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- Review count1
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- First reviewJuly 18, 2008
- Last reviewJuly 18, 2008
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Anavelg's Reviews
Overall rating
4
/
5
An Honest and Hype-free Take: The Dark Knight
PostedJuly 18, 2008
Anavelg
from Houston, TX
The hype train coming into this film was absolutely ludicrous. Tie-in Pizzas? Tie-in Phone and Data Services commercials? Terribly executed puns regarded the Joker? Endless fanboy rabidism? Check. Check. Check. Check. And above all, the promise to deliver the best film of this season, perhaps decade? Check.
As a long-time cinephile, this kind of build-up is hard to overcome when seeing the film for the first time. That said, the film was still excellent, but not without its flaws.
I will open with everything that was good.
Batman and the Joker (and Gordon).
I won't elaborate with a thematic or cinematic analysis here, but everything to do with Batman vs. the Joker was spot-on. Bale retained his tough-as-nails but just portrayal and Ledger captured the menace that is the Joker. It was strange to see Bale get upstaged, but that's exactly what happened. I'll save the sugar-coated words here, but Ledger's performance was essentially flawless. That was the Joker. The thematic duality Nolan set-up was executed just right between Batman and the Joker. But that is where the third leg of this thematic structure shows its underdeveloped side.
Now I will give my primary complaints.
Harvey Dent.
Much has been said about this superior portrayal of Two-Face, but I did not find this one to be as engaging as the comic-book or animated series counterpart. It was surprising that this 'ace in the hole' to the films plot and thematic arc would be treated so circumstantially. Dent is flat from the beginning to end. Maybe it has to do with the whole 50/50 foundation to his transformation, but I really really thought they were going somewhere with Two-Face when they showed his two-heads coin before the accident. I was wrong, however. We go from 100% positive (two-headed coin) idealist to psychologically and physically scarred agent of chance in a matter of ten minutes. The entire ending bit with Two-Face fell flat, as there was nothing new or refreshing put into the whole aspect of 50/50 that they had hinted at being in the middle of the film (two-headed coin). Dent's character arc and entire thematic meaning to the film were weakened by a very simplistic portrayal in comparison to that of Batman and the Joker.
Music.
I love the Joker scratch, but I could not stand the ever-present, dull strings and the overmixed staccato surprise and suspense cues. I am not a hater of Hans Zimmer or Newton-Howard, but this film score was lackluster and boring, which is a bad thing when it becomes louder than the dialogue at key points in the film. Quite the opposite of what the film itself was doing and a big detriment in my opinion.
All of that said, this is only my first impression. I hope this review was helpful and informative. My final review will come after I see it again, in its original film stock at IMAX.
8.9/10
As a long-time cinephile, this kind of build-up is hard to overcome when seeing the film for the first time. That said, the film was still excellent, but not without its flaws.
I will open with everything that was good.
Batman and the Joker (and Gordon).
I won't elaborate with a thematic or cinematic analysis here, but everything to do with Batman vs. the Joker was spot-on. Bale retained his tough-as-nails but just portrayal and Ledger captured the menace that is the Joker. It was strange to see Bale get upstaged, but that's exactly what happened. I'll save the sugar-coated words here, but Ledger's performance was essentially flawless. That was the Joker. The thematic duality Nolan set-up was executed just right between Batman and the Joker. But that is where the third leg of this thematic structure shows its underdeveloped side.
Now I will give my primary complaints.
Harvey Dent.
Much has been said about this superior portrayal of Two-Face, but I did not find this one to be as engaging as the comic-book or animated series counterpart. It was surprising that this 'ace in the hole' to the films plot and thematic arc would be treated so circumstantially. Dent is flat from the beginning to end. Maybe it has to do with the whole 50/50 foundation to his transformation, but I really really thought they were going somewhere with Two-Face when they showed his two-heads coin before the accident. I was wrong, however. We go from 100% positive (two-headed coin) idealist to psychologically and physically scarred agent of chance in a matter of ten minutes. The entire ending bit with Two-Face fell flat, as there was nothing new or refreshing put into the whole aspect of 50/50 that they had hinted at being in the middle of the film (two-headed coin). Dent's character arc and entire thematic meaning to the film were weakened by a very simplistic portrayal in comparison to that of Batman and the Joker.
Music.
I love the Joker scratch, but I could not stand the ever-present, dull strings and the overmixed staccato surprise and suspense cues. I am not a hater of Hans Zimmer or Newton-Howard, but this film score was lackluster and boring, which is a bad thing when it becomes louder than the dialogue at key points in the film. Quite the opposite of what the film itself was doing and a big detriment in my opinion.
All of that said, this is only my first impression. I hope this review was helpful and informative. My final review will come after I see it again, in its original film stock at IMAX.
8.9/10
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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