My original review, from six weeks ago is here. Some observations upon reflection:
- It holds up rather well.
- It's at #3 on IMDB (under Shawshank and Godfather) which is still too high.
- My initial appraisal of Maggie Gyllenhall was off. She really isn't convincing as the tough-as-nails DA. What's surprising is that, in retrospect, Katie Holmes was. But Gyllenhall is far more convincing as a hippie/folksinger/drifter than an authority figure, and sort of slouches and shrinks her way through this film.
- Mostly unchanged on my view of Heath Ledger: He did good. But he's actually not even in the film that much.
- I was contrasting with Superman 3 and noticing that Bale does a good job acting even while wearing the cowl. I know people didn't like the "Batman growl" he does, but it still works for me.
- Aaron Eckhart has the toughest role: He's a good guy in a way that'd perfectly comfortable in a movie from the '40s. For a guy who played a cigarette PR guy (Thank You For Smoking), he does sincerity really well.
- Gary Oldman is too old to be Commissioner Gordon but it works.
- Caine and Freeman and Bale should make a non-Batman movie together.
- Joker's claim to not be a "schemer" is not credible.
- Watching Spiderman 3--with celebrations for Spidey--twigged a vague recollection of something. In the DC world, with Superman and Batman, the heroes are generally publicly praised. I think it was Stan Lee and Jack Kirby who introduced the idea of public opprobrium to comic books. I never once read an anti-superhero comic as a kid, unless it was due to a temporary misunderstanding.
- The theater was about 2/3rds full. (!)
- UPDATE: Also, Batman's head was HUGE. That was one problem with showing him in full light. What's up with his head being almost a perfect sphere with bat ears?
Joker's claim to not be a "schemer" is not credible.
ReplyDeleteYes! When he went into that spiel, I was going, "uh... what??"
Anyway, I thought the first half or so was really excellent. It was tight, the dialogue was great, and the story moved along quickly. But once it started to get into the "Two-Face" storyline, it felt contrived and a little convoluted. There were a lot of speeches (like the Joker's above.)
The Matrix part II did that. More action, less pontificating! Let the story move things along; don't have someone explain everything to us.
I'd have to say: One thumb up, one thumb sort of sticking out, pointing slightly down.
The hype is remarkable, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteChris Nolan has seemed slightly embarrassed.