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on the summer’s second coming (see also: the dark knight)

My brother returned from Spain on Sunday, so I finally went to see The Dark Knight (I had agreed to wait until he returned to see it).

All in all, I thought it a good film. I think that Nolan put together a great story, a great script, and great character development. I also think the film was shot really well (for the most part).

Unfortunately I’m not jumping on the “best movie ever” bandwagon though. I will probably see it again, but in the meantime, here are a few initial disappointments:

(****spoiler alert****)

WHERE WAS BRUCE WAYNE?

One of the most interesting things about Batman Begins, was the Bruce Wayne character arc. This was completely lost in TDK.

We only saw Bruce a few short times in this movie, most of the time he was on as Batman. You could argue that this was intentional, and that TDK was meant to be more about Gordon and/or Dent and/or Joker. But I missed the Bruce Wayne turmoil that made BB so intriguing.

HARVEY DENT: MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Was it me or was this the most interesting character in the movie? And was he not underutilized? And, by the way, killed off at the end? I would have liked to see him be the villain in the next movie.

PAGING THE VISUAL EFFECTS DEPARTMENT

The visual effects in this flick seemed bizarrely amateur. The CGI on Twoface was poor. And the explosions/stunt photography was particularly dull. This YouTube video (link) of the hospital explosion, taken by a news chopper in Chicago last summer, is actually more compelling than the shot in the movie was (it was mostly obscured by CGI smoke in the movie).

ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC

Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard put together a really haunting score for BB. The score for TDK was mostly unremarkable, and I only recall the BB main theme being quoted once. Kinda disappointing.

 

Without raining all over the place, I do think the movie’s worth seeing. Probably twice, even. I just don’t think it was as amazing as so many people have described. And while I think his performance was really good, I don’t think we should be doling out Oscars to Heath Ledger yet (at least not until we’ve seen the rest of the 2008 slate).

July 29, 2008 at 7:51 pm | Filed Under film | Comments 
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  • luke d
    I thought there was a nice blend of humor in the film as well. Looking at Two Face was like a study in anatomy - both muscle and bone structure. I liked that it wasn't so formulaic in that another character is introduced to be the villian in the next movie - a nice break from the current trend. I mostly agree with you on the music though... By my count, I heard the BB theme twice (towards the beginning.) I liked the movie a lot... My two favorite parts are the intro of the Joker and the end. "He will do what is hard. He will do what is right." Not only did it seem to fit, but it reminded me of "The West Wing." Would you say better or worse than WALL-E?
  • I enjoyed both equally, I'd say, even though I found fewer faults with WALL-E. The difference being that the hype surrounding WALL-E was purely my own, and the hype surrounding TDK was EVERYBODY on the PLANET's.
  • Matt B
    The movie is called "The Dark Knight" not "The Depressed and Vengeful yet Hyper Billionaire Playboy". The previous movie is called "Batman Begins", hence the whole Bruce Wayne aspect.
  • Fair point. Though if a movie did come out called "The Depressed and Vengeful yet Hyper Billionaire Playboy" I'd probably see it...
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