Just a thought on Ledger's portrayal

Rating: 3/10 (3 August 2008)

I saw this movie twice and both viewings have not changed my initial thought. Grossly over-hyped, a lot of muddled dialog (particularly when the Dark Knight speaks) and some really silly and unacceptable plot holes. What I won't do is detail these holes because they've been mentioned and opinionated on hundreds of times already. Well, one, and only one: The Jokers recurring speeches about how he is an agent of chaos and he's not a man who plans, he just does things. Ring,ring,bells,buzzers and a red flag for ya'--Every single scenario and setup in this film would have to involve major planning and tremendous attention to detail to pull it off, ie: rigging explosives in hospitals, on ferries, and in a precinct--all of these places are public domains-- surgically implanting cellphones, penthouse home invasions full of politicos, dignitaries and all their accompanying security people. Point made?
This paragraph will be for the true film aficionados. Can we agree that in order for a movie to be bestowed with accolades like (the following terms, with the exception of genius or awesome can never truly apply to something artistic or creative in nature) best ever, the greatest, genius, the most misused and overused word in these times--awesome--, and many other pretentious terms it has to hold up to scrutiny when all the hype has left town? For those who have a good reference point for films regardless of genre, budget or era in which a film was made, I can't see how they won't see this film as anything more than fairly entertaining, unremarkable and pretty forgettable.
One other thing-- and this may really appeal to all my hardcore film people out there. Something struck me as interesting the other day. Get a hold of a copy of the Exorcist III if you can (if your a real film beast you might make this connection just from memory) and when you get to the scenes where Brad Dourif is in his cell talking with G. C. Scott pay attention to his speech patterns and his mannerisms. Its almost like Mr. Ledger subconsciously or even overtly brought Dourif's performance into his portrayal as the Joker--which I found to be energetic but far from 'genious', 'groundbreaking', 'instant classic','awesome'and the many other bru-hahas coming out of so many pie holes.
I'm saying all that to say this, Ledger may not have been influenced by Dourif's portrayal of Damien Karras but it illustrates that hardly nothing is new or groundbreaking and rarely is something totally different in modern cinema.
For those interested, post up on IMDb if you view that segment in Exorcist III and can juxtapose it to TDK's Joker portrayal. You guys tell me if something seems soooo... familiar or not.
3 out of 10 from the non-sheep / non-fanboy set.
--I just had a thought fart--Should give it 2outta10 for casting that annoying little whinny kid from the Mist (Gordon's boy).