"Overrated & Over Anticipated!"
This was a huge let down with a disappointing outcome. I can't say that this movie was entirely bad, but it was shameful to see how it turned out. I had very high expectations for this to even except it for what it is. I anticipated - much like many others - The Dark Knight for quite some time; feeling that it'd be the most astonishing film I'd see in years. Boy, do I feel sorry for myself.
The story was slightly unstable and care free. The first half was a serious problem for me to enjoy. I didn't like it all too much. It was too random and had little excitement. Lau was useless to begin with, Coleman Reese was a meaningless threat, Bruce Wayne and the Russian ballet, especially his date, Natasha, added up to being just too much glass I had to shallow [if you know what I mean]. The Dark Knight didn't have much of a plot, story, or purpose. To quote Heath Ledger, "I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. I just do things". This centers on the film's "plot" as well, but just one part of it. This half is The Joker being completely destructive unexpectedly. This other half is Harvey Dent, later known as Two-Face. Harvey Dent's story revolves around yet another quote from the film, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain". That's what The Dark Knight is all about. It's the adjective for Dent, Wayne, and Joker. They all have that going for them.
Heath Ledger: a brilliant actor with no limits in this thrill ride. He displayed one of the greatest and most honorable performances in any film I've seen. I'd say that he was better than the hype declared. I enjoyed every scene he had and I wish he could've been in more. When you watch this, you don't see Heath Ledger at all. You see what Heath was able to bring us. He brought something much more than I could have ever hoped for. He ended his career with no such flaw. I will never forget what I saw. I will never forget him. Believe me when I say this, if it weren't for Heath Ledger, this movie would have no impact on me.
No one should compare Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger in any way by their performances as The Joker. Honestly, they're both great and unique in their own way. Jack was outgoing, fresh, comedic, crazy. Heath was strong, demented, clever, witty. They're both fantastic. Personally, Ledger was more enjoyable to me. He put a smile on my face and he didn't even have use a knife. He gave the performance of the decade, in the movie event of the decade. That doesn't mean he's better than Nicholson. I respect them both as The Joker. I know many find Jack to be the true definition of The Joker. Others would disagree and say Heath was much better in his figure and presentation. It really doesn't matter what the contrast between the two are. Heath and Jack are two different Jokers. Deal with it.
Oh no! This is the point where I pile on the negativity. It seems pointless to evolve this into a huge rant, so I'll just squeeze it all into one paragraph. Christian Bale was far away from his usual acting. He had a lazier way of being Wayne. He added no emotion or drama to it; just another stiff. I'm sure his action figure is more active than he was. But his worst feature was without doubt his deep, scuffed voice in the bat-suit. Everyone can agree that it was annoying and didn't get any better. I wouldn't be surprised he got laryngitis from it. Anyway, Maggie Gyllenhaal was nothing special. She was quite a change from Katie Holmes. More screen time for her and a whole lot of unnecessary smiling. She was just as annoying as Katie was. Aaron Eckhart brought it down a whole notch. He exaggerated every aspect of Harvey Dent from the comics. He brought shame to the character and overacted the entire time he was on screen. He had some decency, but he went just beyond what he should've. All in all, Ledger gave the only acting that went on.
What did Nolan do? I was so pumped to see this since he did such a great job on Batman Begins, and especially his other films as well. Memento, The Prestige: unique, dark thrillers unlike any other. He had the experience to pull off another Batman movie. The direction he went in was off balance. No flow or rhythm was seen anywhere in here. It had too many distractions from the plot. It seemed more like a series of segments, rather than a whole movie, which is some what of a drag to endure. It had it moments and still had a dark theme with loads of action, I'll give it that much. The degenerate of it all is that it was different from the previous film in the franchise. If it was more careful on the plot, acting, and dialog, it would be a true masterpiece. It's just mediocre with entertaining activity, but no real clause.
The visuals however, were very respectable to me. Hardly any CGI was used. Two-Face took up the biggest portion of it. The film didn't need any special effects to change any bit of it's appearance. It was more of a bonus. But if anyone is really big on the visuals in films, then see it in IMAX. It enhances the realism. Make sure to get a good seat or it'll ruin everything. At times, I actually felt like I was apart of it. It almost seemed like I was flying over Gotham when the camera had those eagle-eyed shots of Chicago, Hong Kong, and many other areas. So, the visuals were wonderful and get a round of applause from me.
Overall, I was disappointed with this movie. Heath Ledger was the glue they kept this film from falling apart. So, if anyone plans on seeing this, just savor every second of screen time Ledger has. His final completed role was his masterpiece and was more worth while than the movie itself. Oscar for Heath, anyone?
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