Dark Knight Deconstruction (SPOILER WARNINGS)
Saw it.
I thought it was ambitious. They went for a cinema verite thing where they used lots of Chicago locations to heighten the realism, and convey Gotham as a big, muscular city. That worked.
There were a few times when I tripped on things. For example, the Joker invades Bruce Wayne's penthouse looking for Harvey Dent. The Joker is threatening everyone to get someone to give up Harvey, Batman shows up, and Joker eventually tosses Bruce's ex-girlfriend out the window. Batman dives after her, never mind that the Joker is up there with the rest of the guests, ostensibly still willing to kill anyone else there to find Harvey.
Another thing was the garishness of how they realized 2-face. There was just too much gone from his face. He couldn't have talked. He would have boon oozing plasma. He probably would have been in shock.
Allegory and allusion-wise, it was ambitious.
Batman thinks he knows how to deal with the Joker, but he doesn't. The Joker is a terrorist. Kind of like the US and terrorists.
The police have the joker locked up...let Batman in to beat the whereabouts of some kidnapped people out of the Joker, but torture doesn't work...kind of like the US and terrorists.
Batman adapts some of Lucius' cell-phone sonar technology to wiretap every cell phone in the city...AND get a sonar view of it. Massive violation of civil rights...kind of like the US and terrorists.
Batman has massive technological superiority. The JOker likes cheap, simple things like gasoline, dynamite, and radio detonators....and the Joker is very effective...you get it.
I did like how they resolved the two ferries.
It was a gritty, thoughtful, well-performed movie that avoided cliches.
For all of that, this was not a popcorn movie that I would see over and over, because it was kind of harsh, and once you get the big idea, the rest isn't something to experience over and over. That was my take, anyway.
I thought it was ambitious. They went for a cinema verite thing where they used lots of Chicago locations to heighten the realism, and convey Gotham as a big, muscular city. That worked.
There were a few times when I tripped on things. For example, the Joker invades Bruce Wayne's penthouse looking for Harvey Dent. The Joker is threatening everyone to get someone to give up Harvey, Batman shows up, and Joker eventually tosses Bruce's ex-girlfriend out the window. Batman dives after her, never mind that the Joker is up there with the rest of the guests, ostensibly still willing to kill anyone else there to find Harvey.
Another thing was the garishness of how they realized 2-face. There was just too much gone from his face. He couldn't have talked. He would have boon oozing plasma. He probably would have been in shock.
Allegory and allusion-wise, it was ambitious.
Batman thinks he knows how to deal with the Joker, but he doesn't. The Joker is a terrorist. Kind of like the US and terrorists.
The police have the joker locked up...let Batman in to beat the whereabouts of some kidnapped people out of the Joker, but torture doesn't work...kind of like the US and terrorists.
Batman adapts some of Lucius' cell-phone sonar technology to wiretap every cell phone in the city...AND get a sonar view of it. Massive violation of civil rights...kind of like the US and terrorists.
Batman has massive technological superiority. The JOker likes cheap, simple things like gasoline, dynamite, and radio detonators....and the Joker is very effective...you get it.
I did like how they resolved the two ferries.
It was a gritty, thoughtful, well-performed movie that avoided cliches.
For all of that, this was not a popcorn movie that I would see over and over, because it was kind of harsh, and once you get the big idea, the rest isn't something to experience over and over. That was my take, anyway.