Friday, July 18, 2008
The Dark Knight
Intense. Very intense. Heath Ledger as the Joker is a force of nature. A very scary force of nature. Worth seeing in IMAX if you can--but make sure you get there on time because it's 2 hours and 40 minutes long so if your theater is like Jordan Commons in Sandy and trying to cram as many showings into the day as possible, they'll skip the previews and go straight to the show. They even announced over the credits that there would be no bonus material at the end, so as to get us out of there faster. At least the first five minutes will be totally new to me the next time I see the movie. And believe me, I'll be seeing it again.
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7 comments:
Finally. I was going to ask if you saw it. Unfortunately for me here in Japan, it doesn't release in the theaters until August. Sounds to be a definite must-see.
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I hope to have seen it by then, but I'm up to going into SF with you if it's still playing Imax.
If you haven't seen it by the time I'm in CA, Th., we're totally going to SF (with flowers in our hair, of course). Same goes for you, John, if you haven't seen it by the time I'm in Japan.
I went and saw this on Saturday. You are right – very intense. I think what made it intense is how ‘real’ it was. From what I could tell there was very little computer-generated cities or people – much of it was the real thing. Very scary stuff – that Joker. One surprising thing to me was the laughter from the audience – especially during some of the Joker’s most sadistic moments. I read that as either a sad reflection on the audience (they love sadistic killers) or the audience simply not knowing how to respond at such gross indifference for life (the only choice being to laugh or cry). Having said that, I loved the movie. For me, it really tackled the sometimes-not-so-clear-distinctions between heroes and villains.
Oh, I envy you--we didn't get tickets in time to see it on the IMAX screen. And yes, ceaselessly intense.
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Attn: Great article on why it's real.
GMA--I've heard a lot of people express similar concerns about audience reactions to the Joker's "jokes." I'm not sure I agree. Take the disappearing pencil, for example: yes, in real life that would be hugely disturbing and just plain wrong, but it was on a movie screen and in the context of the movie it was the punchline to a joke. A morbid joke, but a joke nonetheless. I suspect Nolan was trying to convey in those moments just how depraved this character was, but I think he was also going for humor. I'd say that audience members who laughed at those moments might be sadistic--assuming they'd laugh at the same thing in real life or, say, on the news--but it's more likely they're just distanced enough from the movie to see the narrative humor separate from the horrifying reality. Or, like you say, they just didn't know how to react so they laughed.
Bawb--Yes, worth seeing in IMAX. I wonder if he'll film the next one completely in IMAX. He says he regrets only doing a couple scenes for this one.
Th.--Thanks for the link.
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