The Dark Knight

-

Rating:★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Action & Adventure
Two hours and a half of telling a story seemed too long. Violence, although implied, would be too much for kids to watch. A parent even told me that some kids were crying while watching the movie, clearly terrified. Makes me wonder why the movie was locally rated PG instead of PG13.

"The Dark Knight" continues where "Batman Begins" left off. This time, it seems that Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is winning their crusade against crime until a new player comes into town, wreaking violence-- The Joker (Heath Ledger).

Let me see... You have to tell the story of the following characters: Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face, Joker, Lt. Gordon's transition to Commissioner, the resolution of Rachel Dawes and Bruce Wayne's relationship, Lucius Fox' integrity, Joker's plan within a plan, hmmm... I am sure I am missing something here. And all of these, in just two hours and a half. And it's just too much.

Acting-wise, Gary Oldman as Gordon is perfect! You can really see that he is a very good actor, especially when his family was held hostage by Two-Face. So is Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. His performance is quietly felt. Aaron Eckhart acts better than Christian Bale (sorry, Bale fans). Whereas Christian Bale was good at playing Batman in the first movie, I just find his performance here not as intense. Sure, the Batman character here is intense but Bale's performance is overshadowed by dialogue that's incomprehensible at times. As for the late Heath Ledger. His performance as Joker rivals that of Jack Nicholson's. But again, if he'd merit a posthumous Oscar nomination, it would be a tribute. But to win for it?

I loved the story though. The characters were fully fleshed out. And we get to know all of them better. We even get to know what kind of people the Gothamites are when faced with a crisis. The dialogue during the confrontation between Joker and Batman where Joker was hanging upside down was written beautifully.

But still, I feel that the movie is too long. So many things happening, as my father quipped. So many ideas, as Ruel said.

At any rate, Christopher Nolan has improved on shooting the action sequences here. Now, we see the fight scenes better (unlike in the first movie where all we can see were capes and shadows, etc.). I still think that Nolan is much better in "Memento", "The Prestige" and "Insomnia."

"The Dark Knight" is a great movie to watch. Though I won't see it twice (unlike Tim Burton's "Batman").

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Stripped-down "Sunset Blvd" Shines

-
Image
DIRECTOR Jamie Lloyd's version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Blvd" breathes new life to the legendary 30-year-old musical by stripping it down to the basics. Without lavish sets and costumes, the outstanding cast led by Nicole Scherzinger as the former and forgotten silent movie star Norma Desmond heavily relies on their sheer acting, singing, and dancing prowess sans the usual spectacle associated with this production. Chairs, lights, and a video projection screen fill the stage and replace the floating mansion of the original staging. From start to end of the musical, the audience is treated to something akin to experimental theatre. For those familiar with the movie or who have seen Patti LuPone on the West End staging or Glenn Close on Broadway, Lloyd's version is a total departure from them. No lavish sets, no vintage car on set — just a big, 23-foot LCD screen. 'Sunset Boulevard' tells the story of Joe Gillis (Tom Francis), a down-on-his-luck writ...
Read more

Quick Review: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

-
Image
quick review habang fresh pa LOL (btw, thanks, Jeremy)! i was floored by this production of Repertory Philippines because i was trying hard to envision what was happening onstage while listening to the 1996 cast recording of the musical a couple of weeks ago. but thanks to repertory phils., they got THE Menchu Lauchengco Yulo to direct this musical revue. ang galing ng execution! her casting of 4 actors that can effectively essay 40 different characters was inspired. it was a treat watching all of them onstage! i believe repertory used the 2018 updated material with some tweaks from director menchu to make it more NOW (the projection design featured social media elements); she really pulled out all the stops for this one as there were so many things going on (scrims moving, the choreographed setting-up for the next scene, quick costume changes, etc.) and they were seamless. the actors were all terrific! loved the lullaby of Gian Magdangal (the baby song), the drama of rose ritz’ “very ...
Read more

Preparing for the Big Send Off, Part 1

-
Image
March 11. Wednesday. I got to the Center Gate of ABS CBN around 5.30pm.  I was the second invited winner to arrive.  The family of Jhaphet Flordeliza was already there.  His mom, Babes, was quite a character.  She asked me if I had company and when I said no, she talked me into "adopting" her two friends (Tess and Nel Yap) as my "kapamilya." We asked an event marshall where all the winners would be seated and he pointed us to another event marshall who would entertain questions from us.  But said event marshall was busy giving directions to Jodie Sta. Maria's kapamilya who will play with her.  (Note on Jodie:  She is a snob.  Or maybe, she was just ignoring Babes who kept calling her Judy?) Finally, the event marshall herded us all in the cafeteria.  On our way to the cafeteria, I saw Maria Ressa, head of ABS-CBN's Current Affairs.  She had a ready smile for everyone.  Inside the cafeteria, a nother "relative" ...
Read more