TDK

Okay, so I saw The Dark Knight, and I feel I have to talk about it. This has spoilers, I think, but either way, read it if you have seen the movie, as I feel it doesn't work as well otherwise.

You people know I don't like DC, right? So I was planning on seeing this much later, and not on opening day. How it turned out, however, was that one of my friends called and asked if I wanted to see it. Man, apparently the Imax version at the theater I go to is sold out until Monday. And this was yesterday, just before noon. I digress...

The movie! Okay, so Heath Ledger was brilliant. The Joker, in this movie, was a deranged, psychopathic serial killer in clown makeup. Which is the Joker. Sure, he didn't have his joke gadgets, or his Joker gas (which I think would have been really creepy, considering how creepy it is on people in the comics. And, you know what, this is trying to be more realistic about Batman and everybody, so sure, I can see some deranged pyscho not having high-tech gadgets, relying upon other things to go around killing people and causing chaos and anarchy. And Ledger nails the Joker. The Joker that I love is crazy, no doubt about it, but not bouncing off the walls all the time, just a guy who goes around killing people, usually people he wants to kill, who you can tell is crazy, but is relatively calm and in control. It's not some trigger-happy crazy that just goes around shooting, it's a calm, collected, serial killer, who also happens to be completely out of his mind. And he looks really good in this, I feel.

Aaron Eckhart was a really good Harvey Dent. Now, I don't know much about Dent in the comics, but I know enough to get by. The movie does a pretty good job of capturing Harvey Dent, although it is fire and not acid that scars him. It really captures the differences between someone like Batman, in the shadows and taking out criminals while hiding, and someone like Dent, who goes after criminals in broad daylight. Often, throughout the movie, Dent is referred to as "The White Knight", which is fairly obviously a lead-up to calling Batman "The Dark Knight", but it really fits. Dent is a more public figure and the kind of guy that Gotham really needed to lead them. It was done really well.

Batman in live-action doesn't work. At least, not the Batman I love. Sure, the late Golden Age/early Silver Age silly Batman, who was more campy, that was captured well in the Batman series with Adam West. However, once "The Dark Knight Returns" came out and Miller took Batman back to his roots of being a dark, brooding vigilante, nothing can make him work. Let's start with his costume. In the comics, he wears an outfit that is fairly bulletproof, but is also made of a fabric, so it acts more like he is wearing a second skin. Sure, not realistic, but nobody really cares in the comics. In the movies, he has to be wearing light body armor, because otherwise, people aren't going to believe that his outfit is bulletproof (to an extent). So he wears an outfit that doesn't feel right. Plus, the rubber mask doesn't look right either. I prefer the all cloth stuff, like is in the comics. Alex Ross draws Batman well, although, as I stated, it wouldn't work for people, I don't think. Second, his gadgets. Okay, so yeah, in the comics, he has all this crazy stuff, and it works somewhat in the comics. In the movie, they have this sonar cellphone thing that collects sound and turns it into a 3-d representation of the room. It just felt silly in real-life. In the comics, I might believe it more, but in the movie, it didn't feel real. Plus, I like that Batman came up with all his stuff (for the most part), as opposed to Lucius Fox in the movies. Still, I guess I understand that they would require some tech-guy to make all that stuff, I feel it is still just wrong. Oh, and I hate that Batmobile that looks like an oversized Hummer. So stupid... Also, something that bugged me is that as Batman, Bruce has to lower his voice, and speak like he always has a sore throat. Sure, I understand why, because otherwise people would recognize his voice, but still, it sounds stupid. I just don't feel that the dark, brooding Batman works in live-action. I just don't.

The movie was good, with some corny stuff, and most of the surprises being not all that surprising, but still I enjoyed it.