Question: Why does the Joker keep licking his lips? Is it just a tick he has?
Answer: According to interviews, Heath Ledger started doing that because of the makeup on his face, and director Chris Nolan liked it so much, he told him to keep doing it. He felt that it made the Joker even more bizarre. So yes, it's just a tic.
Question: After Batman crashes the Batpod and the Joker comes over to do whatever it was he had in mind to Batman, there are two of his thugs waiting for him, one rolling Batman over and one whom you briefly see on the far left edge of the screen (you can see his mask). One of the thugs gets electrocuted and is incapacitated, but what happened to the other one? He apparently didn't see or make any attempt to stop Gordon, who by the way is the only cop around for a few blocks (save the other guy in the police van who was presumably still guarding Dent). Gordon couldn't have incapacitated him since he approached the Joker from behind, when the Joker was facing the second henchman.
Answer: The henchman has probably left the area. The Joker has just attacked the other henchman. Would you have stayed?
Question: Why did the office people give Harvey Dent the nickname Two-Face before he actually became the villain Two-Face?
Answer: Because he had been a policeman working in Internal Affairs; in movies at least, IA officers are often shunned by other officers, as they are conceived to be working against their own. The name "Two-Face" was a way of branding Dent as a turncoat.
Question: Did Harvey Dent know that Bruce Wayne was actually Batman? His quote "Rachel's told me everything about you", and him telling Rachel that they were coming for her seems to imply this to me.
Answer: No, he doesn't know. His comment to Bruce is a very common expression, and it makes sense that Rachel would have told Harvey all about her childhood friendship with Bruce. Bruce's response, 'I certainly hope not', is a reference to his being Batman and he and Rachel's romantic history, both of which he would rather Rachel not broadcast. Harvey telling Rachel that they will rescue her is just to try and keep her calm while they try to figure out how to escape.
Answer: Additionally, if Harvey knew that Bruce is Batman, he would have had even more of a vendetta against him once he became Two-Face, since Batman rescued Harvey earlier and not Rachel. He may have even revealed Batman's secret identity to Commissioner Gordon at the film's climax.
On the other hand, knowing that Batman is Bruce Wayne could cause Dent to realise he is not the only one of who has lost something, Bruce did too. Batman would have a right to speak about whats fair.
Question: For the scene where Joker burns the money, he says he is only burning his half. However, with Gambol already dead, the Russian and Lau about to be killed and Maroni in absentia, is he actually burning all (or nearly all) the money? It seems to mirror the bank job (systematically eliminating the equal share) and in general the Joker's twisted sensibilities.
Answer: The Joker was only burning his "half", which was the bottom half of the money pyramid (where he had the gasoline poured). The top half was the mob's, with Lau on top - in true Joker style, even though he only burned his "half", the mob's half also gets burned since it is on top (which is why the mob boss was pretty pissed off). It is but another joke of the Joker!
Question: Why not just say that Harvey perished in the hospital explosion? It wouldn't cover up the people he killed, but still it would be painless and easy.
Chosen answer: Well, as you say yourself, it wouldn't cover up the people he killed. It would also immediately raise questions that couldn't be plausibly answered, principally why a senior public official was left to die in the explosion of a building from which everybody else had been evacuated. Likewise, it wouldn't explain how Dent's body was found a long way from the hospital a considerable time later - given the number of police officers who attended the scene, enough people would have seen the body that there's no realistic way it could have been kept a secret. Finally, there's a myth to be built; in terms of Dent's legacy, being brutally murdered at the hands of a crazed vigilante is a much better story to arouse public feeling than him simply dying in an impersonal explosion. For the apparently quite draconian Dent Act to be passed into law, Dent has to be seen as a martyr by the public, so that the public outrage is strong enough to allow such measures to be set up. The hospital explosion story, with all its holes, would never do for that; the story that they go with, that Batman killed him, works much better.
Question: Colman Reese got on television to reveal Batman's real identity. Whatever happened with that especially since the police have a detective assigned to unmasking the Bat?
Answer: Even though Reese threatened to unmask Bruce, Bruce still came to save him from those trying to kill him, so Reese, in all likelihood, feels a renewed sense of loyalty to his boss. As such, it's likely that he would remain quiet and lie to the police, say that he didn't really know and was just trying to force Batman out into the open by pretending to know his true identity.
Question: At the beginning of the film when Gordon is turning on the Bat signal, Ramirez asks Wuertz something about an investigation on the Batman. Wuertz replies that is an ongoing operation and throws some rubbish into the bin. At that moment, you can see a board with pictures of "possible Batman suspects", and you can see a picture of a "Man in the mountains, dressed in black." This man dressed in black looks like the "suit" Bruce Wayne wore when he was training with Ras al Gul in Batman Begins. My question is, how did the cops get that picture?
Answer: It's not a photo of Bruce Wayne in the mountains. The three pictures on the board are Elvis Presley, Abraham Lincoln and Bigfoot - in other words the police have no idea who the Batman is.
Question: In the beginning, the Joker puts a can of gas in the bank guy's mouth and drives off with the string, releasing the gas. My question is, why didn't the guy just pull it out before he could inhale it?
Answer: He did not know it was a smoke grenade. He thought it was a regular ol' blow-your-head-off grenade. There would have been little point in spitting it out since he was too injured to throw it far enough to save his life. He was resigned to his fate, only to be surprised with a relatively harmless smoke grenade.
Question: Where did Harvey get the gun that he threatens Schiff with while interrogating him after Commissioner Loeb's funeral?
Chosen answer: I don't recall that it is specifically shown on film where Dent got the gun, but in the chaos of the shooting at memorial service and all of the police officers present it probably would not have been too difficult for Dent to find a gun, or take one from someone.
Answer: He's Gotham's DA, he would likely just carry a gun at all times for his own protection.
Question: How can you die instantly from a small quick cut to the cheek?
Chosen answer: Because the camera cuts away before we see the slash, we don't know how ferocious the Joker cuts him. Mind you, the knife was halfway inside his mouth and it did seem like a deep cut, so he possibly died due to the knife slashing an essential artery or vessel.
Question: How did the Joker convince Harvey in the hospital to become bad? I know he talked him into the whole creating chaos in the world thing but that scene confused me. Also, when did we find out that some of the cops were corrupt? Did they help tie up Rachel or something along those lines? Sorry I just got confused with those plot lines.
Answer: Harvey's basically lost it already, driven insane by the death of Rachel and his own injuries. The Joker basically just tells him that order, having rules, hasn't brought him anything but pain, that maybe he should let things get a bit more chaotic, go with random chance rather than regimented rules. In his deranged state, Harvey goes along with it. As for the cops, Harvey knows that both he and Rachel were being escorted home by members of Gordon's team, only to both wake up surrounded by bombs. Fairly obvious from that that there are some bad apples in the bunch.
Harvey also worked for Internal Affairs. He states earlier in the film (and Gordon confirms) that he had investigated many people on Gordon's team. He knows many people on Gordon's team are dirty, but as the DA, he can't do much about it without proof.
Question: Do either of The Joker's "You wanna know how I got these scars" stories have a hint of truth to them? Also, why does he recount the stories to people?
Chosen answer: There's no way to tell - the Joker gets no backstory at all in the film, other than the two stories that he tells, which contradict each other anyway. In all likelihood, they're both lies, made up on the spot. As to why he tells them, it distracts people, puts them on edge, plus, most importantly, it amuses him to do so.
Question: I know this is a long shot, but are there any theories as to The Joker's real identity and origins?
Chosen answer: No. Well, there are probably lots of people who have formulated theories of their own after watching the film, but there's been nothing from the filmmakers. The thing is, it doesn't matter who he originally was or where he came from - none of that is relevant to who he is now, so, in all likelihood, they never bothered to come up with any sort of backstory for him.
Answer: According to comic book lore, the Joker came out of nowhere, but as time went on minor back stories were given. He was a mob enforcer working for Falcone. In another, he was part of the Red Hood gang but each one always ended with him facing the Batman at the ACE Chemical Co., falling into a vat of toxic waste and emerging as the Joker.
Question: When the Joker is giving his speech to the people on the ferries, there is a shot of him in the Pruitt building. The camera is behind him and in the reflection on the glass you can see him reading his speech from a piece of paper. Why is he doing this? Is it to make sure he remembers his own plan? Or is there something else going on?
Answer: He's got a big speech to make - seems reasonable that he might have made some notes so that he didn't forget anything. Most people do that under such circumstances. There certainly aren't any indications in the film that it was anything else - while it might be a mistake, it fits the scene well enough that there's no way to tell either way.
His voice also definitely sounds like he is reading, in this scene and also when he calls into the talk show to threaten Coleman Reese. It does not sound like "off the cuff" dialogue. Apparently the Joker writes speeches like this down and reads directly from his notes.
Question: I have a 4 part question. 1. If Batman really represents what's good and true, then why does he allow Harvey keep his clean public image when Batman knows this isn't true? 2. Does Batman realize that this might have adverse effects? 3. Given that Batman has a better than average knowledge of the law, why doesn't he realize that he is essentially becoming an accessory after the fact (he knows that Dent killed several officers), or committing conspiracy to pervert the course of justice? 4. Finally does Batman think the people will be upset by the oh-so-shocking concept (note sarcasm) of a politician being involved in a scandal?
Answer: If people only have one hope, you don't take it away from them. A martyr is a powerful symbol - if people believe that Harvey Dent died as a good man fighting against the forces of lawlessness and corruption, then he becomes a rallying point, a battle cry for those looking to carry on the fight in his name. It doesn't matter that it's not true - what matters is that people believe, and continue to believe, in Harvey Dent. If the truth, that Harvey died a deranged killer, came out, then everything that Harvey did will be tainted, morale would plummet and the city would be right back to square one. As for Bruce becoming an accessory after the fact, of course he knows, but do you really think he cares? Likewise representing "what's good and true" - most of what he does as Batman is completely illegal - assault, kidnapping, property damage, illicit surveillance, just in this film alone. But he does it for the good of the city. Same with covering up for Harvey. It's what's right - doesn't matter if it's legal, or even true, it's what needs to be done.
Plus as stated in the film, if Harvey is exposed, all the criminals he put away would be released. It doesn't matter if Harvey was good when he locked them up, him being exposed as a criminal would taint his reputation and the criminals could claim he falsified evidence, etc.
Chosen answer: Probably when Lau confessed to everything after Batman, acting above the law, kidnapped him from Hong Kong and brought him back to Gotham.