The Dark Knight
I just got back from the midnight showing at my local theatre.
I'm not going to tell you to see it, because I already know you are. Was all the hype really needed? It's Batman. Of COURSE people are gonna see it.
I'm also not going to tell you that I loved it. That goes without saying.
I am going to tell you WHY I loved it though.
For I think the first time, it's a movie based off a comic book that completely stands on it's own. The Dark Knight isn't just a great comic book movie, or a great superhero movie. It's just a great movie. A lot of people have compared The Dark Knight to the first two Godfather films, and I feel the comparison is just in the sense that both The Dark Knight and The Godfather are extremely well written, well acted, well filmed, make you care about every character, make you excited at every turn, and leave you exhilarated from watching it. This summer we've been blessed with a good bevy of comic book/superhero films (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, Hellboy II), but The Dark Knight I feel may take it to the next level because it's not a good comic book movie. It's just a good movie. Hell, a GREAT movie.
There's also been a lot of talk about Heath Ledger getting nominated for an Oscar because of his performance as The Joker. I say it's irrelevant. Regulars will know my feelings for the Oscars, and a performance like this isn't for them. The Academy prefers to give awards to actors that play characters that're either gay, retarded, or dying (in Tom Hanks' case all three). They prefer to honor movies about suffering in Africa and World War II.
A character as loved as The Joker played by an actor as loved as Heath Ledger isn't for them. It's for us. I knew I loved his performance the instant I saw the trailer, and the movie justified that love. Does it matter if Brandon Lee got nominated for an Oscar after he died making The Crow? No, because The Crow wasn't made to win Oscars. It was made for us, the audience.
Heath Ledger doesn't belong to Hollywood anymore, and neither does The Joker, or Batman, or any of the other characters.
He belongs to us.
I'm not going to tell you to see it, because I already know you are. Was all the hype really needed? It's Batman. Of COURSE people are gonna see it.
I'm also not going to tell you that I loved it. That goes without saying.
I am going to tell you WHY I loved it though.
For I think the first time, it's a movie based off a comic book that completely stands on it's own. The Dark Knight isn't just a great comic book movie, or a great superhero movie. It's just a great movie. A lot of people have compared The Dark Knight to the first two Godfather films, and I feel the comparison is just in the sense that both The Dark Knight and The Godfather are extremely well written, well acted, well filmed, make you care about every character, make you excited at every turn, and leave you exhilarated from watching it. This summer we've been blessed with a good bevy of comic book/superhero films (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, Hellboy II), but The Dark Knight I feel may take it to the next level because it's not a good comic book movie. It's just a good movie. Hell, a GREAT movie.
There's also been a lot of talk about Heath Ledger getting nominated for an Oscar because of his performance as The Joker. I say it's irrelevant. Regulars will know my feelings for the Oscars, and a performance like this isn't for them. The Academy prefers to give awards to actors that play characters that're either gay, retarded, or dying (in Tom Hanks' case all three). They prefer to honor movies about suffering in Africa and World War II.
A character as loved as The Joker played by an actor as loved as Heath Ledger isn't for them. It's for us. I knew I loved his performance the instant I saw the trailer, and the movie justified that love. Does it matter if Brandon Lee got nominated for an Oscar after he died making The Crow? No, because The Crow wasn't made to win Oscars. It was made for us, the audience.
Heath Ledger doesn't belong to Hollywood anymore, and neither does The Joker, or Batman, or any of the other characters.
He belongs to us.