More TDK + Christian Bale
After seeing The Dark Knight for the third time I have to say I appreciate even more all the little touches and the sheer number of themes running through the movie. A lot of it is done subtly and well, some of it cheesy and heavy-handed (I still find the ferry scene cliched and overlong). The action sequences are mostly beyond criticism, well worth the budget. Actually you know what the action sequences are *fucking awesome* and sooth my geeky soul.
All the actors were great. It was terrific to see Maggie bring some maturity to the Rachel role. Although surprisingly the actor I was most wowed by was Christian Bale. I remember after the first time seeing it I left the theater wanting to know more about Bruce Wayne, which none of the previous movies had done. Heath Ledger was perfect of course but he was like a force of nature. Christian was very effective playing Bruce Wayne as more low-key this time, playing counterpoint to the frenetic energy Heath put into the Joker. Other people said they wanted more scenes with the Joker but I actually think it would have been better with more Bruce Wayne scenes because they were like a breath of fresh air. (Maybe because getting into the mind of the crazy guy who dresses up as a bat to fight for a better world actually seems more sane than inhabiting the rest of this mad mad world.)
So...I know Christian tends to get overshadowed in films with ensemble casts (but not when he's truly in the lead because I've seen American Psycho and Empire of the Sun). In The Prestige he was very much overshadowed by the showy character that Hugh Jackman played, and similarly in 3:10 to Yuma, because I hardly remember him. It makes me want to re-watch everything he was in! Because I know he was effective, maybe too subtle but effective. I'm a little interested now in the differences between actors, and between screen and stage. Sometimes in movies I can see instances where someone is getting theatrical without actually being invested in the character, not making the character real and believable (psst Johnny Depp).
All the actors were great. It was terrific to see Maggie bring some maturity to the Rachel role. Although surprisingly the actor I was most wowed by was Christian Bale. I remember after the first time seeing it I left the theater wanting to know more about Bruce Wayne, which none of the previous movies had done. Heath Ledger was perfect of course but he was like a force of nature. Christian was very effective playing Bruce Wayne as more low-key this time, playing counterpoint to the frenetic energy Heath put into the Joker. Other people said they wanted more scenes with the Joker but I actually think it would have been better with more Bruce Wayne scenes because they were like a breath of fresh air. (Maybe because getting into the mind of the crazy guy who dresses up as a bat to fight for a better world actually seems more sane than inhabiting the rest of this mad mad world.)
So...I know Christian tends to get overshadowed in films with ensemble casts (but not when he's truly in the lead because I've seen American Psycho and Empire of the Sun). In The Prestige he was very much overshadowed by the showy character that Hugh Jackman played, and similarly in 3:10 to Yuma, because I hardly remember him. It makes me want to re-watch everything he was in! Because I know he was effective, maybe too subtle but effective. I'm a little interested now in the differences between actors, and between screen and stage. Sometimes in movies I can see instances where someone is getting theatrical without actually being invested in the character, not making the character real and believable (psst Johnny Depp).