Archive for January, 2009

Watching The Dark Knight = A Wasted Night

I’m not a movie critic, or a comic fan, so what do I know, but it just didn’t do much for me personally. My apologies to those who loved it. You can reprimand me later, and try to change my mind. Maybe I just didn’t “get it.” Please do explain. I would love to know what I’m missing.

Part of the problem was all the hype and bowing down, especially to Heath Ledger’s performance, which created way too much expectation in my mind. It was a decent movie, and certainly not on my all time worst list. But I think the accolades are more about giving a tribute to Ledger’s career rather than anything that this particular film deserves.

I would rather watch A Knight’s Tale any day of the week than sit through The Dark Knight again. It didn’t get good reviews, but it was a million times more rewarding to watch. So, nothing against Ledger. I just think it’s unfortunate that such a mediocre movie is the one by which he will be remembered. Or maybe it is fair. He did carry the movie. Without his performance, it would have been a complete disaster.

The main problem I had was that I felt like they were all trying too hard. The Joker was interesting for sure, and well acted, but I could feel him acting at times, and I found myself worrying about him messing up. That, to me, was more creepy and disturbing than the character itself.

Also, the movie was too bent on being dark and gloomy and depressing. It crammed ugly down your throat to the point where you started vomiting it up.

Would it kill you to add some contrast to the evil? Guess what? That would have made it more effective! A wonderful example of this is Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. Sure, it was dark and did a great job of portraying the horribleness of evil, but there were also some very tender and beautiful scenes to balance it out. The thing that made it a tragedy was knowing and experiencing what Anakin had to give up. Without that, who cares? Star Wars makes you care about the characters, and as a result, tells a good story and leaves you thinking about the depth of human emotions, how vulnerable we all are, and how close we sometimes come to the dark side.

After watching Knight, all I was thinking was, “Yay, it’s finally over.”

To be fair, Ledger’s joker had some depth, and I did feel for him. But why did ALL of the other characters need to be flat – even the star and his leading lady? Could he not hesitate for one second on the decision of who to save first? Could he not shed one tear to mourn her loss?

There were fun moments, from Ledger’s character, and I think I did actually laugh out loud one time. The butler and Morgan Freeman’s character also provided a touch of desperately needed comic relief. The rest was mostly drudgery. Oh yeah, and I liked the way Batman’s suit wasn’t perfect and how he didn’t know how to use it, adding some brief moments of humanity. I needed more of that to keep me interested.

Call me weird, but one of the things I enjoy most about Batman movies is seeing where Bruce Wayne lives. He’s like an uber-billionaire, right? So he can afford nice stuff, and it’s fun to look at. Not this time. So as not to disturb the oh-so-evil tone of the movie, even Batman’s living quarters were stark, cold and institutional looking. (Incidentally, my husband just reminded me that he was living in his penthouse and warehouse because his mansion burned down in the last movie. Still, he couldn’t afford a nice couch or some drapes?)

I’m a girl, ok? I enjoy high-tech, sci-fi and even war movies, but I also need some fluff. I need breaks. I’m not saying you turn it into a chick flick, just give me something to hope for. Rachel’s red dress at the party was nice. Then you took us straight back to grey.

But, like I said, I’m no movie critic. I just call it like I see it. Maybe I slept through the good parts. If I just trampled all over your favorite move, please tell me. I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts.

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