If The Dark Knight is to win any awards it’s that, it is the most internet hyped films of the year. Much like the villain Two Face, the film itself has its good and bad sides.
The Good:
Heath Ledger (The Joker) and Aaron Eckhart (Two Face) are great villains. Heath’s performance isn’t Oscar worthy. In fact the Two Face character itself is much more rounded than Joker. You feel for Eckhart and understand why he goes to the “dark side.” Where as with The Joker, he’s just evil because he can be evil. Yippee.
The vehicle based action scenes, or any action scenes without the Batman suit are great. Batman himself is still stiff because of his suit. It isn’t as bad as Batman Begins, but any time you can’t see the action that’s occurring, that’s movie magic. It’s a way for filmmakers to bring upon an illusion that something really cool is going on.
One “important” character dies in this film. I won’t spoil who, but damn it’s so satisfying to see that person die. I think that’s a positive thing because that person really brought down the film. He/She looked ugly and I don’t think it was a the makeup.
The Bad:
That being said the better parts of the film are when the villains are on screen. But wait, isn’t this film called The Dark Knight? Isn’t that Batman? Oh right Batman is a one sided character. He’s two sided if you count Bruce Wayne. Bruce isn’t a charming “wealthy young man about town.” Whereas Tony Stark has his good looks and fun jokes, Bruce is morbid. He’s just one of the many rich dudes that everyone hates in the real world. Why he is even Batman is never really explored in this film. He’s Batman because he can be Batman. Is that really a good explanation? Sounds similar to why The Joker is evil explanation. Yawn.
Batman in this film is pretty evil. Killing dogs, enemies, and attacking SWAT! Oh right, I forgot Batman works alone…
At the end of the day, this films screams out I have no heart. There is no core to this film that makes it really worthwhile for movie goers. There isn’t anything that sucks people into the world and spits them out. Gotham is a dull and dreary place. Why any film goer would want to escape into this world beats the hell out of me! While Tim Burton’s Gotham was dark, it had a character to it. Christoper Nolan’s Gotham doesn’t.
Where’s the story? Much like Batman Begins, The Dark Knight doesn’t have a appealing story. It’s an adventure without the mystery, intrigue, and fun that all super hero films need. When a film has to explain what’s going on multiple times throughout the film, that’s not a good thing.
Conclusion:
This film ain’t for kids. Fanboys have already eaten it up. If this film was cut down to maybe 2 hours, it might have been better. I won’t be watching this film again, but thanks for the memories.
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