Monday, August 04, 2008

The Best Superhero Movie Ever


If Blogger allowed me to put a picture here, it would have had Batman on it. So, I'll just pretend it's here. Wow, nice dark blue tinting on that picture. Looks so Bat like. Once Blogger allows it, I'll have a picture here. Update - the picture is here!

Yesterday I saw The Dark Knight which is the second Batman film in the Christopher Nolan / Christian Bale series. I've been trying to avoid reviews of the movie so I could go into it with an unbiased mind, but two messages did get through: It's the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel and it's too long.

I won't go on too much because it is the third of fourth week of release and I think most people have seen reviews or the movie at this point (it's said to be nearing Titanic in money made) so I'll start with the first subject - is it the greatest thing since the wheel?

My opinion is almost. The Dark Knight brings in full living breathing detail the crime ridden Gotham City, a place filled with a corruption and urban blight. Done with the origin story, Christian Bale is more relaxed and confident as Bruce Wayne / Batman as he struggles with choices of conscience in his war on crime. Director Nolan has made his name on dealing with crisis of identity and the dark nature of people (Memento, Insomnia), the apparent success of Batman Begins has given him the clout to fully exercise his vision. Nolan draws strong performances from all the actors and gives them room to inhabit their roles as he brings the themes to vivid life. He nearly manages to exceed the excellent script, wandering into John Woo territory of the mythic yin and yang of good and evil. An intense ride through the darkside.

The late Heath Ledger gives the definitive Joker performance, inhabiting the role with sadistic humor and an anarchic edge. Best of all, the script is built on the premise that the Joker is no dummy and is bent on anarchy to prove a sick point. Aaron Eckert also excels as driven District Attorney Harvey Dent. And the returning cast of Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman all do well. Even Maggie Gylynhall excels bringing fiery intelligence as Assistant DA Rachel Dawes in place of the damsel in distress Katie Holmes from the prior movie.

With pumping action, a strong story and an expansive vision of the Batman universe there isn't much that goes wrong. All the gimmicks and weapons impress as the action is visceral and exciting. So what can I say that's negative? The second point - is the movie is too long? Well, it is a little too long from my view, but not by much. Maybe 20 minutes too long because that's about the point the finale hits its emotional peak although it still had key story points left. But when faced with greatness like this, it's hard to be that critical of 20 minutes. The Dark Knight comes close to being an all time classic film and stands as the best superhero movie I've ever seen, this in a summer chock full of superheroism.

The movie might have seemed longer to me because the theater we were at had a lot of problems. First, we were directed to a theater screen by attendants and lighted signs and sat through a half hour of trailers and advertisements to see...the first 10 minutes of Swing Vote. The theater said it couldn't route the correct movie to that screen but was showing Batman in the Swing Vote room in error (based on the first ten minutes, I'm voting No on Swing Vote). So patrons of both rooms switched places and Batman started up a few minutes into the beginning. But that's not all. About 40 minutes before the end words started to overlay on top of Batman. I thought it was part of the movie at first, a dastardly Joker trick, but then the words asked who played the bad guy in No Country For Old Men. The in between movie questions had kicked in and was playing on top of Batman! So, we had to go back to the theater management to get that to stop. They said we could have a refund so after the flick we went and got our money back.

This brings me to the highpoint of the movie for me. There's a part in the movie where Harvey Dent asks Jim Gordon what Dent's nickname was when he was in Internal Affairs. I won't say what the right answer is (anyone familiar with Batman knows it already) but will say what it isn't. Some guy said loudly "Riddler...RIDDLER!". When the answer wasn't Riddler the guy didn't have anything to say. It was really funny.

8 comments:

Jeb said...

I absolutely love The Dark Knight! Certainly lives up to it's potential!

Mr. Mike said...

Hi Jeb! I agree, I was blown away by it. Its rare to see a movie where there's a plan and everything falls into place.

Jeannie said...

I actually didn't think the movie was too long. Other than that, I agree with you completely. It was just intense enough to keep everyone interested, but not over-the-top where it felt fake. This movie actually felt real.

P.S. That Riddler-yelling guy was a real moron. If it wasn't such a serious part of the movie, I'm sure the audience would have busted up laughing.

Some Kinda Wonderful said...

Sounds like you experienced some of the reasons I don't go to movie theaters anymore. That and the sticky carpets... but I digress... You make it sound so good even I might be tempted to go see it. The jury is still out on that, tho. I don't know if I can face this stupid local theater here in Augusta. And I've heard the other one on the other end of town is even worse. Perhaps I will just have to wait and buy it, like all the other good films. /sigh/

Mr. Mike said...

Hi some kinda wonderful! Yes, the movie theater was really lame, at least the popcorn was good this time. And we got our money back, that was nice.

Mr. Mike said...

Hi Bunny! The movie did feel real and also I agree that the Riddler guy should have been laughed at. Loudly.

Unknown said...

It's a shame your movie viewing experience didn't go too well, as that's also one of the reasons I avoid initial releases, too. It's definitely worth seeing it again, especially to have a pure, un-interrupted viewing and that it's one of the few movies I actually thought was worth watching more than once in theaters.

Mr. Mike said...

Hi Redskyy! It's definitely worth seeing again. I don't know if I'll see it in a theater a second time, just because of cost, but I'll definitely get the DVD. And I'm glad to have seen it in the theater, too bad the nearest IMAX screen is an hour away.