Okay, time to geek out.
The Dark Knight was fucking awesome. I'm not going to spoil anything from the movie (not that there is a whole lot to spoil; that is, unless, you are one of the people that doesn't already know that Harvey Dent is fated to become Two-Face- there, you've been spoiled), but it lived up to all of the hype. Christopher Nolan has done an amazing job rebooting the Batman franchise. Heath Ledger as the Joker? Incredible. There's talk of a posthumous Oscar nomination, and given his performance, I don't think that would be out of place. The movie addressed my favorite part of the Batman character- the fact that Batman is kinda crazy and is really only a half-step away from the "freaks" he puts away in Arkham. I love that he's essentially insane but he's able to control it and use his psychosis for good.
Zoe: He's a psycho, you know. Niska.
Mal: He's not the first psycho to hire us, nor the last. You think that's a commentary on us?
And speaking of psychotic superheroes, how about the teaser trailer for Watchmen that ran before The Dark Knight?
Stunning. I cannot wait for this movie to come out. Yeah, its supposed to be "unfilmable," but so was The Lord of the Rings, and look how that turned out. What you need is someone who is determined to remain true to the source material, and Zack Snyder appears to be that someone. Entertainment Weekly has Watchmen on the cover right now with a preview of the movie, and it looks like Snyder is saying all the right things and working hard to preserve as much of the original story as possible. But in the end, you never know. Changes are inevitable, I just hope the changes make sense and are justifiable within the context of the story. I guess Snyder's first real test is at Comic-Con this week, where he's showing some footage. If he gets of there alive, maybe he's on the right track.
Monday, July 21, 2008
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2 comments:
I thought Dark Knight was really good, too. Some lingering questions, though:
(1) Was Dent/Two-Face dead at the end? Or was he faking his death, or perhaps unconscious?
His death seems improbable given his nemisis stature in Batman lore. It would also seemingly set the stage for a sequal (though I've already heard rumors that Penguin will feature in the next Nolan film, played by Russell Crowe).
(2) Was the little girl at the end of the film, who was with Gordon's son and wife, Gordon's daughter? The movie played up Gordon's son's fascination with Batman, did not feature the girl at all. If I remember correctly, Bat Woman was Gordon's niece, who came to live with him after her parents died.
I'm still out on whether Batman is a freak. Nolan doesn't really address it, I'd argue. As for the hero talk, though, I would classify him as a hero. Joker rates him and Batman as the same, but Batman, unlike Joker, is incapable of killing anyone. Even the Joker. (The middleman, Dent/Two-Face, like Joker, is capable of killing, but he only kills bad people, i.e., the corrupt cop.)
In all, I want to see it again to tie up some loose ends, especially the relationship between Lao and the mob. Specifically, what did Lao have to gain through his relationship? I don't buy the more money argument.
1) I don't think Two-Face died at the end- Batman doesn't kill people. I do think, though, that Gordon faked Dent's death so the public wouldn't know about Two-Face and Two-Face is sitting in a cell in Arkham Asylum.
2) Yes, Bat Girl (later Oracle) is Barbara Gordon, Gordon's niece/adopted daughter. So I'd assume that was supposed to be her, even if they don't ever include her into the story.
And Batman is definitely a freak- he dressed up as a giant bat and runs around the city. However, as you point out, he's not the same kind of freak the Joker (and most of the rest of Batman's rogues gallery) is. The Joker highlighted how they are similar, but its their differences that matter the most. The only think that separates Batman from his enemies is his refusal to kill people. Yes, he fights for the side of "good" (in the overall sense), but he routinely breaks the law in doing so. Hero? Yes. Freak? Yes. And that's why Batman's so cool.
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