Saturday, July 19, 2008

Some evenings you just feel more isolated from your culture than others

Leonard Maltin reviews The Dark Knight on his website. Makes me think I'm correct to think I wouldn't enjoy it.

The script drives home the belief that one should never negotiate with terrorists, a fateful reminder of contemporary geopolitics...but how does one reconcile that somber worldview with the goal of creating entertainment?


When it comes to comic book movies, finding the balance between not taking the superheroes seriously enough and taking them too seriously is the trickiest bit of all. If Maltin is correct--and he very well may not be--then TDK erred on the "too seriously" side of the line.

His description reminds me of something I think Frank Miller said about the comics that followed his own Dark Knight Returns comic book series: "They're not grim, they're glum."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw it twice. I had to see it a second time because I was not sure why I didn't connect with it the first. I connected the second time.

It's your basic superhero story where the good guy gets tempted to the Dark Side, only to realize at the end he is truly a hero. And it is well done.

I have a couple nits to pick, but not now. The point is that this is a good movie, but I understand if you don't think it is for you. I'll not see dozens of movies every year because I either think they are completely stupid or they just do not interest me.

On a separate note, the Dark Knight showing at 4 was sold out Sunday afternoon, so I saw Mamma Mia instead. My Goodness, what a fun movie. Most of my friends won't see it because it is a musical, so screw them.

Alan Coil

Ben Varkentine said...

I have a feeling for me MM is a cable-or-DVD.