My thoughts on…The Dark Knight
August 26th 2008 -
Finally! My Dark Knight post is ready! I saw it on Saturday, all by myself *sniff*. I wanted a certain little Miss to come with me, but due to certain complications (Claustrophobia. Seriously), that didn’t happen. And oddly enough, I found out she saw it with one of her girlfriends. Is your ol’ pal Lee getting the slip? Doubt it, but I’ll let you know. I meant to post it the very same day, but now I’ve had my own personal battle. Not with the forces of evil, but with tiredness, as I would come home, drop asleep, and by time I got up, it would be morning. This has affected my blogging as you can see. So I’ve decided to go the tried and trusted route, and pre-write posts. We’ll see how that works out.
But enough about that. Let’s get to the good stuff. What do I think of the movie? It’s just as good as everyone says. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen in fact. I urge you not to watch it bootleg, as that doesn’t do the movie justice. And no, I haven’t been paid off by Warner Bros. Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker was just awesome. In fact, Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill’s performances will now be compared to his. Why? Simply this. His performance as the Joker was more sinister. In fact, he has now become one of my favourite movie villains alongside Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader. Yes, he’s that good. If he doesn’t get a posthumous Oscar, he must surely get a nomination.
He is a “motiveless malignancy” much like Shakespeare’s Iago (huh?). He describes himself as “an agent of chaos”, and aims to corrupt, or rather reveal the darker side of human nature through a number of social experiments. He succeeds in doing this, and nearly brings Gotham into a state of anarchy. Why am I focusing so much on Heath’s performance? Because the villains are just as important as the heroes in these movies, as they are the obstacles that much be overcome. But in this movie, you don’t get the satisfaction of the good guy saving the day in the end. All the major characters have their morals compromised, especially Harvey Dent and even good ol’ Alfred.
But let me not forget the other characters. Maggie Gyllenhaal does an excellent job of replacing Katie Holmes. In fact, you don’t even miss her. Christian Bale plays a fantastic Batman as usual, a lonely, misunderstood hero who desires a normal life, and, with the appearance of The Joker - a villain with no restraints, wonders whether or not he’ll have to deny his conscience in order to stop him. Morgan Freeman, one of my favourite actors, does a terrific job playing the always wise Lucius Fox, Bruce’s gadget guru, CEO of Wayne Enterprises and in my opinion, Bruce’s second father figure. Jim Gordon, Batman’s ever reliable partner in justice, and as such goes head-to-head with The Joker as well, is well-played by Gary Oldman. I love the way Nolan gave him a worthy role in the reboot, instead simply appearing to call Batman.
I also need to give props to Aaron Eckhart for making a convincing turn from lantern jawed, all-American “White Knight” District Attorney Harvey Dent into the vicious Two-Face. The Dark Knight wasn’t just a movie. It was a study of the human condition, one so chillingly real that you leave the theatre shaken, not stirred. Sorry, couldn’t resist. I know I was. Thumbs up Mr. Nolan. This movie deserves every penny it made, because it’s a movie that’s well written, and is a summer movie that doesn’t insult your intelligence. Meet Dave? Please. Knowing Hollywood, there’ll be a sequel, especially after all the money this one made. But which villain can match or even top Ledger’s Joker? I don’t know.
Related Posts:
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- My thoughts on…the death of Batman
Gordon Swaby Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 8:15 am
And to think robert downey jr thought you needed a college degree to understand it:P “My whole thing is that that I saw ‘The Dark Knight’. I feel like I’m dumb because I feel like I don’t get how many things that are so smart. It’s like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I’m like, ‘That’s not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.’ I loved ‘The Prestige’ but didn’t understand ‘The Dark Knight’. Didn’t get it, still can’t tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. I’m like, ‘I get it. This is so high brow and so f–king smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.’ You know what? F-ck DC comics. That’s all I have to say and that’s where I’m really coming from.”
P.S i pirated it, stopped showing in theartres where i am
Gordon Swabys last blog post..In Defeat Or Victory, Jamaica is still # 1,
GC Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 11:11 am
lantern jawed? Good one.
nice review.
Still not going to se it though. Thanks.
GCs last blog post..I dare you
jdid Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I really liked Aaron Eckhart’s role. He was excellent!
Mighty Afroditee Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I was not keen to see it, but am glad that I did. I think that they took out a lot of the comic book elements, and made it seem…real. The joker was depicted as a terrorist, and not just a wronged arch enemy.
BTW - Mark Hamill played Batman? Thought it was just George Clooney and Michael Keaton…oh well…
Jamaican Dawta Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Excellent review! Now I definitely want to see it.
Jamaican Dawtas last blog post..Tracking Gustav
movie junkie Says:
August 28th, 2008 at 11:14 am
i still wish Katie Holmes had stayed on board as Rachel Dawes for the Dark Knight; it was like the time spent getting familiar with her character in Batman Begins was wasted…
movie junkies last blog post..Batman is "Incorruptable" says the Joker
Mad Bull Says:
August 29th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I liked the movie, but it was too long, and I thought Harvey Dent’s going over to the dark side was poorly handled. I didn’t buy the reasoning behind why he would go that way, but whatever. It was enjoyable.
Oh, and I missed Katie Holmes. She is way hotter than Molly whatever. A playboy like Bruce Wayne needs a hot gyal to model with.
My thoughts on…the year 2008 | My thoughts...on stuff Says:
December 31st, 2008 at 11:05 pm
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