In March, I predicted the Dark Knight would suck. This was based on the publicity photos I was seeing of Heath Ledger playing the Joker. I had a feeling this was going to be like that Hallie Berry/Catwoman movie a few years back. I took some flack about it from some fanboy. Last week, I decided since this has been a very popular (or unpopular) post, I would do the honorable thing and see The Dark Knight.
THE DARK KNIGHT DOES NOT SUCK - BUT I STILL DIDN'T LIKE IT. It was a very good, well-crafted, scripted and shot film. The cinematography is well worth the ticket. Heath Ledger's Joker is creepy and, at times, funny.
It still isn't the Batman I grew up with. Most of the The Dark Knight script was influenced by comics made after 1986. The exception was a story I remember reading when I was ten years old in a Batman digest. The story was from 1973 an entitled "The Joker's Five Way Revenge."
Even that story didn't have the body count of this film (However, there have always been rumors about the Joker in this story, which may have explained the Joker/Ledger quoting the line from Brokeback Mountain and his "nurse" disguise).
One thing missing that the previous film and TV versions, (Okay, I've still not seen Batman Begins) except for the movie serials, had that was a trademark of the comic books for many years - giant, working models of everyday items. I would have loved for Ledger to have killed several innocent bystanders with a sign in the shape of a giant ear of corn. He would have then said to Christian Bale, "I know. My humor is corny."
See I grew up preferring the stories of the 40's - 70's. The artwork by Dick Sprang (see above) and Carmine Infantino (SP) coupled with what one DC writer referred to as "the Chamber of Commerce Batman." It was this Batman that was on the TV show in the sixties and Saturday morning cartoons of the seventies. The Batman of my childhood doesn't sound like he gargles Draino. Actually he sounds like the mayor on Family Guy.
Also, once more (some one posted a comment that agreed with me on this) I ask "Why did the Joker look like he put his make-up on in the back seat of a school bus on a bumpy road?" I prefer the dyed skin concept from the comics.
However, I like the idea of a villain centered movie. How about DESDINOVA THE SUPER VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS movie?
4 comments:
You use a Dick Sprang art and call yourself a villian?
Sorry yer the hero of the beach today.
I'm glad hear from someone who still appreciates the "old school" Batman.
You are entitled to like the old Batman. Although this is a new Batman supposed to be taken from the "The Dark Knight Returns" comic book series which relaunched the character in the 80's. What I think is lacking from the Christopher Nolan films is the atmosphere which was achieved by Tim Burton's first two Batman Films from 1989 and 1990. For me, personally, those were the best achievements of Batman on film, period. They struck a balance between looking like comic books, but looking serious nonetheless. The new film looks more like a Michael Mann film (ie. Heat) for the exterior scenes, there is not enough atmosphere. Gotham, usually a character by itself in all of the previous films, takes a back seat on this one.
However, what I believe is that each generation gets their own "revamped" version of Comic Book or literary classics. For those who grew up in the 60's, the TV Batman by Adam West is the ultimate "archetype" of the character, for the children of the 80's its either the Justice League Cartoon Batman, or the much improved version brought to the screen by Michael Keaton under the direction of Burton, as stated before.
For the younger generation, it appears that they have chosen Christian Bale, under the direction of Nolan, to be their ideal incarnation of the character. Democracy is the tyranny of the majority, and the majority of people have picked this movie as a winner, breaking all box office records, even if some people don't approve.
Eduardo, you are right. That is what I feel is one of the problems of The Dark Knight - the look is so ordinary.
The TV show had the garish, day-glo look, Burton's films had a dark Gothic look and the Schumacher films had a futuristic look. The Dark Knight looks like another cop show or cop movie. The other version's copied the trademarks of the comic books, The Dark Knight seem like copied other cop movies (many have pointed to Heat).
Post a Comment