Pretentious Bat Poop

Rating: 2/10 (26 July 2008)

Being one of about three people who didn't like Nolan's "Memento" I know I will be in the minority on not liking "The Dark Knight". But here goes. I thought this movie was awful. It was boring. And when it wasn't boring it was pretentious. And when it wasn't pretentious it didn't make any sense. It has to be one of the most poorly edited films I've seen. There always seemed to be three things happening at once and every time one event became involving, the movie would cut away (on an action no less)to a second or third event until you weren't sure which event was happening where and when. Not only was this completely confusing, it undercut the tension in any one of the single events. The action sequences, where Batman is actually involved in a fight or a car chase are so mangled they are drained of all excitement. The fistfights are too close-up and choppy and the motorcycle/truck chase is all over the screen with no continuity or point of view. It's a total mess. So is the overall plot. It tries so hard to be "complex" it defeats itself on a dramatic level. It's trying to thwart audience expectations, but you know, sometimes audience expectations should be honored. Aren't super-hero movies supposed to be fun? This is about as much fun as walking barefoot through an open landfill. When I think about it, the answer to that question is "no". Arguably, The Terminator is a super-hero and he isn't much fun. But the first two Terminators were fun;and they were as dark as could be. The rest of these comments are just random thoughts I had, watching the movie. They are disjointed and perhaps non-sensical, but then, so was the movie. The Dark Knight completely lacks a sense of humor, unless you count the Joker's insanity. Heath Ledger was great at first, but his "Crazy" act became repetitive and started to grate after ten minutes. There's not a single likable character, or actor to play them. And the Gotham Police Department seems to have recruited it's staff from a local home for the mentally challenged. Why are Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Alfie in this? Couldn't they throw a bone to some struggling unknown actors and let them play these disposable roles? Maggie Gyllenhaal has all the appeal of a bruised cantaloupe. I was routing for her to die. When did Batman start disguising his voice by talking like Astro from the Jetson's. Like people really aren't going to recognize the bottom half of his face anyway? Wouldn't Harvey Dent's facial burns require at least a little Solarcaine to keep from getting infected and killing him? How did the Joker manage to pay for all that gasoline before he robbed the bank? The only scene I thought was good was when the Joker pushed Maggie off of the Wayne building and Batman swooped down to save her. Maybe because it reminded me of the same scene from Superman? What I hated most was all the holier than thou (Batman!) moral posturing by the filmmakers when they are marketing this disturbingly violent picture to kids. And then they have a little boy on screen being threatened with a gun to the head. It's pretty sick. People in this movie are brutally murdered and physically threatened usually by gun, or by knife, and even by a pencil. The theater where I saw this was packed with little kids. THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR CHILDREN.