Justin Reviews: The Dark Knight
July 21, 2008
Long gone are the campy memories of Adam West as Batman. No more do we have the gothic tales of
Ben Review’s: The Dark Knight (Spoiler Alert)
July 20, 2008
Editors Note: There are some spoilers ahead, so reader beware!
I generally enjoy playing the Devil’s advocate, but more so against the cynical fanboys. The new Indiana Jones is an example. People have been pissing and moaning about that movie for so long now, it’s just getting irritating. Me? Well I will go fanboy taboo and say I liked it. NO, scratch that, I loved it! In fact…I’ll go one further and say that 
the monkey scene didn’t bother me at all. And I’ll take THAT a step further and say I even liked the fridge scene! Blasphemy, I know, but it’s true.
So in being anti-fanboy, it would stand to reason that I would favor more negatively towards the new Batman adventure, The Dark Knight. Well, surprise, surprise…just like the masses, I loved it. The Dark Knight struck new chords within the way people view Batman. No longer is he just a comic book hero, but now he’s actually pretty much a real guy. The stunts, action and things he does to battle crime all seem relatively believable. That was a big selling point to me. The Joker was the same way. He seemed like a real guy, who was just insane, and it worked for the most part.
We might as well get the issues I had with the movie out of the way first, as they are few. My qualms with the movie were actually pretty much non-existent as I felt excited for the most part of the 2 hour 20 minute time length. It’s a major feat to make a film so long yet exciting that even my wife wasn’t bored, but it was accomplished here. I felt that the storyline and dialog were a little too thick for only a single viewing. Sometimes I was left feeling like “what are they talking about?” only because I was still trying to process what they had just said in the scene before, but it didn’t really hinder or confuse the rhythm of the movie for the most part. I was never left feeling empty. I think my biggest problem was Maggie Gyllenhaal. As an actress, I don’t like her. As a sex symbol, I don’t like her. Asthe character Rachael Dawes, I don’t like her. So all in all, I just didn’t like her. I didn’t feel that there was any time where she was important to me and when she was killed off, I actually only felt bad for Harvey Dent. I didn’t sense any real connection between her and the others. It seemed that Bruce was almost apathetic to her, even when he was trying to save her and she seemed pretty flighty with boththe boys who were supposedly in love with her. Only Harvey Dent could really pull off kinda liking her, but it felt more like a 6th grade romance, awkward and one sided for the most part. I was left sort of happy that she was killed, because now I won’t have to deal with her in part 3.
My next problem wasn’t really a problem, but more of a case of higher expectations. This one belongs to Heath Ledger/The Joker. I wanted more. Now, I’m not one of those people who saw this movie and is now comparing Ledger’s performance to that of DeNiro in Raging Bull. Not at all. Not the best performance of the century, decade or when 2008 is over, the year even. It was just plain and simple, a great performance in general. Ledger was a fine actor and it is very tragic that he died on the cusp of absolute super stardom, but in no way was the the NEXT Marlon Brando or a James Dean. He was the FIRST Heath Ledger; a good actor who died before he became great. I can remember seeing The Patriot when it came out in 2000, and I thought Heath was great in that. I remember when he and Mel Gibson were sharing an apple together in that movie and they both smile and I thought to myself, “Is that apple like a torch? Could this kid be the next Mel Gibson?” And like I just said before, no…he wasn’t the next Mel
Gibson, he was the first and only Heath Ledger, and that is what he will remain forever. As for the Joker, he was great. He was scary, funny, cool, suave in a psychotic way…I liked it….but didn’t love it. There wasn’t enough screen time for him…and when he was on (save for a few great scenes), he just seemed scattered. Not to say he wasn’t enjoyable, he sure was…but I wanted more…and I suppose in a way, that is a major complement. Ledger did transform into the character, which made it exciting and fun, almost like watching an unknown play him. Definitely the brightest star in the Dark Knight galaxy.
I think overall my biggest problem was one that the filmmakers could not have foreseen, and that is the ending. I don’t blame anyone, obviously, for the death of Heath Ledger, but it just sucks in a selfish way that his death really screws up Batman 3. I cannot think of a single way to save it. Recast? Lame. Write the Joker out of
the story? Lame. Kill him off in the beginning somehow? Lame. There really is no good way to do it. I think that part 3, if there will be a part 3, has major obstacles ahead and honestly, will not be able to surpass what fans expect because of this movie.
Ok, so the good: Well…I have to say that my favorite part of this movie was totally unexpected. Aaron Eckhart was amazing as Harvey Dent. I am not the biggest fan of Aaron Eckhart, but in this movie he nailed it. He commanded the screen every time he was on it, and I thought his transformation into Two Face was totally awesome. I
understood completely his anger and insanity which made him become Two Face. I loved that character.
The story was overall exciting and believable. I loved the Joker working for and against the mob. I loved Batman’s story arc with his love/hate relationship with Dent. I loved the Joker’s dialog about how he and Batman will be bitter enemies till the end because they need each other (another unfortunate turn of events that really hinders the Batman 3 storyline.)
The action was intense and I loved the last battle between Batman and the Joker, when Joker was tossed over the side of the building and cackling all the way down. The capture and escape of the Joker was also intense and white knuckled. It had just really well shot action sequences overall.
The writing really made this movie. The dialog could have so easily been goofy, like most comic book movies, but this one was really written within the boundaries of reality and it never took me out of the story. Even when Harvey became Two Face, I believed it. Just great old fashioned good guy vs. bad guy stuff.
So in finishing this strange review, I have to say that the good very much outweighs the bad in this movie. I saw on IMDB that it is now voted the number 1 movie of all time in the Top 100. That is just stupid. It’s a great movie…but in no way does it compare to Raging Bull, The Godfather, etc. It’s just a great and fun popcorn movie that didn’t change my life…but gave me a Joker sized grin as I exited the theater…mostly because for the first time in a long time, it was money well spent.
Check Out an alternative viewpoint: Sam’s Review of ‘The Dark Knight’
Review: The Dark Knight
July 20, 2008
With the recent spate of comic book-based movies, we’re in a golden age. It is no longer just okay to throw characters onto the screen with poor dialogue and ludicrous scenarios. The bar has been raised every summer. And the bar is now sky high. Now comic book movies must face the dizzying heights achieved by Christopher Nolan and ‘The Dark Knight.’ Read more
Justin Reviews: Funny Games (2008)
July 18, 2008
Michael Haneke is kind of a riddle in his 2008 shot-for-shot remake of his own 1997 horror film, ‘Funny Games.’ His film is a criticism on violence in film; it plays out more like a deconstructive essay than it does an actual film, goading the audience on, mocking them for the violence he feels the audience is craving. On the other hand, ‘Funny Games’ has enough more than effective nods towards horror film standards that you have to wonder how many horror/violence-riddled films Haneke has absorbed to be able to create and execute these scenes so well.
Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
July 17, 2008
Red, Liz and Abe are back. In Guillermo del Toro’s first movie since the award-winning ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ the big red guy with the Right Hand of Doom again does battle with the evil folks trying to rule the world.
As the film opens, John Hurt, again playing the scientist who found and raised Hellboy, is telling the young pre-hero a bedtime story about an army of machines that do the bidding of whomever owns a magical crown. After the last insurrection, the three parts of the crown are scattered all over the world. We then flash forward to the present day, where one piece of the crown is going up for auction. And Prince Nuada has returned to regain what he believes is rightly his. Read more
Justin Reviews: Blade Runner: The Final Cut
July 17, 2008
While I don’t consider myself a sci-fi enthusiast (and definitely don’t fall into the charming category of “geek”), I can say that when a sci-fi movie is good, I mean really, really good, I’m all over it.
Justin Reviews: Batman: Gotham Knight
July 16, 2008
With the nationwide release of ‘The Dark Knight’ just days away, Warner Bros. released a direct-to-DVD anime film comprised of six anime shorts, each around 12 minutes in length entitled, ‘Batman: Gotham Knight.’ The animated feature was to provide another perspective on the world of Batman that Christopher Nolan created as well as fill in the gap between the events that take place in ‘Batman Begins’ and the upcoming feature. Read more
Justin Reviews: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
July 15, 2008
Converting J.K. Rowling’s novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, into a film was clearly going to be a challenge.
DVD Review: Antonio Gaudi
July 15, 2008
How do you define a documentary? Is it a film that has interviews? Is it a film that tells a true story? These are the sorts of questions that you find yourself thinking watching Hiroshi Teshigahara’s movie ‘Antonio Gaudi.’ Read more
Justin Reviews: Rescue Dawn
July 14, 2008
No one can accuse Werner Herzog of not being a risky director. While his directorial style doesn’t contain a lot of flash, it is definitely stylized in its ability to capture riveting stories. And no one can accuse Christian Bale of being a personality actor.
Remake This: 3:10 To Yuma (2007)
July 8, 2008
In 1953, writer Elmore Leonard published a short story in Dime Western Magazine. The story was made into a movie in 1957, starring Glenn Ford. In 2007, ‘Walk the Line’ director James Mangold tackled the story again. Read more
Review: WALL-E
July 7, 2008
Halfway through the large slate of movies released annually Read more
