Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dark Knight

Movie: The Dark Knight
Like/Don't Like: I fast forwarded through the last hour and a half. Don't Like.

On the plus side Christian Bale is cute, but minus points for his even more exaggerated gravelly voice. But plus points for replacing Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal. Good choice there.
But minus about a billion points for all the death and carnage and blowing things up and dead people ever where. Oy, my nerves.
I realize that I'm the last person on earth to see this movie and the world loved it. And yes, Heather Ledger was a very convincing sociopath. And it certainly did take a compelling look at the nature of good and evil.


But I still didn't like it.

Mostly because I don't like violence in movies. Well, violence anywhere, really. But since I don't often come into contact with violence in my own life, movies seem to be the only place I really see it. And I just can't handle it. I don't think it's fun to watch people die, even if it is fake. I know that people will argue that it's important to realistically portray evil and violence in films but let's be honest here, they didn't make that movie to teach us not to kill. They made that movie to make money. And I'm more afraid of people who revel in that kind of violence by depicting it on screen then I am of the prospect of a guy wreaking havoc on a city just for the fun of it. Halfway through I thought, "What kind of sicko would even think to write about this kind of violence?" And that's when I started fast-forwarding it. I wanted to see how they would resolve it all. And I guess it was an alright ending. The people didn't all kill each other. Hooray. But it wasn't worth it. It didn't leave me feeling uplifted or edified or educated or even entertained and it makes me kind of sad that I finished watching it.

5 comments:

Nicole said...

I still haven't seen it, and I'm not really sure I want to. Most people are pretty enthusiastic...but I appreciate your opinion. If I get reeled into watching it, I'll let you know if I agree

Amy said...

Thanks for putting into words how I felt about it. I wanted to leave the theatre at about the time you probably decided to start fast forwarding. It was too dark for my taste. But I disagree with one thing...I actually enjoy the gravelly batman voice. :-) Makes him more superhero to me.

Rach said...

I felt bombarded by the time I left the theater, because I detest violence as well. Partly I think it was just how extremely disturbing the nature of the violence was. I thought Heath Ledger was fantastic, and I also thought that there was a point to the movie, so overall I liked it, but when we rented it when it came out on DVD, I left the room a few times because I knew what was coming. (I also closed my eyes for the pencil trick.) Oh, and after having recently watched the Batman movie with Arnold in it (I don't know what it's called), and seeing how horrible it was (bad acting, bad writing, bad everything), I appreciated Christian Bale's portrayal of Batman.

Rach said...

Oh, and can I add that we will never own that movie. Our neighbor's babysitter took their 8 and 5-year-old to see that movie. I would have sued her.

Tom said...

I liked the movie, but I am more evil than you and your readers. I appreciate the points you made and think you have many valid concerns. I have hesitated renting it since seeing it in the theater and don't want my kids to see it. I'm looking forward to seeing a comedy or drama that we both see eye to eye on. I enjoy your blogs.