Yesterday - I popped into Satyam Theatre, Chennai - for a look at the new Batman movie - hoping that I might enjoy myself for a couple of hours on a good old tale of kick-ass and good triumphing over evil. What followed , was an anti-climax.
First of all, let me state on record that this is a fan's review- not a snot nosed, hard-ass critic's review. I have been a long term fan of the Batman franchise- paying out good (hard-arned) money at the movie halls for a dekko, everytime the studio's put out a new instalment. The one, I enjoyed most was the very first one - starring Micheal Keaton as The One. It was a very impressionistic movie on a youngster brought up on a diet of comic-readings. Micheal Keaton and Tim Burton, the director re-defined super-hero movies for me. Batman was as I had always imagined him to be - strong and silent and going about his work without too many angst-filled flash-back moments. There was a job to be done - and he went out and got it done- and can the motivation psycho-babbles. And Micheal Keaton had "the Presence" - that all important quality you require in a Super-hero.
So, to come back to "the Dark Knight" which I viewed with a lot of anticipation and not quite a little trepidation- first impressions are "OK" but great? Hold on a second. The movie's good in parts but somehow the whole doesn't gel together. For one thing - for a batman movie, you get to see the batman a lot less than the other characters on screen - which is quite a turn-off to an average fan. Believe me, I did like Heath Ledger's interpretation of a over-the top joker in the promos and stills - but in the actual movie it was more like it was Heath Ledgers interpretation of Osama Bin Laden. I mean for all his supposed villianous activities the joker is supposed to be a fun character. This joker was definitely not. And neither was the whole Harvey Dent duty/romance/revenge angle -which literally made me go sleepy (after all I was watching a noon-show on an empty stomach). After "Batman Begins" I felt Christian Bale doesnt have the charisma to be a batman and now he doesn't even have screen time. I mean, whats a Batman Movie without Batman in it?
To conclude, in the immortal words of the Riddler (Jim Carrey) when you compare the Dark Knight to the Original Batman - Your entrance was Good, But his was Better- the diffference- Showmanship. So next time - cut all the superflous crap and give us a good ole super hero movie.
First of all, let me state on record that this is a fan's review- not a snot nosed, hard-ass critic's review. I have been a long term fan of the Batman franchise- paying out good (hard-arned) money at the movie halls for a dekko, everytime the studio's put out a new instalment. The one, I enjoyed most was the very first one - starring Micheal Keaton as The One. It was a very impressionistic movie on a youngster brought up on a diet of comic-readings. Micheal Keaton and Tim Burton, the director re-defined super-hero movies for me. Batman was as I had always imagined him to be - strong and silent and going about his work without too many angst-filled flash-back moments. There was a job to be done - and he went out and got it done- and can the motivation psycho-babbles. And Micheal Keaton had "the Presence" - that all important quality you require in a Super-hero.
So, to come back to "the Dark Knight" which I viewed with a lot of anticipation and not quite a little trepidation- first impressions are "OK" but great? Hold on a second. The movie's good in parts but somehow the whole doesn't gel together. For one thing - for a batman movie, you get to see the batman a lot less than the other characters on screen - which is quite a turn-off to an average fan. Believe me, I did like Heath Ledger's interpretation of a over-the top joker in the promos and stills - but in the actual movie it was more like it was Heath Ledgers interpretation of Osama Bin Laden. I mean for all his supposed villianous activities the joker is supposed to be a fun character. This joker was definitely not. And neither was the whole Harvey Dent duty/romance/revenge angle -which literally made me go sleepy (after all I was watching a noon-show on an empty stomach). After "Batman Begins" I felt Christian Bale doesnt have the charisma to be a batman and now he doesn't even have screen time. I mean, whats a Batman Movie without Batman in it?
To conclude, in the immortal words of the Riddler (Jim Carrey) when you compare the Dark Knight to the Original Batman - Your entrance was Good, But his was Better- the diffference- Showmanship. So next time - cut all the superflous crap and give us a good ole super hero movie.
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