(no subject)
So, The Dark Knight…
It really is very, very good, if a bit too long. And bloody hell, it throws up more interesting questions about human nature and society than even its prequel did.
My favourite bit is the bit with the boats, near the end. People have theorized that actually each detonator was wired to the boat’s own bomb, so by taking lives to save themselves either boat would have doomed itself. I just find it fascinating what each boat does- the prisoners argue, the ordinary people take a vote on it, neither side can bring themselves to actually blow the others up. Even when one of the prisoners throws the detonator out of the window, he doesn’t get attacked or abused which I would have expected to happen, the other prisoners just sort of shuffle unhappily and accept their fate.
I love all that social-experiment stuff. Although clearly not to the same extent the Joker does.
I wonder if I would have detonated the bomb on my boat, had I been in that situation. The really disturbing thing is that I think I might have been incredibly, incredibly tempted.
Moving on…
Heath Ledger is/was absolutely brilliant. It’s really massively unfair and sad he won’t get to reprise the role. :( The Joker is terrifying because he actually is funny. You’re laughing and you know you shouldn’t be.
I winced like mad at the ‘magic trick’ though.
The rest of the cast is terrific, but I wasn’t expecting any less from them.
I was actually quite sad when Rachel died. I know a lot of people don’t like her (possibly because she suffers from Lone Female Character In A Male-Dominated Movie syndrome?) but I liked her and she had a horrible (if quick) death.
I was impressed they got Cillian Murphy back for a cameo.
You know…I’m not this movie actually needs a sequel. Trilogies are awesome and all, but I think this and Batman Begins actually work quite well as a two-part story. Not that I wouldn’t go see any sequels they made, of course. Particularly if the rumour about David Tennant being considered for the Riddler is true…
August 8, 2008 @ 10:37 am
Nice review! A lot of my flisters think it was unnecessarily dark. Did you think so as well or did the movie strike the right balance with you?
August 8, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
It struck the right balance, I reckon. The Joker wins one (Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face) and loses one (the people on the boats not blowing each other up) so it evens out. Probably the darkest comic-book movie I’ve ever seen, though. :p
August 8, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
I wouldn’t be tempted to blow the other boat, but I *would* take my chances in the water. Backstroke FTW. :D
August 8, 2008 @ 8:17 pm
After giving the matter much thought, I’ve decided the most sensible thing to do would be to ask the fellow passengers if anyone on board was a bomb-disposal expert. :p