So Gwen and I saw "The Dark Knight" last night.
I liked it, liked it just fine as a matter of fact. But at the risk of being unpopular (since there seems to be a Batman love-fest going on right now), I didn't love it. I definitely found it to be uneven at times. And sadly, the biggest problem? It's Christian Bale. He's really not that good, and the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced of this. He's not terrible by any means, but he's just, well, flat. He doesn't excite me. And I think that's what really holds this movie back. He's surrounded by really strong talent on all sides (Oldman, Freeman, Caine, and of course Ledger), but he just didn't quite hold his own in the big scenes when he really had to, at least not for me, and he's supposed to be the damn hero. (And I'm not just talking about that gravelly whisper-voice, which while annoying, seems to serve a purpose to further hide his identity.)
So compared to the other big superhero movies, even the ones from just this summer, Batman suffers from the worst lead. Robert Downey Jr. turns in a monster performance in Iron Man, and I really liked Ed Norton as Bruce Banner, but Bale just doesn't measure up to that level of talent in my opinion. Which is a shame.
My other big complaint is the number of half-fleshed out subplots which didn't really amount to a ton by the end. Also, I never really got the superhero chills in this movie - I was never incredibly revved up to be watching. In every other superhero movie worth it's salt, I get this sort of vibe at least once, where I'm ready to hi-five the people next to me in the theater. This one, with it's more suppressed tone (not a bad thing necessarily), just didn't do that for me.
Other than that though, I did enjoy the movie. Ledger, who is of course getting mad press, really does seem to live up the hype. After the first scene or two I wasn't sure, probably because I was expecting instant miracles after said hype, but after he got going I was really into him. He nailed it. Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman likewise were nails. So was the guy who played Harvey Dent. And Maggie Gyllenhall was a serious step up from Robo-Wife-of-Tom-Cruise Katie Holmes, who threatened to single handedly derail Batman Begins, which is overrated to me (again, heavy Bale involvement).
So there it is, let the hate mail from my WCD breathren pour in.
Other thoughts:
-Every Superhero movie from this past rush of Superhero movies (over the past 10 years or so) has some big weakness which foils it's potential Lord of the Rings-esque greatness. Even my beloved Spiderman.
F0r these Batman movies, it's Bale (among other things). For Spiderman, it's the 25 minute love discussions between Peter Parker and Mary Jane. For Iron Man, it's the last battle. For Hulk, I think it's that the main hero character is basically CGI. And so on. They all have their problems which keep them from being in that unbridled 5-star class like LOTR.
-Of all the Batmans, I liked Michael Keaton the best. That said, I think Clooney has/had the most potential to be even better. Sure, he was stuck in Schumacher's disgraceful "Batman and Robin", but I think in the right setting, even these movies, he could knock the role out of the park. Maybe he's not dark enough, not sure, but he's a good enough actor to pull it off, I think.
6 comments:
Good points, all.
I agree with Christian Bale being the weak link. He's not bad, but you're right, he's surrounded by better talent.
I need to see it again for full assessment.
I agree with your assessment. I even got super-fan-boy-Teri to agree that he was the weakest link. But, she still likes him better than anyone else she has seen play the part. So, weakest but not weak. (More of a compliment to the others than an attack on him)
I'm bummed I missed hulk. And I can't wait to see Iron Man again.
The second viewing, for me, made the batman guttural voice worse, but I liked a lot of the other stuff even more the second time.
I think the fact that you didn't get any super hero tingles is exactly the point of this movie, isn't the title 'the DARK knight' clear enough??? Any huge thrill would take away from the despair that puveys this film. People are bad Mick, even super heroes, its time for you to grow up.
I like Bale as an actor, and think he does a great job of not wrecking this movie (that is a compliment). Keaton definitely ranks a close second in the Batman hiearchy, I will forever pretend that you never said anything nice about Clooney in this role.
Basically I wouldn't expect anything less fom your review Mick, everyone knows you are a Spiderman homer at heart.
p.s. Norm - 2x already? I am jealous.
Yup. We booked teri's parents on Saturday and then our regular babysitter became unexpectedly available so we jumped it again.
I was afraid it was going to be less good the second time or that it would seem really long, but it was great. (And we watched Batman Begins the night before, so we were all prepared)
I'm inclined to agree with some of your assessment Mick...
I'll have to see the movie again to get it all settled, but in my mind Ledger was just too good not to give the movie its props as tops of the summer.
I'd be curious to see how the original Batman and Keaton hold up now, I liked it when it came out and can see Keaton as second best Batman, I remember really liking Bale in Batman Begins. I posted this I think but I caught five minutes of Batman and Robin on tv and man was it bad, the Governator, Clooney, Chris O'Donnell (sorry Mike), Alicia Silverstone, ouch. I think Clooney just couldn't be good as Batman anymore for some reason I can see his celebrity getting in the way even though somehow it doesn't in something like Michael Clayton. I think you are on target that he can't be dark enough, He's Bill Ocean for goodness sake!
How come Val Kilmer isn't anyone's favorite Batman? He can be my Batman anytime...
Iwan
Stup, I'm dying for an updated blog entry! I know you're busy, but please appease the folks out there waiting for you to type out your thoughts, activities, etc...
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