Going Against the Grain

[av8rmike]

I expect to get dozens of comments on this entry telling me just how wrong I am, so don't disappoint, people! Here's why:

I didn't think The Dark Knight was that good.

Sure, Heath Ledger was good. Not Oscar good, though. I think the people that are saying that are just blinded by the fact that he died oh so tragically and this is his "swan song" and he must get recognized for it. Fortunately, as Leonard Maltin reminds us, the people who believe in this "wish-fulfillment rumor" have no say in the actual process. The Academy doesn't like comic-book movies, and the Oscar season is hardly over by this point, either.

Now, the rest of the movie? It was about forty minutes to an hour too long and the plot was too complex. Something about rival gangs and a lot of money and a Chinese guy. Not to mention the fact that Batman can somehow get said Chinese guy in China one night and magically transport him to Gotham the next morning without the whole 15-hour flight. I kept thinking that we were getting to an ending, but the movie kept going. What made no sense to me was the whole Harvey Dent/Two-Face subplot. The movie left the Joker plot hanging, quite literally, then went on with a completely new villain. I guess they didn't want to show the Joker actually dying, as in the first Batman, but it made sense to kill off the villain they created only half an hour earlier? Especially seeing as it's now impossible to make another Batman movie with the Joker as the villain, because no one will want to be overshadowed by both Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson.

Maybe I'm just colored by the Tim Burton series and the fact that I didn't see Batman Begins. Was that movie so different from the first four that my perception is all off? Or is it just the fact that Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin were so horrid that anything is better? A glance through Metacritic shows that I'm not the only one that thinks this way, although I am surprised Roger Ebert and the Onion A.V. Club had such high praise.

Comments

[unclebill35.livejournal.com]

The myriad of subplots was a bit much, and Holy Time Warp, Batman I was shocked at the time I got out, I hadn't checked the running time. They went a bit far with the cellphone networking, could have done it with just audio triangulation rather than seeing every room in the city via sonar. And if the HK snatch was at 10pm local time, that is round about 10am local time Gotham (NYC/Chicago), so a flight in a turboprop (slower than commercial jets) would have 21 hours (skipping a day in there) to be on the doorstep at 7am.

But has anyone heard of the friggin Bat Plane? Like they wouldn't have a small quieted V/STOL in the inventory?

Leaving Joker hanging was a letdown, seeing him in the same boat as the Scarecrow at the end would have given more closure.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really think the whole Two-Face subplot should have been left out...but I did still think it was a good movie. Perhaps I was blinded by the whole wish-fulfillment thing myself, because I think that Heath Ledger's performance was truly amazing....

[dantheman70.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one, but I can't believe that the IMDb rating was at 9.7. Yeah, I know, early on, but geez peoples.

http://www.frothyruminations.com/?p=674

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

Wow, someone who actually agrees with me. I also agree about Christian Bale's performance; it did seem to be without the inner turmoil from previous Batman incarnations. Without Ledger, there'd be no movie at all. Had you seen Batman Returns, though? I was told I might appreciate it better if I had.

And one nitpick: Morgan Freeman's character was Lucius Fox; Lucien was the dude from Underworld.

[dantheman70.livejournal.com]

Hm, you're right. I actually conflated him with a basketball player, who I thought had the funny name of Lucious Harris. I thought, no way could that name be there again.

[fuzzy-gizmo.livejournal.com]

I disagree and felt like saying it.

I can't believe you saw Dark Night without seeing Batman Begins. No, it wasn't better just because the last 2 were bad... yes, I didn't think Batman Returns was great, but it wasn't horrible like the next two. I felt that they did an amazing job at character creation. I hadn't noticed the china time issue until you mentioned it, but that's because... umm... yeah, it's not real. Would it have helped or changed your opinion at all if they said a day went by? Did it really matter? Doubt it. As for the hanging part, I think the issue was the small change in Batman's personality form Batman Begins. Batman didn't have such a strong conviction in Batman Begins... let the bad guy die wasn't a big issue like it was this time for some reason. However, they did something in this movie that they've never done much in Batman... he was actually willing to take responsibility for another person's killings (i.e. the purpose of the Harvey Dent into Two-Face subplot). It all tied into the Joker plot quite nicely when you give it some actual thought. Joker was correct, if you are predictable then people can find your weakness. If people think that Batman is willing to kill, then they might not mess with him. If they think he is a little crazy, then it might be even more scary. Anyways... I liked it :-P

[av8rmike.livejournal.com]

I just never got around to seeing Batman Begins, and I didn't think there was that much I'd have missed. Can we still be friends? ;)
Two other friends came down on opposite sides: justplainbryan had some though-provoking comments about the non-comic-y aspect of it, while dantheman70 above thought it was mis-cast and would be nothing without Heath Ledger's performance. What I can't believe is that after only 4 days, it's already the highest-rated movie on IMDb.