With two screenings of THE DARK NIGHT still behind me, there are still some questions running around my brain that I thought we could all hash out together. Feel free to answer all or any of the questions below. Also feel free to throw out any questions of your own that you desperately want answered by your peers.
Also, of course MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW starting with Question 2.
Updated: Inspired by Satty and some of the other comments here, I’ve added two more questions below.
1) Though it’s a different beast, is Aaron Eckhart’s work in THE DARK KNIGHT being overshadowed by Heath Ledger’s phenomenal performance? Though it’s not as flashy a role, I’d argue his acting was almost as good as Ledger’s. I don’t seem to be alone either. Agree or disagree?
2) Did Batman willingly choose to rescue Harvey Dent instead of Rachel Dawes, or did The Joker lie to Batman and reverse the addresses as to who was where?
3) If you were in Batman’s place, who would you have chosen?
4) Do you think killing off Rachel Dawes was a good choice, or should they have found a way to keep her around?
Still recovering from the awesomeness of THE DARK KNIGHT that is still lingering in my system like an unshakable hangover, I realized that the one major flaw of the movie was that it may result in the franchise becoming a victim of its own success.
How could a third Batman movie possibly top THE DARK KNIGHT?
I’m not just talking about quality, but rather how can any Batman villain be a more suitable and amazing adversary than the Joker? Most of all, how could any potential sequel raise the stakes any higher than they were in THE DARK KNIGHT?
There were times in the film were I endured sucker-punch upon sucker-punch, wondering how much bleaker, darker, despairing the film could get. Repeatedly I wondered how what The Joker was doing to Gotham could get any worse. Then he just upped himself again and again in exponentially escalating acts of anarchy. All I could do was hope for a brighter turn of events. They rarely came. I felt about as hopeless and terrorized as I imagine any Gotham citizen would have been feeling during The Joker’s rampage. It seemed like nobody could get a break, nobody could win. In the end, I’m not sure anyone really did. Actually, I think the only person who did was The Joker. There were little victories perhaps (the ferry people, Batman doesn’t kill The Joker), but in the end Gotham’s white knight - Harvey Dent - has been destroyed (at least to those in the know) and Batman has become a wanted man.
For those of you who are like me and still processing some of the heavier themes THE DARK KNIGHT was exploring, David Chen over at Slash Film has written an excellent analytical article discussing some of the greater philosophical issues the film tackled and which helped make it such a rich, rewarding experience. Until I can gather my own thoughts on the matter, I’d say Chen’s article is definitely worth checking out if you thought Batman’s latest adventure was more than just brainless summer entertainment.
Everything you have heard about THE DARK KNIGHT is true. It’s not just an amazing superhero movie, it’s an amazing movie. Period. It proves what many avid comic book readers have known for a long time. Comics are not just silly adventures involving uninteresting do-gooders in tights, but have the potential to achieve dramatic depth and insight on the level of all fine art.
That being said, THE DARK KNIGHT is most certainly an exciting superhero adventure (albeit, far from a silly one). Batman’s battle with The Joker features no end of finely shot, deliriously orchestrated, expertly choreographed and highly destructive action sequences ranging from Batman’s brutal fist fights to intense car chases. They’re also intoxicatingly exciting, of course. Throw in great characters immersed in a thrilling, twisty plot that increasingly escalates the tension, and fantastic performances from Christian Bale and especially Aaron Eckhart, and you’re in for one hell of a ride.
It’s the nuances and thematic aspirations though that raise the film to an entirely different level, one that is stimulating and smart. So much so that I saw it a second time not only because it was awesome, but because I felt I needed another shot to appreciate the movie’s complexity and nuances. My brain is still running through them, which should - if anything - mean it passes that age-old “A good film has you still thinking about it a week later” test. It proves that THE DARK KNIGHT isn’t so much a superhero film as it is an intelligent crime drama that happens to feature a guy who dresses like a bat, and another who wears clown makeup. Read the rest of this entry »
With many of you having probably attended midnight screenings of THE DARK KNIGHT or planning on catching the movie today, please feel free to post below and let the rest of us know. I’m not seeing the film till noon on Saturday, so out of fear of spoilers I won’t check till after (and will have a review by Sunday), but don’t let that stop you.
What did you think? Is the film really as amazing as everyone says it is, or were you a little down? Is it the best superhero movie of all time, or is it just plain one of the best movies of all time? Did you see it on an IMAX or regular screen? Were you hardcore and saw it on both? If so, which was better? What were the crowds like?
With only a few days left before THE DARK KNIGHT hits the screens I thought it would be as good a time as any to go back and revisit BATMAN BEGIN, see how it holds up, and simultaneously stoke the fire of my enthusiasm for the upcoming sequel.
Here are some of the impressions I got along the way:
This movie is perfectly suited for a drinking game. You could drink anytime one character uses another character’s earlier words against them (“It’s all a bit technical,” “Didn’t you get the memo,” “You never did learn to mind your surroundings” “Why do we fall down” “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me”). You could drink anytime Ra’s Al Ghul’s name gets pronounced differently, or bungled.
Heck, if you drink anytime anyone says the words fear, justice, or revenge and their variations, you’d be passed out on the floor within the first fifteen minutes, probably having drunken nightmares involving bats or Katie Holmes while your roommate calls the hospital to report your alcohol poisoning.
I didn’t sweat the small stuff. Maybe it’s because it’s been long enough since the film came out that the veil of geeky judgment and anticipation had been lifted, but this time around I found myself much more forgiving of some of the film’s flaws. In fact, those flaws seemed much more inconsequential and silly to me, merely minor blips in the greater picture. Whenever Katie Holmes popped up (which seemed much less frequent than I remembered), I politely indulged the tangent, absorbed whatever dramatic intent it had (in most cases I could at least appreciate that they were important for Bruce’s character development), and patiently waited for the scene to pass. Whenever the film threw in one of those common superhero movie wink-wink jokes (“Nice ride” “What’s it look like? Never mind.”), before I could even react either way it was over. The repetitive exposition of the water main guy insisting three times that if the train makes it to Wayne Tower the whole city will blow, was endearing rather than excessively expositiony.
Since the moment online film critics saw early press screenings of THE DARK KNIGHT, film sites all around have been inundated with remarkable praise for the film from their respective authors. In the last few weeks we’ve gotten everything from articles solely dedicated to talking about how awesome the film is, to blindingly glowing early reviews, to loads of passing remarks about how good it is while reporting on other THE DARK KNIGHT related stuff. If you haven’t heard by now the movie is supposed to be the greatest thing since buttered toast, you’ve probably been living under a rock (or don’t have internet).
As a result, some are predictably wondering whether the film is being astronomically over-hyped as a result. In an amusing case, this past weekend First Showing’s Alex Billington pondered that very question, and then preceded to just sensationally hype it more (this after already controversially declaring it a cinematic revolution a while back). The over-hype isn’t my issue though. Partially because it’s inevitable for a film like this (especially and unfortunately after Ledger’s passing), and also because I have a strong feeling THE DARK KNIGHT will meet expectations – both my own, and those instilled by enthusiastic bloggers.
My issue is that any and every blogger praising the film for weeks now has compounded to the point where it seems to have converged into one sentiment: “I’ve seen THE DARK KNIGHT all ready, na na na na boo boo.”
I just read today that after years of fumbling your comic properties you’ve finally decided to get your shit together and hold a summit to figure out what the heck to do with your superheroes. It’s an admirable plan even if it’s painfully obviously that you guys are only scrambling now to get a game plan going because Marvel is kicking your ass on a whole new level (thanks to IRON MAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK) and has their next few years of movies all worked out on an epic scale. It just makes you look incompetent and lazy, especially since only recently Marvel has started self-financing its projects and retained rights to their products, while you’ve had that luxury for a while now. But okay, there’s no sense in crying over spoiled milk. What’s done is done and what matters now is what you do next, hence the summit. In the spirit of that, I thought I’d offer some humble comments and suggestions that might aid you and your meeting.
First off, figure out what’s worth turning into a film. I hate to say it, but you guys face somewhat of a challenge in that (despite my affections for DC characters) Marvel has a deeper well of characters that are cooler and more recognizable than yours. Yes, you guys have Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Flash. Some might even know Green Arrow and Green Lantern. Since Batman and Superman have been done already though, that doesn’t leave you a whole lot. That means you’re going to have to dig deeper into lesser known DC characters. Make sure they are characters worthy of a film, and that could headline a good, exciting, and fun film. The non-comic lay man was mostly unfamiliar with IRON MAN, and yet the potential was there, and was realized. Result? Massive success thanks to good marketing and a good product.
During the summer everyone is always talking about anticipating this film or other, but a lot of times the reason we’re looking forward to a particular film is not just its concept, but the acting performances it promises. So with my Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer Movies list already up, I thought I’d highlight a few of the actors – in no particular order - whose work I’m most looking forward to seeing this summer season.
Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly, STEP BROTHERS
These two are a perfect comedic duo, and the concept of STEP BROTHERs – purportedly devised by the two actors themselves – is a perfect, simple vehicle to let their humor shine. Above all else, I’m just so happy to see John C. Reilly finally breakout, even if after years of solid character roles it turned out to be comedy that would get him noticed.
Robert Downey Jr., TROPIC THUNDER
It’s really hard to imagine Downey Jr. could top his performance in IRON MAN, but I’m incredibly curious to see how he is going to pull off playing a white Australian actor who in the film is in turn playing an African American. Inherently it seems like a politically incorrect disaster (then again, the Wayans did turn themselves white a while back), but based on all the trailers it looks like he pulls it off perfectly and – most importantly – hilariously.
Heath Ledger, THE DARK KNIGHT
Before you get the wrong idea, I’m not morbidly looking forward to Ledger’s performance in THE DARK KNIGHT because it was his last. I’m looking forward to it because it looks phenomenal. Based on the trailers, it just blows my mind how Ledger all but disappears into the role of the Joker, both in manner and appearance. It seems like such a seamless melding with the psychopathic spirit of the villain, that HYPERLINK “http://www.cinematical.com/2008/05/14/discuss-could-heath-ledger-land-an-oscar-nod-for-his-dark-knig/” some are already wondering whether it may deserve an Oscar nomination.
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