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Review: THE DARK KNIGHT / Christopher Nolan (2008)

July 18th, 2008 by Scott Marks

The Dark Knight (2008)
Directed by: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan
Written by: Christopher Nolan &
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhall, Morgan Freeman and Eric Roberts
Running Time: 142 min.
Aspect Ratio:

Rating: ★★★☆☆

As summer thrill rides go, it’s certainly not boring and it’s a helluva lot smarter, better put together and infinitely more watchable than Speed Racer, Indiana Jones and Hancock combined. Yet after a two-and-a-half hour trip to Gotham City, Illinois, there are these quiet feelings of indifference that are hard to buck.

With the exception of some of The Joker’s (Heath Ledger) elastic outbursts, the film takes itself far too damn seriously. Christopher Nolan has no sense of humor. I’m not asking for another helping of Tim Burton’s bat guano, the always “Socko” Adam West or, dare I mention, Joel Schumacher’s gay Ice Capades, but lighten up, Chris! This is a comic book tale about a pent-up millionaire playboy who likes to spend his evenings dressed in a latex bat costume beating guys up. Add Robin and a couple of bat poles to slide down and they could call the third installment Rough Trade. Come to think of it, maybe Joel Schumacher did have the right idea.

There were a couple of red flags in the film’s opening bank robbery sequence. After a traditional “hit the deck” spray of bullets to announce his presence, The Joker wraps a patron’s hands around a grenade and pulls the pin. What’s to stop this hapless victim from throwing it back in the Joker’s direction the minute his back is turned? (We later find out that Gotham City is loaded with makeshift vigilantes.) The same goes for bank manager William Fitchner who has a gas cannister shoved in his mouth. The detonator pin is strung to the bumper of the getaway car, and instead of spitting the smoking cylinder across the room (and possibly saving his skin) he opts for a lecture on morality as the Joker hits the accelerator.

***SPOILERS AHEAD!!!***

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Joker 2 Joker: Jack Nicholson “warned” Heath Ledger

January 24th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Notorious party-hound Jack Nicholson doling out advice on how to walk the straight and narrow is like Brando telling James Dean to see a psychiatrist.

According to the Daily Mail, “A revealing – if ambiguous - comment made by Jack Nicholson hints he was aware Ledger was battling personal demons. The acting veteran, who played the Batman’s most famous Joker, said in London: “‘I warned him.’”

It appears as though the official cause of death will be “the Joker.” In November Ledger declared himself exhausted and desperately in need of sleep while filming the Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight. The actor was eating sleeping pills to catch up on his rest after the grueling shoot. Ledger had never taken on such a dark role and even Nicholson warned him of the pitfalls involved in playing such a complex character.

I thought it was called acting where one picks up an enormous paycheck in exchange for a little make believe. How mentally exhausting can it be? It’s a fricking comic book character, not a Bin Laden biopic. You didn’t see a consummate professional like Cesar Romero behaving this way.

“This is not a tough job. You read a script. If you like the part and the money is O.K., you do it. Then you remember your lines. You show up on time. You do what the director tells you to do. When you finish, you rest and then go on to the next part. That’s it.” - Robert Mitchum

You’d have to be a Hope-less, violently insane psychopath to let the Joker get to you.

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