I finally saw The Dark Knight. It was...well...dark.
Now you'd think from the title that I would have realized how dark it would be. But I was thinking more along the lines of Batman Begins and less along the lines of Silence of the Lambs.
This movie was horrifyingly evil. Heath Ledger did an amazing job as the Joker. There was nothing cartoon-ish about his character. Compared to Ledger's chilling, soulless blood-lust, Jack Nicholson's Joker seems like a circus clown.
Christian Bale was suitably menacing. But even in all his "Handsome Playboy/Tortured Vigilante" glory, he merely served as a foil for the Joker's sickening sport.
I was a little disappointed by some of the foreshadowing (I guessed most of the major plot twists before they happened). And there were some continuity issues which bothered me. I realize the editors had a challenge with not being able to re-film any of Ledger's scenes. But the director should have been a little more careful with some of the details.
For example, in the Hong Kong sequence the bad guys are speaking mostly in Mandarin with only a little Cantonese thrown in. But as we know, most people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese. A minor detail, but clumsy nonetheless.
Oh, and am I the only one who noticed the Messianic undertones at the end?
All in all, I thought the movie was incredibly well-done (because I'm sure all of you are waiting with bated breath to hear my verdict). If you haven't seen it, you should. But be prepared for your blood pressure to go up, your stomach to churn and your mind to recoil.
5 comments:
So I noticed the "Messianic undertones" as well. You're not alone. As far as intensity goes, the first time I saw it I slept fine but the second time I think I was less tired and had nightmares afterward. And I would have never noticed the language issue :)
Totally felt the undertones... and loved them. Ledger was simply amazing. I had not seen him in much prior to seeing The Dark Knight, so I was not aware of how good an actor he really was. As for the Hong Kong scenes... the issues you raised were totally lost on me. No clue. But I am glad you liked the movie... otherwise, I am not sure we could have been friends.
The Messianic undertones were more like overtones. They were shouting: Christian Bale is a god.
Did you have some help on the language? Or do you recently speak dialects of Chinese?
She's a woman of wonder, that Laurie! :)
Bethie,
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to call bull on that. You get the prize. :)
The comment about the dialects IS true...but I may have had some help.
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