Kid reviews for The Dark Knight

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Based on 161 reviews
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January 29, 2021
Complicated, Engaging Crime Drama For Older Children
(No Spoilers) What parents need to understand about this movie can be compacted into one statement: this is not the movie you think it is.
For one, it is a brilliantly written film. But for another, this is not a superhero movie. It's not a comic book movie. It's not a Marvel movie. There are no superpowers. There is no 'bad guy getting his face punched in for entire final act' as we frequently see in today's films.
This is a twisted, dark crime film about what happens when you turn supposedly good-and-decent people against each other. The Joker is a menacing character to watch. He is not a clown. He is an absolute psycho. Scenes in the movie do not generally involve blood or gore, but include: shooting with pistols, a knife murder, the Joker's head being slammed into a window making it shatter, a man getting severe burns on half of his body, guns being held to a person's head or a knife to their neck at several times, having two ferries full of people almost blown sky-high, and a little boy having a gun held to his head.
There are positive messages and good role models throughout the movie, but it's mostly dark, albeit realistic and important. The overarching point of the film that all of us are corruptible individuals, even the best of us. The main positive idea embedded in the film is that Bruce Wayne gave up the comfortable life of a billionaire to clean up a city that never thanked him in return. And he pays everything for it. Ultimately, the movie is incredibly heroic. But that's only because the conditions are so dark.
This movie requires a very mature audience that understands violence. What it is, why it happens, and what we can do to prevent it. Proceed with caution.
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December 23, 2022
One of the Best Movies Ever!
This is my favorite movie. It is so cool. 100% do not watch this at night. There is some creepy stuff. TwoFace really does have a bad face. It is burned really bad on one side. Over all, I give it a 10/10.
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September 18, 2022
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July 4, 2022
Great MOOOOOVIEEEE!
Very good and complex film but the joker scared me to death I died in the movie theter. But when I got to heaven I couldn’t get in cause I watched this movie
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April 22, 2022
Great movie with great acting!
Great movie, definitely the best out of the dark knight movies. Great performance by the late Heath Ledger.
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March 8, 2022
This One Darker Than The First, Still Worth Watching
I watched this for the first time on my 16th birthday. I love action movies, but marvel is more my go to. However, I used to be a fan of batman when I was younger so I figured I should watch this trilogy, while getting a feel for DC in general. I was really excited, especially after enjoying the first one.
However, this second instalment was a bit of a let down. I was still able to laugh at the funny parts, but overall the movie was way to dark for my personal tastes. And I'm not just referring to DC's famously low lighting. There were several bodies found, but that wasn't the problem. (they are shown in a similar fashion to murder mystery series' minus much gore) Joker is supposed to be creepy and insane. (Heath Ledger did an exemplary portrayal) However, it could have been more tasteful overall. Lots of horrible things are heavily implied (everything except the actual shot in most cases) and, in my opinion, being left to imagine the consequences is far worse that actually seeing the deed in some detail. We are also shown recorded tapes of the Joker teasing/torturing his victims before their inevitable deaths. Joker's mind is a dark and twisted labyrinth, and I like watching the insane, but clever, villains 'play' with the heroes. I think that it was worth watching (its pretty much a classic) but be very, very, mindful of your and/or your child's tolerance and previous exposure to thriller type violence and (of course) action movie violence.
This was the first movie I've scene of its kind (marvel being far less... rough) and I was immediately startled by its brutality. All this being said, it was a nice enough movie-- thus the rating. It was "just fine". I might even watch it again sometime.
(edit-- this movie aged well in my mind, I've updated rating to 4 stars)
I don't know if this will be useful, but I've left some bigger points/triggers to take into account before watching Dark Knight (this list is by no means exhaustive):
-Joker talks about enjoying victim's pain
-Person is slammed onto table embedding a pencil in their skull
-Mob members forced to fight to the death for survival (implied)
-Several pre-murder tapes implying torture and subsequent deaths
-Two face's destroyed half is quite graphic (in a cartoonish way)
-Man gets a phone/bomb sewn into their stomach by Joker (the victim is quite happy about this)
-Batman kinda goes hulk on an unarmed and captured Joker
-Fake batman is lynched from building and is seen banging into widow by person's head
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March 27, 2023
THE BEST!
One of my all time favorite movies. This contains anything that a comic book movie fan would ever want, Plot, Violence, Action, etc.. The joker was cast perfectly (Rest in Peace Heath Ledger) and was pretty menacing at times. Christian Bale was a really good batman, the only problem was that he screamed and faked his voice a little too much. Some kids that are almost teens should be able to watch this as long as they are with a parent and can handle the violence. Overall this is a GREAT movie that I recommend almost everybody should watch.
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March 27, 2023
THE BEST!
One of my all time favorite movies. This contains anything that a comic book movie fan would ever want, Plot, Violence, Action, etc.. The joker was cast perfectly (Rest in Peace Heath Ledger) and was pretty menacing at times. Christian Bale was a really good batman, the only problem was that he screamed and faked his voice a little too much. Some kids that are almost teens should be able to watch this as long as they are with a parent and can handle the violence. Overall this is a GREAT movie that I recommend almost everybody should watch.
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March 15, 2023
thought-provoking
It's hard to say what age group this movie is okay for. I think it just depends on the person and how well you know them. My 13 yo brothers were fine; I know I would have been very disturbed if I'd seen it around the age of ten. It's a really good movie. Very well made. Good screenwriting, great acting. Interesting messages and quotes that make you think—rare qualities for a superhero action movie. An absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. I've seen it twice, and it was the second viewing that made me realize exactly how well-crafted it was. Personally, I think it isn't quite as dark as it's made out to be—it's more of an atmospheric sort of darkness than anything overly disturbing. Honestly, one of the main takeaways I got is that Gotham is an absolute mess and I don't understand why all of its inhabitants don't move immediately. And it's a bit painful to watch the train wreck that follows in the next two hours after the Joker arrives on the scene. So yeah. Not a feel-good movie by any means, but nevertheless one of the best superhero movies I've seen. I'm still team Marvel, but this is a worthy contender indeed.
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March 14, 2023