ZebraspotsDark Knight is serious fun
April 7th 2010 03:43
4 1/2 stars
Eyes will be wide as Dark Knight throws the audience into the action of a heist with the Joker, leading the way of "better class of criminal." Batman stills fights the various forms of evil in the comic book city of Gotham and takes on more challenges. When the Joker threatens Gotham with untiring ferocity, Batman must act, but at what cost?
It is usually quite anticlimactic when the trailers and commercials reveal so much of the explosions, chase scenes, and plot. Dark Knight can hold its own, though, and each crash and dramatic line delivery still has a profound impact on the viewer and will leave them on the edge of their seat (for example: "Why so serious?"- a line said by the Joker and then plastered on nearly one-third of every ad - still runs chills down the average spine).
It is easy to ignore the impractical parts of the story with things exploding left and right. The absurdities might not even catch the eye until, chatting with friends after the showing, someone pipes up about how unrealistic a certain aspect of this scene or that idea was, though it will quickly be forgiven.
There is no complaint about too much action, however. Most directors struggle with balancing dialog and fiery special effects, but Christopher Nolan deals us a stabilized film. Nolan (writer, director, and producer) also adds in his trademark of never-ending deceit and plot twists that may make the film difficult to follow, but also riveting, kicking the film up a notch from the visually heavy Superman Returns for example. Batman is a hero that uses more than super-strength and good looks to catch the attention of his audience.
Heath Ledger (the Joker) was riveting in his performance: a jumpy, yet intelligent, psychopathic, criminal is not a usual role for any actor. Sympathizing with the Joker is out of the question, but one still wants him on screen to try and detect his next move right alongside the "good guys" in the story.
That will bring us to an interesting point of the film. As the character Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) says, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Is any person capable of evil? By no means is the audience required to ponder social psychology during the film, but it is a clever side plot. In this way, Dark Knight does not rely wholly on colorful computer graphics to keep people in their seats and, therefore, steps above some other action films.
Eyes will be wide as Dark Knight throws the audience into the action of a heist with the Joker, leading the way of "better class of criminal." Batman stills fights the various forms of evil in the comic book city of Gotham and takes on more challenges. When the Joker threatens Gotham with untiring ferocity, Batman must act, but at what cost?
It is usually quite anticlimactic when the trailers and commercials reveal so much of the explosions, chase scenes, and plot. Dark Knight can hold its own, though, and each crash and dramatic line delivery still has a profound impact on the viewer and will leave them on the edge of their seat (for example: "Why so serious?"- a line said by the Joker and then plastered on nearly one-third of every ad - still runs chills down the average spine).
It is easy to ignore the impractical parts of the story with things exploding left and right. The absurdities might not even catch the eye until, chatting with friends after the showing, someone pipes up about how unrealistic a certain aspect of this scene or that idea was, though it will quickly be forgiven.
There is no complaint about too much action, however. Most directors struggle with balancing dialog and fiery special effects, but Christopher Nolan deals us a stabilized film. Nolan (writer, director, and producer) also adds in his trademark of never-ending deceit and plot twists that may make the film difficult to follow, but also riveting, kicking the film up a notch from the visually heavy Superman Returns for example. Batman is a hero that uses more than super-strength and good looks to catch the attention of his audience.
Heath Ledger (the Joker) was riveting in his performance: a jumpy, yet intelligent, psychopathic, criminal is not a usual role for any actor. Sympathizing with the Joker is out of the question, but one still wants him on screen to try and detect his next move right alongside the "good guys" in the story.
That will bring us to an interesting point of the film. As the character Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) says, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Is any person capable of evil? By no means is the audience required to ponder social psychology during the film, but it is a clever side plot. In this way, Dark Knight does not rely wholly on colorful computer graphics to keep people in their seats and, therefore, steps above some other action films.
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