Sunday, July 20, 2008

Batman: Good or Bad?

So, I went to go see the new Batman movie. Let me just get the initial suspense out of the way and say that I really enjoyed it. A couple of the action scenes were over the top, even for a Batman movie, but those are pretty minor complaints when compared against the rest of the movie.

The main thing about this movie is that Heath Ledger was awesome. It doesn't happen very often, but if I wouldn't have know that was Heath Ledger, I wouldn't have known it was Heath Ledger. I cannot fathom how his performance wouldn't be Oscar-worthy, although it appears that the Academy is somewhat unwilling to nominate dead people for awards. I very honestly think that his performance was as good as Charlize Theron's in "Monster". In fact, in some ways, I think Ledger's performance was better because Charlize Theron had the benefit of having an actual person to base her performance on. The Joker, as you may or may not know, isn't real.

Christian Bale makes a pretty good Batman, to include the relatively stupid Batman voice. This was brought up in conversation today, and the fact is that the gravelly voice that sounds a bit fake is accurate to the comics. I mean, Batman can't sound like Bruce Wayne, right? Anyway, aside from the voice, Bale is able to come across as intense, and that's good.

The way that the Harvey Dent issue was handled was good, and unexpected. Gary Oldman rules as Commissioner Gordon, and Maggie Gyllenhall is adequate. I am not a big Maggie Gyllenhall fan, so I am a little biased.

Anyway, if you like superhero movies, this is a pretty good one, and is arguably the best of the bunch, thanks to the fact that there is some real drama mixed in with, you know, a guy dressed as a bat. I found Iron Man to be more entertaining, but The Dark Knight is probably more compelling. In any event, you should see it.


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I hear a lot of people saying exactly what you have written here. I haven't seen it yet, so I'll have to hold my thoughts until then. My own problem was they didn't give Val Kilmer and George Clooney at least one other film to prove their wares. The VK Batman was a depthy, almost neurotic criminologists fantasy, while the GC Batman was a super glorious comic book opera, like a giant stage spectacle. The Michael Keaton Batman movies were psychological horror comedies. They've all had their place.

katdish said...

Wait....THE JOKER ISN'T REAL?!?!

Anonymous said...

Dark Knight is a must see for sure, though it might be a better game plant to go after the crowds die down a bit.

Anonymous said...

Haven't seen the movie yet but I know a little man that would love his uncle timmy to take him!! But I have heard that Heath is awesome and there is a lot of talk that the academy may give him a post-death, if you want to put it that way,oscar :)

J.R.Shirley said...

Dark Knight could have been SO much better.

But Ledger did indeed give an incredible performance.