The Dark Knight - Does Batman taking the fall hold up?

[ichab]

Batman in general doesn't send a good message, in this case, it was about the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few.

That is an incredible misrepresentation of that phrase. The public's survival didn't hinge on a lie. Had they been told the truth, life would have went on.

It's not about handling the truth it was about the legal consequences and destroying the hero that was helping rid Gotham of corrupt elements and had gone a long way in doing so already.

And that is why it fails as an ending. The goal was to rationalize lying at the government level, which is a poor message to send and a cop out.

I'm not saying the movie was bad, but it is a bit over rated due to the overstuffed plot with Two Face and the ending. Had Heath Ledger not died, I think the movie would have been judged more critically.

 

[Phily B]

That is an incredible misrepresentation of that phrase. The public's survival didn't hinge on a lie. Had they been told the truth, life would have went on.

It wasn't about public perception, it was the legality. It was even a point in the sequel.

 

[Anwar]

It wasn't about public perception, it was the legality. It was even a point in the sequel.

That didn't make any sense either. Why would the Courts suddenly think that just because Harvey did stuff while clearly brain damaged and likely dying (he wasn't going to survive with those injuries) it would affect his prior cases? Any Lawyer could easily get the Courts to see it that way and not challenge his earlier cases.

 

[Marc]

That didn't make any sense either. Why would the Courts suddenly think that just because Harvey did stuff while clearly brain damaged and likely dying (he wasn't going to survive with those injuries) it would affect his prior cases? Any Lawyer could easily get the Courts to see it that way and not challenge his earlier cases.

or they could argue that some of the mental health issues were already present at the time Dent was DA (not familiar with Dent from the comics the Batman TAS when down this path with dent supressing the issues till they finally broke through)

 

[dupersuper]

or they could argue that some of the mental health issues were already present at the time Dent was DA (not familiar with Dent from the comics the Batman TAS when down this path with dent supressing the issues till they finally broke through)

They could argue that, but couldn't prove it, so...

 

[fireproof78]

That didn't make any sense either. Why would the Courts suddenly think that just because Harvey did stuff while clearly brain damaged and likely dying (he wasn't going to survive with those injuries) it would affect his prior cases? Any Lawyer could easily get the Courts to see it that way and not challenge his earlier cases.

Defense attorneys always look for grounds for appeal. Attorney being mentally ill could invite review.

 

[Anwar]

Defense attorneys always look for grounds for appeal. Attorney being mentally ill could invite review.

And if they tried to appeal based on "This guy got brain damaged and did some bad stuff, so obviously all his cases prior to the brain damage are in question" it would be laughed out of the Courtroom.

 

[fireproof78]

And if they tried to appeal based on "This guy got brain damaged and did some bad stuff, so obviously all his cases prior to the brain damage are in question" it would be laughed out of the Courtroom.

That's not the argument.

 

[Anwar]

That's not the argument.

The bottom line is that using Dent's actions after he was traumatized and brain damaged couldn't be used in any believable way to ruin his prior cases.

 

[fireproof78]

The bottom line is that using Dent's actions after he was traumatized and brain damaged couldn't be used in any believable way to ruin his prior cases.

Ruin? No. Review. I could see a defense attorney making the argument for review. Whether or not it would be successful is a different story. But I could see it happening.

 

[STEPhon IT]

People thought this, but there are problems with that thought once you delve deep into it. First of all, Two Face went on a killing spree that ended with the kidnapping of Gordon's family after the Joker's incarceration and during a time Joker couldn't have done it. Meanwhile, Batman is there, right now, at the crime scene and has clear motivations. If your only options are to have the Joker take the fall or have Batman do it, then Batman is your best choice. He is already a controversial figure amongst the police ad public, he has a strong motive when it came to the crime bosses killed, he is heavily linked to Dent in the public eye and on top of it all, he's spotted at the scene of the crime by other officers. If you turn around and blame Joker, how the fuck do you work that out? He was in prison when Dent was killed.

The Joker appeared to be in other places for many of the crimes done in TDK, like the plot of having two bombs in 2 different places where Batman and the police had to save Dent and his girlfriend. Responsible for the death of public officials where he wasn't on site, made public calls to the people of NYC (Gotham City)* Batman had to reveal his identity or horrible things will happen, he even had a distant hand in manipulating an assassination plot to kill Batman's snitch. There's enough there for a prosecution to convict The Joker of being responsible for crimes where he was somewhere else. Being an architect to a crime is as bad as someone committing the act.

*Yes, I know it was shot in Chicago.

 

[Phily B]

The Joker appeared to be in other places for many of the crimes done in TDK, like the plot of having two bombs in 2 different places where Batman and the police had to save Dent and his girlfriend. Responsible for the death of public officials where he wasn't on site, made public calls to the people of NYC (Gotham City)* Batman had to reveal his identity or horrible things will happen, he even had a distant hand in manipulating an assassination plot to kill Batman's snitch. There's enough there for a prosecution to convict The Joker of being responsible for crimes where he was somewhere else. Being an architect to a crime is as bad as someone committing the act.

*Yes, I know it was shot in Chicago.

Even if they could, it is all circumstantial evidence. Not just that, but I really feel like Batman/Gordon framing The Joker is a really bad idea, it is playing into The Joker's hand and, considering his almost god like foresight in the rest of the movie, he would likely have some type of plan if they tried to pull that shit, in fact I wonder if it was something The Joker was planning on doing - part of his plan was corrupting Dent to that level.