Going Against the Grain
Jul. 21st, 2008 08:56 amI 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. ( Spoiler cut... )
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.
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. ( Spoiler cut... )
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.