Well I finally got a chance to watch this much anticipated movie, and I enjoyed it. Did I love this movie, or will it go down as one of my all time favorites? No. However I will say it is one of the best summer blockbusters I have ever scene and it shows how far comic book movies have come. Ok onto my review.
First and foremost I dont think that anyone can argue with how cool Gotham looks. The cinematographer by, Wally Pfister is amazing. Talk about bringing the pages of the graphic comic to life. I was blown away by the look of the city, I dont know where they shot this, but I loved it. You really get a feel watching this, that the city is at its brink. The movie has that dark of feel to it. I also really liked how the movie started, introducing the joker first really makes you get into the movie really fast. As for the Joker, well not much can be said that hasnt been said already, but wow what a character. Ledger shows his dedication to the craft by completely submerging himself in the mind of a maniac. The brilliant joker seems to be an enemy that is even too much for batman. I will say his performance was up there with some of my best villains ever, but as far as oscar winning performance, I think his character was a little short on depth. I mean there is no background to the character, all we know is he is a maniac, that wants to watch a world tear itself apart. He does that very well. His best scene I believe is during the interogation. If you arent at the edge of your seat then, I dont know when you ever will be.
As to some of the other characters, I loved Harvey Dent, Aaron Eckhardt was great. I thought Maggie Gyllenhaal was good as the love interest Rachel, but she wasnt someone I cared that much about. When she dies, I dont really think the movie hits a climax like the moment was intended. Gary Oldman is very good as Commisioner Gordon, he plays the ultimate good cop in a system marred with corruption. Again i wasnt crazy about Christian Bale as batman, but I think that is one of my problems with this movie as a whole. I think the big dilemna for Batman in this movie is the fact that he is ready to give up his life of being the hero, to pursue a normal life. Well as normal as a billionaire's life can be. He feels that he cannot change gotham by himself, and the criminals have become to much. They are making a monster out of him. Yet watching Bale, it is obvious that he enjoys being Batman much more than the playboy. He enjoys being Batman more than being in love. I dont think anyone bought the love story between the Rachel and him. They really didnt bother trying besides one little kiss. I guess what I am saying is the subplot to this story is this big conflict Batman has within himself, yet not once did I ever feel like he was conflicted. I dont know, and it really is a minor flaw, but something that has showed in both films for me.
The other problem I had with this film is with the director Christopher Nolan and some holes in his screenplay. I dont like movies that explain something to me and the show me later. However I really hate it when the director shows me something that is pretty much unbelievable, and then either fails to explain it, or explains it with an explanation that is more unbelievable. This happened often in this film. First of all, when Dent turns into two-face. Not sure if all burn victims that refuse treatment are capable of walking out of the hospital within days of having his entire face blown off! Or I am not sure it is possible to use every cell phone in the entire city to create 3-D imaging or mapping of any building in the whole city. Yeah that explanation didnt work for me either. I also loved that the Joker could literally plant millions of pounds of explosives to huge ships, hospitals, and pretty much everything else, with no explanation to how he did it. I guess there is no police in gotham or they are just all that corrupted. The last thing that I hated was when Gordon faked his own death. Oh yeah good plan, I am sure you though of that on the fly. Nolan just shows you these ridiculous action seens that even when you use your imagination they are hard to believe, and then he either doesnt explain it at all, or gives an explanation that just isnt believable. He does this a lot in the Prestige as well.
Anyways I enjoyed it a lot and have some thoughts about where I think the 3rd installment will go. If you are interested post a comment.
1 comment:
I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't really argue with your review. I'll be seeing it tomorrow night. I read an interview with the director in Newsweek. They filmed it in Chicago without changing any of the skyline or features at all. It just happens to be a city with a lot of layers, skyscrapers, el train, subway, underground streets, etc., which they thought kind of emulated the idea of Gotham. Nothing particularly creative or special done there, but I'm glad to hear it works.
Post a Comment