Dark Knight review

[ishtar79]

*peeks in*

Hey all, remember me? I’m fairly certain tectonic plates have shifted since my last update, though I’ve been making an effort to at least read my flist from time to time.

I went to see Dark Knight with ariadneelda last night.


I’m a bit on the fence about it. It certainly had its moments, and there’s no denying it was visually stunning, but I definitely felt there was something…lacking.

I love a good tension-filled Escalating Threat plot and stylized comic book fight sequence just as much as the next fangirl, but those tend to lose their impact without the stuff in-between, the quiet moments that give you insight into the characters, or even let you catch your breath. Batman Begins had those-in fact, the movie was an extended analysis of Bruce Wayne’s Many Issues, dressed up in a bat costume. This wasn’t the case with Dark Knight. Oh, certainly, Bruce is no closer to burying his demons in this one, but I just found it difficult to actually care about them. Possibly because much of the plot seem to follow the "danger-danger averted-Bruce takes off suit and snarks a bit with Albert-oh look, DANGER!" format.

Speaking of Albert, he was criminally underused. What’s the point of casting Michael Caine if you’re not going to put him to work? That also goes for Morgan Freeman (and can I just say, I was bitter about the lack of Albert/Lucius Old Men Slashiness in this one!) and Maggie “I can has agency?” Gyllenhaal (on the plus column, no Katie Holmes. On the minus, the Rachel character was so pointless and undefined, a mannequin could have easily replaced her with no one noticing). I was relieved that the Gary Oldman character made it through the film though.

In case you think this is an all-out negative review, I can say that one thing (mostly) compensated for the movies (not insignificant) flaws, and that is the perfection that was Heath Ledger’s Joker. I remember when the first Batman with Michael Keaton came out, with Jack Nicholson playing the part. Regardless of what one thinks of Nicholson’s career as a whole, it can’t be denied that the man can ham it up, and I’m so grateful that Heath didn’t go that route. The subtler performance was an unexpected touch (after all, it’s hard to go more over-the-top comic book villain than the Joker), but it brought to the character a level of malice and danger I felt was lacking in previous screen versions. That videotape, where he kills the fake!Batman? I got chills watching that, and I can’t remember the last time I actually got scared watching a comic book adaptation.

Like I said, this movie wasn’t my favourite, but after the full-blown Batman-Joker war started, after the arrest, I was hooked. The Joker’s elaborate mindfucks were nothing short of awesome, and combined with my ‘meh’ attitude about the Caped Crusader in this one, I was finding it hard to get particularly upset about all the ways he was getting OWNED, and rather gleeful at watching the Joker’s schemes fall into place. I did sympathize with Gary Oldman’s character though (I know said character had a name, but I spent much of film commenting to ariadneelda “Well, this can’t be good for poor Gary Olman’s ulcer”, because it just sounds cooler than “Gordon”. Seriously, being a cop in Gotham must suck).

Speaking of the Joker’s schemes falling into place, I totally called Harvey’s villainous turn. Bruce’s mancrush on him alone should have been a clue-sheesh, no wonder Bruce has intimacy issues. All his boyfriends male role models end up trying to kill him.

Mind you, for a movie that focused so much on Harvey’s descent into darkness, they were surprisingly tight-lipped about the Joker’s origins. I’m not sure whether it’s fitting to maintain the mystery surrounding a character that’s just into chaos for chaos’ sake, or if it’s just another sloppy example of character development, or lack thereof, on the script writers (“He’s a clown. A CRAZY CLOWN! Just go with it!”).

Overall an enjoyable experience, if a bit uneven. The ending didn’t feel nearly as iconic as I imagine the director thought it would and it left a few plot holes. Did Gordon’s wife agree to maintain the “Evil Batman” fiction? What about his kids? What about the crooked lady cop, who I believe survived, babbling about Twoface?

Still, I look forward to the DVD coming out, so I can rewatch my favorite scenes over and over, especially the Batman-Joker slashfest confrontation at the station. Or any scene where you catch a glimpse of Christian Bale’s naked torso (another thing sadly lacking in this one, as opposed to the original. Filmmakers, take note-when in doubt, always go with shirtless Bale doing push-ups. Trust me on this.)