I've asked before but still haven't gotten to much of a straight answer about the Dent killings.



Any help?

It's not a plot hole. You may not like it, but it's not a hole.

There was very good reason for Batman taking the wrap for the murders. And blaming someone other than himself WOULD compromise Bruce's/Batman's morals.


As posted by me earlier in this thread...

Batman knew that it wouldn't matter if they thought he did the crimes. He was already a Fugitive of sorts anyway. For the time being it's more important for the people of Gotham to believe that there are good people like Dent willing to stand up and do good.

I was going to ask the same thing. Also:

A Seatbelt and CHANCE.

I think it also has to do with the fact that there are 30 hostages from the bus who were WITH THE JOKER while these killings took place across town - so they would realize that Joker couldn't have possibly killed those people, since he was holding them hostage in a building on the other side of Gotham. Therefore, Batman takes the blame.

Did you not see him put his seat belt on? It's not just a law...

Could you explain how it would violate Bruce's/Batman's morals? I don't get how lying to the public to save Dent's reputation is ok if it makes Batman look like a murderer, but not ok if it adds a couple bodies to the large number of murders attributed to the Joker and his men. I know the whole focus was on how Gotham needed it's White Knight, but I can hardly think it's going to be good for the city's morale to think that Batman's been zipping around offing cops.

Come on, can you really see Batman blaming murder on someone else? Even a whackjob like The Joker? Maybe I missed some comic issues where he did lay the blame on someone for murder, but I just don't think Batman would do that. Like I said, Batman is in many ways already a fugitive. Remember that not all of Gotham believes in him or cares about him so he can take the blame and still do his thing.

Well, they already thought Batman was a douche for not revealing himself earlier, resulting in the Joker killing members of the public, so they were already down on Batman anyhow... and it's not just the City's morale - Dent's credibility went a long way to getting some of these criminals behind bars, if that's shot, it's open season in appeals court.

Dent (the white knight) becoming a criminal would cause alot of apathy and frustration among the public. If its seemingly most honest crime fighter is suceptible to corruption, then all is lost.

I don't know, it's been years since I've been into the comics, so maybe that really would go against his grain. It just seemed like the easy, pragmatic option to me. There are a couple murders we can't associate with Dent, so how should we explain them? Well, the entire city's been watching a lunatic kill large numbers of cops, criminals and civilians. Maybe he'd be a good candidate? It just seemed strange to ignore the most obvious choice and instead have Batman decide to become a murderer in the public's eye. Especially when he'd stressed that he only had one rule and blaming a homicidal maniac for a couple extra bodies certainly wouldn't break it. Thematically, I understand the choice, it just didn't come off as logical to me.

Anyway, to jump onto another tangent, how fucking good was the soundtrack for this film? I haven't seen it mentioned many times, but damn. It really did a great job in amping up the tension in the movie. I was especially impressed with the scenes where there was just that rusty violin sound dragging out and slowly becoming louder. I haven't bought a movie soundtrack in years, but I picked this one up today.

Amazing film. Nolan managed to easily top Batman Begins, which is a feat in itself since I considered that to be the best superhero film ever. Ledger may not get a posthumous Oscar, but for him to not at least receive a nomination would be absurd. His performance is nothing short of brilliant. I did think that Bale sounded a little too gruff as Batman. I know he has to conceal his voice, but I'd also like to be able to understand all of what he's saying. Other than that minor gripe the entire film is a work of art. Everyone gave a great performance and the direction was superb.

loved the movie... has anyone called 626-773-6814? just asking because it's on the cake on http://www.whysoserious.com/reports/cake.htm

I recall hearing/reading that Nolan was going for Jaws when it came to the Joker and that particular piece of music, I think it pulled that off swimmingly.

Interesting. Two very different, and somewhat incompatible, answers.

Yep.

Well the noise COULD have been him clicking the belt...I'll need to see the movie again to make sure.

Dent was definitely putting his seatbelt on. What the clicking sound was, I can't be certain but it doesn't make much sense for him to put his seatbelt on and then open the door to try to jump out.

bear in mind, the cops that Two-Face actually killed were corrupt. as far as I can remember, none of the people that Two-Face killed could be considered totally "innocent."

those particular killings being pinned on Batman actually plays perfectly into some of the public's (and particularly law enforcement's) perception of him as a dangerous vigilante who takes justice into his own hands. Batman would never actually take on the role of executioner, but he's willing to allow that perception to propagate, for the good of Gotham.

honestly, i think it works perfectly, both as a consistent, pragmatic solution and a thematic device.

Two-Face definitely put his seat belt on and hoped that the crash would kill Maroni, who was not wearing a seatbelt. at that point, I don't think Two-Face cared all that much if he lived, so he was just giving himself the best shot to survive while getting as much vengeance as he could.

Which one?

Batman taking the rap for the murders is established at the beginning of the film. There are so many Batman imitators, because they admire him, and they are interfering with his efforts and risking their lives and others. By becoming the bad guy, the big guys sporting a shitty cowl and umpire chest pads will disappear.

I'm still not buying the whole "Batman has to take the fall for Dent's murders." Why not just leave them unsolved like countless others? It makes no sense to me to have the public believe that Batman is a murderer, other than to villify him. He's wanting to instill hope in the citizens of Gotham as a beacon of good, not someone who'll step over the line and kill. That's why he didn't like the guys dressing like him and taking matters into their own hands. There's no benefit to making Batman the bad guy.

Exactly! The ending felt too contrived, another case of writer/director falling in love with his words. Last part of the movie just dragged on.