dark knight of the soul ~

[lookingland]

just wanted to stop in and give my two thumbs up to the Dark Knight.

this is a movie in which the evil bad guy is genuinely scary, nobody is safe from the treachery, and heroes show what it takes to be heroes: they make enormous thankless sacrifices (and this movie has sooo many heroes in it aside from the guy in the cape).

it felt long to me, but only because of its roller-coaster pacing: lots of ups and downs. every time you thought it was winding up to the climax, there was another edge of the seat grabbing conflict around the bend.

this is very different from Batman Begins, but diverges in good ways to make this an extension of the Gotham world rather than just a sequel. and the emotions are very real: these aren't just comic book characters prancing around in costumes. very dark, very intense, but very good overall, with an ensemble cast who's so good, you wish each of them could have a movie all their own.

edit: spoilers in the comments!

Comments

[siltjade.livejournal.com]

I am really looking forward to seeing this sometime next week. I'm almost expecting the best movie I've seen in a little while, and from reactions. . .I won't be too disappointed.

--Brian

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

enjoy! and let us know what you think!

: D

[sparowe]

Glad to hear you give it a good review. I so hope that my brother & I will get to see it as planned!

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

funny ~ i was thinking of you at one point, wondering if you would go see it, knowing how much you don't like screen violence, etc.

it's dark, it's somewhat scary, and there's a lot of action, but i think they really did a great job keeping it pg-13.

: D

Dark Knight

[dsyndicate.livejournal.com]

Aside from being an intensely good imagining of the Batman story, the film succeeds as a tremendous crime saga all on its own. Yet while saying this, I realize that the Batman stories, whenever they were good, were always great penetrating human dramas. What made the Joker so good as a villain in the film was the fact that never during its course did I ever root for the madman. Most villains can be sympathized or even cheered on by cynicism; this Joker was simply diabolic. I was thoroughly satisfied.

Re: Dark Knight

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

diabolic indeed! as someone who often roots for the villain or sympathizes with them entirely too much, i really felt like Joker was an agent of chaos and nothing was going to turn that. same with harvey! once he turned, he really lost my sympathy by going after Gordon's family: it was just low and dirty enough for me to lose all respect for him ~ as we should!

: D

[romanticizing.livejournal.com]

and this movie has sooo many heroes in it aside from the guy in the cape

So true.

I've been thinking about how this movie differs from BB, trying to come up with a concrete explanation.. It's hard. But I think you are right when you said it's an extension of the Gotham world. And the emotions of the characters definitely made the movie. You're so right about each of the cast members being able to hold a movie -- I read a review somewhere that said they liked watching the Joker so much, they wouldn't have really minded if Batman fell off a cliff and died and the whole rest of the movie was about the Joker -- hahahaha. :D

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

well he definitely took center stage for much of it ~ i really kind of enjoyed seeing Batman struggle with wanting "real people" to handle the situations (and they did!).

i love the idea that Batman isn't a superhero in the sense of being super strong or from another planet, etc. he's just a guy in a suit and anybody can be a hero, suit or no.

: D

[gideongone.livejournal.com]

Another movie I wanted to see one of these weekends. I also want to see this other movie out called The Fall. Seems pretty interesting. Maybe next weekend. :)

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

The Fall looks interesting (too glossy in the fantasy realm, but maybe the "real" story will keep it on the ground). i'm leary of the R rating for some reason. maybe just tired of gratuities. if you see it, write up a full report!

: D

[(Anonymous)]

I know I'll be debating which to see next Sunday between that and Dark Knight. I suspect The Fall won't be in theatres here for nearly as long as Dark Knight though. It reminds me a little, at first glance from the trailer, of Pan's Labyrinth in some ways. But "the gloss" also reminds me of The Cell so we'll just have to see. :)

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

yeah, reminds me of The Cell too, which, though visually a feast was otherwise forgettable.

[gideongone.livejournal.com]

oops, that anonymous comment was me. :)

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

dontcha hate when that happens? and me, like a dumb-bunny, i responded to it ~ hahahahahaha.

: D