After leaving the screening hall, Kyle met up with his sister Ella and left the IMAX theater. Since the hotel they were staying at wasn't far away, the two didn't take a car but walked toward the hotel.
Bright streetlights illuminated the sidewalk, bringing light to this city that resembled Gotham. Kyle stepped on his own shadow step by step. Hearing a cough beside him, he glanced at his sister.
He asked with slight curiosity, "Aren't you a fan of Duke? Why did you leave early?"
Ella quickly curled her lips and answered without hesitation, "I am a fan of Duke because his films are great! But this 'Dark Knight'…"
She shook her head, "It's the worst one among all Duke's films!"
"Why?" Kyle didn't understand how his sister could have such an opinion about such a brilliant movie. "I think missing this movie would be a regret."
"I don't regret it at all."
Adjusting the backpack strap on her shoulder, Ella casually explained, "This movie makes people feel stifled. It's nothing like his previous films that were so joyful and exciting. I watched half of it but just felt uncomfortable. I watch movies for entertainment, and this one didn't make me happy!"
"Uh…"
Opening his mouth, Kyle found he had no words to argue. He quickened his pace and reminded her, "It's late, we should hurry back."
No reason is stronger than "I don't like it."
Though he couldn't refute Ella, back at the hotel, Kyle found countless people who agreed with him after opening his computer.
On IMDB, during the time from the theater to the hotel, nearly ten thousand people had already rated "The Dark Knight." The score was an astonishing ten out of ten!
Looking at this number, Kyle put down the mouse and scratched his head. In his memory, no film had ever gotten a perfect score immediately after release, not even Duke's past films.
One movie no matter how many fans rated it—rarely stays perfect ten.
However, Kyle knew as more people rated, "The Dark Knight" wouldn't stay at ten for long.
Setting aside the score for now, he opened the comments section. Just like the ratings, the positive reviews were overwhelming.
An ID called "DukeLovesExplosions" wrote—"I will undoubtedly regard 'The Dark Knight' as the best movie ever! Duke Rosenberg perfectly blends commercial and artistic elements, striking a deep yet popular balance, with majestic music, gripping grand scenes, and profoundly touching performances. So I tell everyone who hasn't seen it missing it would be one of the biggest regrets of your life!"
Another ID "ExplosionFanatic" wrote—"Duke Rosenberg's greatest success lies in the battle between Joker and Batman, which features exhilarating fight scenes and a mind-bending, intricate plot. It even darkens the typically heroic figure, exploring complex characters. The storyline's handling of moral dilemmas reflects on human nature and elevates the theme. This is the deepest superhero movie ever made."
After reading these two comments, Kyle placed his hands on the keyboard and typed out his own opinion.
"Batman is the least comic-like comic hero, and precisely for this reason, he is most likely to cross the boundary between crime drama and superhero film. This time, Duke captured that perfectly, crafting a movie that is rich, rigorous, and cool, achieving perfection both in audiovisual spectacle and deep human complexity!"
After posting his comment, he didn't hesitate to rate the film a perfect ten.
After rating, the webpage refreshed. Now "The Dark Knight" had over twelve thousand ratings, and the score still stood at ten!
"Really strange."
Ella's voice came from behind, sounding puzzled, "How can a movie like this get a perfect ten?"
Kyle turned to her and asked, "What would you rate it?"
"Just six points, a passing grade."
Clearly, Ella disliked the movie. "This kind of film is painful to watch."
After speaking, she waved her hand and walked toward her suite bedroom, saying as she went, "Well, since it's Duke's film, I won't give it a low score."
Making a face at Ella's retreating back, Kyle turned back and continued to follow the online discussion about "The Dark Knight."
When he opened an instant sharing site and searched randomly, he couldn't help but show a strange expression there was even a well-known critic praising Duke's film.
Kyle knew a bit about the feud between Duke and professional critics. Although Kenneth Turan, who writes for the Los Angeles Times, hadn't attacked Duke or his movies much, he had never praised them either.
Curious beyond measure, Kyle opened Kenneth Turan's obviously quickly written short review.
"Rather than calling 'The Dark Knight' a superhero movie adapted from a comic, it's more accurate to call it a dark and highly complex drama. From every perspective, Tim Burton's gothic, joking-style 'Batman' can't compare."
"This is no exaggeration. In conceptualization, creation, acting, and directing, it surpasses all Batman films and even all superhero movies. Duke Rosenberg's work delivers breathtaking scenes from more angles and broader perspectives. If you're lucky enough to watch the IMAX version, you will be even more amazed and exhilarated."
"Duke elevates comic book movies once considered lowbrow to an extraordinary height. He renders the debate between art films and commercial films meaningless. 'The Dark Knight' not only captures the feel of classical tragedy but also explores contemporary hot topics like terrorism and overstepping authority. Most importantly, the movie is flawlessly entertaining!"
Yes, flawlessly entertaining — Kyle strongly agreed with Kenneth Turan's viewpoint.
Perhaps it was Turan's review that gave Kyle a bit of a favorable impression. He flipped through and opened another professional critic's account he was following. To his surprise, this critic also posted related comments.
Kyle saw it was an instant share from Richard Chris, a column critic at Time magazine.
"In The Dark Knight, Duke Rosenberg's camera switches at a fast pace without lingering unnecessarily; the shots are never excessive. The action details are portrayed with restraint, focusing on concise storytelling. The editing and dialogue are tightly coordinated. There's no deliberate emphasis on visual effects. The overall plot development combines almost perfectly with Duke's signature visual style, making the film's pace brisk and its storyline clear."
"Finally, although I'm not a fan of Duke Rosenberg's style, this Dark Knight is the first comic adaptation film to achieve a truly significant artistic accomplishment!"
Closing the instant share, Kyle returned to IMDB. Nearly an hour and a half had passed, yet the IMDB score still held at a perfect ten!
More and more people were posting reviews, and it seemed the entire IMDB community was captivated by this film, which currently occupied the number one spot in the TOP 250.
"Once Duke took over, Batman and other comic hero films became a whole different league."
"So good, not a single second wasted!"
"For a film this excellent, any praise is superfluous."
"Duke Rosenberg is incredible; Hollywood comic films reaching such heights and depth is unprecedented!"
"An absolute masterpiece. Rather than struggling in the art film domain, it's better to raise commercial cinema's level like Duke did!"
Afterward, Kyle browsed several film websites and found many people rallying to attend midnight screenings. He was tempted too but, thinking about catching an early flight out of Chicago tomorrow, had to suppress the urge.
It had to be said that The Dark Knight's early promotion was extremely powerful. As midnight fell, cinemas across America screening The Dark Knight suddenly saw surges in attendance, far exceeding last weekend's turnout. Many popular theaters had ticket lines stretching hundreds deep, sometimes spilling outside the building.
With the increasing number of North American theaters, such scenes hadn't been seen in a long time.
Moreover, even before the midnight screenings started, The Dark Knight had already set a new North American market record, boasting 3,160 midnight showings—surpassing the 2,915 midnight screenings record held by Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005.
"No one doubts The Dark Knight will set a new North American midnight box office record!"
Sitting in the hotel suite's living room, Tina Fay said to Scarlett, who was waiting with her for the data, "Although it's unclear if The Dark Knight's North American box office will surpass Titanic or Duke's Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, from what I see, The Dark Knight will surely break a series of box office records in its first two weeks."
"Too bad..." Scarlett puckered her lips, "So many people credit Heath Ledger for the film's success, like he's the biggest reason for it."
Hearing Scarlett's words, Duke, sitting in a single chair sipping coffee, put down his cup and said, "Darling, it doesn't matter who gets the credit. You have to understand, we and Warner are the actual beneficiaries."
"I know, I just feel..." Scarlett shook her head and said no more.
The clock just struck midnight when the fax machine in the corner of the living room suddenly rang. Tina Fay immediately stood up, "The preliminary statistics for the early screenings must have arrived."
She quickly went over, picked up the fax, glanced at it, and her eyes immediately brightened.