(no subject)

[i_kender]

Hi. I thought The Dark Knight was awesome

– definitely more reminiscent of the 80s Batman comics than anything else. It was extremely violent and nasty with it, which is why I’m surprised it managed to get away with a 12A rating – I realise the ratings are flexible to reflect changing attitudes, but the first Spiderman film was a 12A and this is so much darker and more intense than that was! Should have been a 15. And yes, it did seem overly long and bigger on the psychological than the action, but that didn’t really bother me. It did seem to be struggling very hard to distance itself from the superhero genre and other superhero films by focussing on the realism and the gritty – but if any character can get away with that, it’s Batman.

I found the gravelly Batman voice a bit of a turn off here, possibly because he simply has more lines in this film. It was grating and distracting. And although all the performances were very good (with the exception of Morgan Freeman and Maggie Gyllenhal, but I think that’s because their parts were slight/underwritten) the ones that really stood out for me were Gary Oldman (a steady and reliable performance, the moral backbone of the film) and of course Heath Ledger. While being wary of the kind of posthumous lauding that is flying around (like rumours of an Oscar nomination before the film had even been released properly!) I have to admit that the screen did light up whenever his Joker was on – a hideous but fascinating portrayal full of grotesquery and tics. A nasty, brutal street thug of a Joker – and hey, it’s not the way I think of the character, and I don’t think necessarily conveys the depths of insanity and real unpredictability of the Joker as well as the comics do -  but it works, gloriously, and is certainly the best onscreen Joker we have seen so far.

Is it just me, or did the Hong Kong sequence seem to belong to a different film? One with more action and Batman playing with new toys?

My favourite bit of the film: the scene where Batman is roaring over to the Joker on his Batbike, and the Joker is standing there muttering to himself “Go on. Hit me. I want you to hit me.” Because either way, he wins. Genius! I actually wanted to see a scene where Batman refuses to kill the Joker, not because of some moral code, but merely to spite him because that’s what the Joker wants: to bring the Batman down to his level.

 

Comments

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

I loved The Dark Knight too, but because I am a woman of simple tastes the bit where the Joker's juggernaut flipped over was the best bit for me. HURRAH GREAT BIG EXPLOSIONS :D

TOTALLY agree with you on the gravelly voice (I have been taking the p1ss out of it ever since I saw the film - Paul finds it quite unsettling when I ask him, in the Batman voice, if he'd like a cup of tea, hehe :)) and that it should have been a 15 cert. The bit with the pencil dude! And the opening bank robbery sequence! I couldn't believe that there were 7 year-olds in the audience :(

Also I am very reluctant to admit it bcs I DON'T FANCY MOVIE STARS, but Christian Bale is a little bit hot isn't he?

[i_kender]

DUDE THE BIT WITH THE PENCIL ARGH! I was traumatised, and I'm not 12!

[apple-crumble.livejournal.com]

It's a cracking film - I really enjoyed it. Like you I was dubious of the Heath Ledger related hype but I thought his performance was worth it, and you're right (much as I quite like Nicholson's louche-lite Joker) he does give us the best on-screen Joker we've ever had.

Sorry to traumatize you in my post!

xxx

[iscah93.livejournal.com]

that was the best bit! :-)

[i_kender]

De nada... I was more traumatized by my girlfriend, who clicked through the link to the actual website, and decided to share her comments with me! Apparently Cthulhu has nice ridges and contouring but would potentially be a bit off-putting. But not as off-putting as the spiral unicorn horn. My mind, it is boggled.