BigBatDude
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THE DARK NIGHT (finally)... my opinion.
I had PLANNED to see "The Dark Knight" opening day but fate intervened and circumstances kept getting in the way. I KNEW that I HAD to see it on the big screen and I was about to have surgery and didn't know how long I would be incompacitated. I decided that come hell or high water I HAD to see it the night before I was to go under the blade. My Brother, Daughter and Son went with me. We went to a 5:15 showing and until just seconds before the movie started we were the only ones in the theater!
A brief aside...the theater that I went to (The Cinema Carousel) really needs better sound-proofing because whatever was blasting on the screen in the next theater was very annoying and distracting.Okay, I must preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of the 1966-68 Batman TV series which is pretty evident if you've looked at my MySpace page. I am pretty much a fan of Batman aka "The" Batman" in all of the various incarnations with my second favorite version being "Batman: The Animated Series."
As for the live-action stuff, I like it all from the 1939 serials to today. I had mixed feelings about "Batman Begins" at first. The good and bad part of it is that it is more close to real life (if there were to be a real-life Batman). The same holds true for "The Dark Knight." Before you get the wrong impression, I LOVE the movie.
I am always amazed at the vision of the casting departments. I remember thinking they were nuts when they announced that Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer were going to play THE role. My least favorite is still Kilmer. I liked Clooney in the role. Sue me.
I had the same apprehension when they said that Heath Ledger was going to play The Joker. I thought it was a ridcuolous rumour at first. If I had not known that Heath was The Joker before I saw the movie I never would have guessed it was him. He really was amazing in the role and it's really a shame that he will not be able to reprise it.
Though the movie is two and a half hours long it sure doesn't seem like it. There are a couple of slow scenes but not so much that they make the movie seem like it dragged. I do have to see the movie again (which is a given anyway). I remember The Scarecrow being in there but I can't remember why.
I do have to say that I HATE the tumbler. It's just friggin' ugly. There will NEVER be a car (Batmobile or otherwise that will beat the 1966 George Barris Batmobile).
Okay, back to the reality/fantasy part. The thing that still makes the TV series the most beloved in my book other than Yvonne Craig as Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone. ..pshaw) is that it was entertaining and fun, an ESCAPE from reality. It gave you the illusion that good guys and bad guys actually do exist and it was in black and white even though it was in full color. For the half hour you were transported out of the "real world" and into a superhero comic book. Afterwards it gave you a warm-fuzzy feeling.
The new Batman films are quite dark and I do know that these are much darker times than the '60s so I guess it's culturally significant but do we really want so much dark reality penetrating our escape into fantasy? It's the same with a lot of today's music. Instead of "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine" we have "Ima bust a cap in yo ass **** *****" and that's what "entertains" ? Sad.
There is enough fantasy and absurdity in the new Batman epics to differentiate but I'd like a little more escape in the entertainment. Again, I do love the movie(s) it's just too bad that they have to be so darkly reflective (poo on you Frank Miller, you started this).
A couple-or-so other notes; These days I can't lick my lips without thinking of Heath's characterization of The Joker and the sudden rise and fall of Two-Face was kinda dumb. Of course they never did actually say that he was/is dead and I'm sure that they will take Harvey Dent to some hidden medical wing of Arkham Asylum where they will attempt (unsuccessfully, of course) to recronstruct and rehabilitate him but keep the general public unaware. By the way, the Two-Face character was amazingly cool looking! GREAT job on the make-up/effects! I don't get why the Bale Batman has to sound like his cape is too snug. Can't he alter his voice without sounding like he's got throat cancer?
One thing that I don't get about Superhero movies is that they always feel the need to change origins and even the race ofthe characters. To me that is asinine! History is significant even in fantasy. Nick Fury, Kingpin and Catwoman were not black. Neither Batgirl OR Barbara Gordon was blond, The Joker didn't wear make-up, etc.
Again, I love the new movie but this version of Batman will never replace the Batman that I loved at the age of 8 and still love 42 years later. But the legacy and the franchise continues and that keeps Batman alive and well. I can dig it. I do look forward to seeing the updated versions of Penguin, Catwoman and Batgirl even though they will never equal Burgess Meredith (though Devito was an AWESOME Penguin), Julie Newmar and Yvonne Craig.
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9/2/2008, 5:02 pm
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jokerscrowbar
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Re: THE DARK NIGHT (finally)... my opinion.
I also thought DeVito was perfect,not a lot of people agree.
If only they had got Burton to work on B&R and Forever...
I would have liked to have seen a gritty Batman movie made in the early 70's sort of Bullit, French Connection style.
The best bit if TDK for me was Joker hanging out of the back of the police car. I also liked the way they cut the film so that each scene was a page and the action moves in frames like a comic book, some of the fight scenes worked well that way but other parts didn't work.
The rest is quite forgetable.
There should be more than one Oscar for TDK, though the cinematography was not as good as Begins there is still a lot of style.
Last edited by jokerscrowbar, 12/12/2008, 8:17 pm
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12/12/2008, 7:51 pm
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tomstoyz
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Re: THE DARK NIGHT (finally)... my opinion.
Personally I really love the new direction that the Batman movies are taking. I understand the argument about them being "darker" but I feel the character has always been that way. Batman is sort of dark...and a little crazy. I mean, he is totally obsessed with fighting crime, ha ha. The thing I like about the new movies is the way they try to "make it very reality-based". Like, if Batman were real. I think that adds to the character because really he doesn't have any superpowers. Anybody, with the right amount of money & obsession, can really become Batman.
Yes, Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar, for sure!
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12/20/2008, 7:03 pm
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