Lissa does The Dark Knight

”Wanna know how I got these scars?”

The Scoop: 2008, PG-13. Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Tagline: Why so serious?

Summary Capsule: Bruce is the dark knight, Harvey’s the white knight, and the Joker’s wild.

Lissa’s Rating: Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? Oops. Wrong Joker. Sort of.

Lissa’s Review: Of all the solo superheroes, Batman appeals to me the most. I think mainly because he’s not so super strong that he’s invincible. There’s a level of “hey, I could do that!” in him. He’s not so much a superhero as he is someone with really, really cool technology.

But still, I just can’t seem to get too into Batman, even though he’s the best of the superheroes. Well, maybe Spider-Man. I don’t know. It depends on my mood and whose girlfriend is being less annoying.

However, for all that I’m finding solo superheroes kind of boring, I fully support the new, grittier versions of them. You know, the ones where they actually get tired and have moral dilemmas and dislocate shoulders and stuff. Batman Begins started that for this franchise, and The Dark Knight certainly continues it.

That said, I was underwhelmed.

I KNOW. Shock of shocks, and stone me and throw me into a pit today, for I have foresaken my geekdomness. I’ll hand over my badge, okay?

Look, I’m not calling it a bad movie. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But I was expecting something really twisted and really off the wall, I think just from all the hype. I was expecting not to be able to sleep after this movie, like I couldn’t sleep after Blood on the Scales or Schindler’s List.

I slept just fine.

And it wasn’t that the movie was bad, or the acting was bad. Christian Bale still is my favorite Batman of all time, with his brooding moodiness and tortured what-the-hell-am-I-doing-running-around-in-a-costume-ness. And Heath Ledger did deserve his Oscar, because he totally knocked it out of the park with the Joker. Even moreso if you’ve seen Brokeback Mountain, because I seriously cannot imagine two more different characters than Ennis del Mar and the Joker. And the one who really got me was Aaron Eckhart, playing one of the most understandable, sympathetic, no-don’t-go-there! villains ever. Seriously, I don’t think I’d ever seen much he’s done before now, but I was totally sold. Add in Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman (do either of them EVER turn in a bad performance?), and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and you’ve got some excellent acting all around. Excellent effects, good plot (albeit a bit on the long side), and some decent dialogue… it’s not like I can say “this part SUCKED and ruined the movie for me.” And really, the movie wasn’t ruined for me at all. I enjoyed it. I was just expecting to be thoroughly depressed after it, and I wasn’t.

Oh well. Such is hype, I suppose.

But for the most part, The Dark Knight did a pretty good job living up to the positive reviews. I won’t say it lived up to the hype because few things ever do, but it was a pretty darn good movie. And yet, I just can’t get into jumping up and down and telling you you absolutely MUST see this movie NOW. Maybe it’s because you already have. Maybe it’s because it’s Batman. Maybe I’m just lazy today, I don’t know. I think the truth is that you know going into this one if you’ll like it or not. If you like Batman, you’ll probably like it. If you don’t, you won’t.

So take that for what it’s worth.

Want a second opinion? Check out Al’s review of The Dark Knight!

PROTIP: Don't look behind you.

Didja Notice?

• William Fitchner in the William Fitchner role?

• The Scarecrow? Yay, a rogue’s gallery!
• “Here’s my card.” Heh.
• Lucius Fox mentions the new suit should do fine against cats? Maybe a little bit of foreshadowing?
• Senator Patrick Leahy at Bruce Wayne’s fundraising party?
• Anthony Michael Hall as the host of Gotham Tonight?
• The Jerry Maguire reference?
• The “I believe in Harvey Dent” sticker on Joker’s nurse outfit?
• That The Joker apparently rigged an entire hospital with explosives and no one noticed?
• That headache you get when you look at Bat-sonar for too long?

Is It Worth Staying Through The End Credits?

No.

Intermission!

This is the first Batman film not to incorporate the word Batman in its title.

While developing the style and mannerisms of the Joker, Heath Ledger relied on the look of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and Malcolm McDowell’s portrayal of Alex De Large in A Clockwork Orange.

This is the last film role Heath Ledger completed prior to his death on January 22nd, 2008.

Ledger won 32 posthumous Supporting Actor awards for his work on this movie.

Much of the script sprung from the Batman stories “The Long Halloween,” “The Killing Joke,” “The Man Who Laughs,” as well as some early appearances of the Joker in the 1940s.

Groovy Quotes

The Joker: Wanna know how I got these scars?

The Joker: I believe whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you… stranger.

The Joker: How about a magic trick?

Harvey Dent: The famous Bruce Wayne. Rachel’s told me everything about you.
Bruce Wayne: I certainly hope not.

Harvey Dent: You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

The Joker: Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can’t savor all the… little emotions. In… you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?

The Joker: Do I really look like a guy with a plan?

If You Liked This Movie, Try These:

• Batman Begins

• Batman (1989)
• Heat