The Dark Knight: B+
I’m sure this will get me lynched in many geek circles, but I was a touch disappointed by The Dark Knight. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good movie. But on the heels of Batman Begins and with the near reverent tones in which it was being spoken of, I had hoped for more. It was a bit too long and tried to do a bit too much (the Two-Face arc should have been in a separate movie). Ledger felt like he was trying just a bit too hard with The Joker. And my biggest complaint is Batman himself. The Dark Knight was about pretty much everyone else other than the actual dark knight. There was very little character exposition or development for him in this one (where it was the centerpiece of Batman Begins).
That said, it was still a quality film. The look and feel were still spot-on and the writing and production were top-notch. And I like that they managed to directly address human hope and frailty without being cheesy. In short, it’s well worth seeing, just don’t buy the hype.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:55 am
It was a bit too long and tried to do a bit too much (the Two-Face arc should have been in a separate movie).
I didn’t think this was a huge issue, but I agree that the parts with Two-Face that took place after the hospital scene with him and the Joker would’ve worked a bit better as a separate movie.
I couldn’t disagree with you more about Heath Ledger, though. He absolutely MADE that movie for me. And my only complaint about Christian Bale is that his “Batman voice” was a bit much at times.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:24 am
Steel yourself for the lynching and the torches, C.
B+? Seriously? Dude, the Watchman preview ALONE was worth the price of admission, everything after that was just 100% pure glory.
Actually, just the opening scene, which was fantasticly “no CGI/Slow-Mo Bullshit Special Effects” 90’s action movie, which I loved.
And all the stuff with the Joker. I really liked the direction they went with him.
All THAT was glory. Batman was kinda… I dunno. Not as interesting.
I’m with 80 on those points, for sure. The “Batman goes to Japan” stuff could have been cut, though, it was kinda dull, to be honest. Batman in the comics dosn’t move like a guy struggling in a 87 pound rubber suit, and if I wanted to see stiff, jerky, flailing motion fight scenes, I’d watch Star Trek.
Also, his voice… ya… not so much.
Oh, right… what I LOVED was the how Jokers story of his scars kept changing… PERFECT.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I respectfully disagree…If that was a b+ I’d hate to see what it would take to make an A. We had five major characters to develop “Gordon, Harvey, Rachel, Bats, and The Joker” plus all of the actual plot to develop as well. Much of Batman’s development came in the realizations of his limits in this epsiode as well as his reluctance to play his role as vigilante forever. Much of this film is him dealing with the consequences of his actions and the public’s reaction to them. Granted that the Joker and others ate up a lot of screen time but I think it was importand to show the very real dichotomy of their philosophies. I’d argue that Two-face was vital to the film as he represented the core of the Joker’s nihilistic argument- that civilization is simply a hollow veneer and that at our core we aren’t an attractive species.
Two-face and Gordon seem to be opposites…just as Batman and the Joker also seem to be opposites. But then again, it’s only a comic book movie. As for length…I want to see an extended edition of this film. A+
July 21st, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I think our main difference is just a matter of what we were looking for. You all offer a variety of praise, most of which I agree with, but most of it is directed towards the supporting characters. Which kind of illustrates the main source of my disappointment. I wanted a Batman movie to be more about Batman.