Saturday, July 19, 2008
18:47 by FoxTwo
Image via WikipediaHave you wondered why the latest Batman movie is titled "The Dark Knight"?
I'm a comic fan. I grew up on Superman, Batman et al. Even so, when DC Comics revamped Batman in the 80's (or was it the 90's) and came up with the Dark Knight series, I never did follow that. All I knew, was that Batman become moodier, broods, and the whole atmosphere of Gotham became "darker".
In other words, Batman is no longer seen as a black and white hero. I must say that the latest movie does indeed convey that feeling.
In the movie, The Joker appears in Gotham. He starts going on a rampage, and Batman is kept busy foiling each of the crimes.
Right at the end when Batman finally catches him, The Joker finally revealed his true plan. Batman realised that each time he foiled one of Joker's crimes, he's setting the government up for a political backlash. Bit by bit.
The only way to preserve the integrity of the government, was to shoulder all the blame. Let everybody think it was The Batman that was behind all the nefarious deeds, so that the police force, the senate and everyone else is "cleared".
Batman becomes an outlaw vigilante. Wanted by the cops. Hated by the crooks.
Batman thus becomes a Dark Knight. Alone, he fights for justice, but is seen as an outlaw, a wanted fugitive.
(If you didn't "get" this part, you need to re-watch the movie again)
Ok that is the gist of the story.
Heath Ledger, the late actor who played the role of The Joker, gave a really incredible performance indeed. Although the behaviour was different from the comics, he does effectively convey that The Joker was "crazy". No incessant laughs, but right at the end when The Joker revealed the true master plan, you somehow start to doubt whether The Joker was crazy in the first place. If anything, Heath Ledger should win the posthumous Oscar that the Academy is nominating him for.
I would go as far as to say this movie is all about The Joker, rather than Batman. In the end, Batman was "defeated" anyway, since he had to assume the blame for everything. Joker technically won, even if he was caught. Even Two-Face (Harvey Dent) was a pawn in The Joker's plans, and Two-Face truly thought he was "fixing" the problems when he started going around killing people.
One of the more lighthearted moments in this mostly grim and dark movie was where a junior employee of the Wayne Enterprises managed to dig up blueprints of the Batmobile and showed it to Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and demanded $10 million in yearly salary. Morgan Freeman's reply was classic:
"Now, let me understand this. You think that our billionaire owner secretly dresses up in a bat suit, goes around pummelling crooks at night with his bare hands, and YOU want to blackmail him? Good luck".
That had the entire cinema laughing.
As I mentioned, the movie was mostly dark and grim. When I left the cinema, I actually felt sad for The Batman. To be played like a fool, and then to be hunted by the law enforcement. He must have felt totally alone and set up.
18:47 by FoxTwo
Image via WikipediaHave you wondered why the latest Batman movie is titled "The Dark Knight"?I'm a comic fan. I grew up on Superman, Batman et al. Even so, when DC Comics revamped Batman in the 80's (or was it the 90's) and came up with the Dark Knight series, I never did follow that. All I knew, was that Batman become moodier, broods, and the whole atmosphere of Gotham became "darker".
In other words, Batman is no longer seen as a black and white hero. I must say that the latest movie does indeed convey that feeling.
In the movie, The Joker appears in Gotham. He starts going on a rampage, and Batman is kept busy foiling each of the crimes.
Right at the end when Batman finally catches him, The Joker finally revealed his true plan. Batman realised that each time he foiled one of Joker's crimes, he's setting the government up for a political backlash. Bit by bit.
The only way to preserve the integrity of the government, was to shoulder all the blame. Let everybody think it was The Batman that was behind all the nefarious deeds, so that the police force, the senate and everyone else is "cleared".
Batman becomes an outlaw vigilante. Wanted by the cops. Hated by the crooks.
Batman thus becomes a Dark Knight. Alone, he fights for justice, but is seen as an outlaw, a wanted fugitive.
(If you didn't "get" this part, you need to re-watch the movie again)
Ok that is the gist of the story.
Heath Ledger, the late actor who played the role of The Joker, gave a really incredible performance indeed. Although the behaviour was different from the comics, he does effectively convey that The Joker was "crazy". No incessant laughs, but right at the end when The Joker revealed the true master plan, you somehow start to doubt whether The Joker was crazy in the first place. If anything, Heath Ledger should win the posthumous Oscar that the Academy is nominating him for.
I would go as far as to say this movie is all about The Joker, rather than Batman. In the end, Batman was "defeated" anyway, since he had to assume the blame for everything. Joker technically won, even if he was caught. Even Two-Face (Harvey Dent) was a pawn in The Joker's plans, and Two-Face truly thought he was "fixing" the problems when he started going around killing people.
One of the more lighthearted moments in this mostly grim and dark movie was where a junior employee of the Wayne Enterprises managed to dig up blueprints of the Batmobile and showed it to Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and demanded $10 million in yearly salary. Morgan Freeman's reply was classic:
"Now, let me understand this. You think that our billionaire owner secretly dresses up in a bat suit, goes around pummelling crooks at night with his bare hands, and YOU want to blackmail him? Good luck".
That had the entire cinema laughing.
As I mentioned, the movie was mostly dark and grim. When I left the cinema, I actually felt sad for The Batman. To be played like a fool, and then to be hunted by the law enforcement. He must have felt totally alone and set up.
Labels: movies
