussion about whether Dent/Two-Face is a spoiler. C'mon. Once you see the movie being discussed here and you don't want to be spoiled, then stop reading. And if you don't already know that Dent is Two-Face, then you probably aren't going to see the movie anyway.

74, I mean that he obviously knew precisely what he was doing.

72 and 75: I was under the impression Batman thought he was saving Rachel while Gordon and the cops rushed to save Dent in time (because, as the White Knight, he was more worth saving- even Dent and Rachel knew this as we learn later). But the Joker had switched their locations so that Dent would be saved as Rachel died on the phone.

76/t14 - a bit of (unsolicited) advice: only date smart women. Really, you'll just end up frustrated and/or divorced if you don't.

79 here again with confirmation:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/faq#.2.1.72

SPOILER ALERT

No, 79, because batman wasn't surprised to see Dent, and Dent started freaking out on him asking why he was there. And Batman told Dent why he had to save him. Because he thought Dent was more important, he went there himself.

SPOILER ALERT

79, I never heard him say he was going after Rachel, maybe I missed it, but I wouldn't take IMDB as gospel. They've said stupid stuff before.

(I'm assuming anyone not interested in spoilers has stopped reading, if anyone is still reading anyways)

82&83:

Batman explicitly tells Gordon he is going after Rachel, then the Commish rallies the troops to go rescue Harvey. Presumably, the Joker left Rachel just out of reach no matter what happened (as he surely knew he was being watched through the 2 way glass and we find out it was his intention to have Dent hear Rachel die in order to break him).

79 here: I agree with your (83's) appraisal of imdb's veracity. The mere fact that Dark Knight is #1 in the top 250 is evidence of the fanboy-ish domination of the site.

I mean, I love it but come on!

84--Huh. I'll have to watch it again, I guess.

80

I appreciate the advice. Summering in an unfamiliar and less than mediocre city, I've definitely gone out with some mental duds just for something to do at night.

56: you're a tool.

No shit you know harvey will be two face. Just like you know Morgan Freeman's crack about the new batsuit protecting him "from cats" is a foreshadowing to Catwoman. It's not what happens, its HOW it happens.

You're a moron because the the spoiler isn't that Harvey is two-face. It's 3 fold:

1) that Harvey's transformation happens completely in the movie- the previews only show Batman v. Joker, not Batman v. two -Face; there is only the suggestion that Two-face becomes 2-face a the end of the movie, not halfway and that the becoming of 2-face is a major plot point.

2) That they would screw with the two-face back story so much (repressed memories of childhood beatings/schizophrenia coupled with vaunted good looks being horribly mutilated by Carmine Falcone at Falcone's trial) to make it more interrelated to the movie plot (a good, zealous man with no signs of schizophrenia/repressed memories having "one bad day" and having his girlfriend die at the hands of a madman clown he cannot catch)
3) That Nolan would be stupid enough to KILL OFF TWO FACE. That was weak.

In short, 56, go eat a dick.

76: "like I had just tried to explain nuclear combustion."

That's an explanation I'd like to hear. Your _date_ sounds soooooo stupid.

The commissioner shouts after Batman to ask who he's going after, and Batman shouts back "Rachel!". There's no doubt that he believes the Joker and ends up in the wrong place. I assume the lack of surprise upon finding Dent was some combination of the stress of the situation and a pre-existing fear that the Joker might have lied.

BATEMAN
I'm...at a loss. He was part of that whole...Yale thing,
you know.

KIMBALL
Yale thing?

A pause.

BATEMAN
Yeah...Yale thing.

KIMBALL
What do you mean...Yale thing?

A pause.

BATEMAN
Well, I think for one that he was probably a closet
homosexual. Who did a lot of cocaine...that Yale thing.

well done 91!

53- you're right that there is a watch quote, but I was referring to when "Kristie" kicks him in the face during my beloved chainsaw scene

-27

Dude, calling "Harvey Dent is Two-Face" a spoiler is like saying "the Titanic sinks at the end of the movie" is a spoiler.

It's completely common knowledge that is by no means restricted to the film. Get over yourself.

TRUE SPOILER ALERT

43, Two-Face isn't dead. As seen by the mob boss foreshadowing, a fall from that height wouldn't kill him. He was just knocked out -- note there was no coffin at the memorial service. He's in Arkham Asylum waiting to be busted out for a sequel.

71 - actually I thought about the standard for cell phone tracking in the ordinary criminal context. There is some debate about whether it should be available upon the same showing of proof for a pen register, or for a full title III warrant. The difference between probable cause + a title III warrant and reasonable grounds to believe the information is relevant and material to a criminal investigation seems pretty stark to me. Its also probably much more widely applicable than FISA as modified by the Patriot Act.

The word assault is often misunderstood, and in Batman's case, the confusion seems widespread on both the Internet and the street. Recent allegations that "Dark Knight" star Christian Bale assaulted his mother and sister have been translated by far too many people into "Did you hear he beat up his mother and sister?"

Roughly speaking, assault generally means putting someone in reasonable fear that harmful or offensive contact with them is imminent. For example, in a heated argument, anything from harsh words to a raised fist could lead the recipient to believe that an offensive contact was about to follow, and that they are therefore being assaulted. In fact, no contact need occur at all: an assault charge can stand on its own in most jurisdictions.

Whatever happened between Mr. Bale and his family, the public must remember two things. First, an allegation, until proven, is only an allegation. Second, the word assault is not synonymous with the words "beat up."