The Dark Knight, Or, Wow It's A Bit Nippy In This Refridgerator

[redbrunja]

So, I finally found the time to post my thoughts on the latest batman movie:

First, with all the hype, I totally came in with a 'just try and impress me' attitude. That said, the first half of the movie lived up to what everyone was saying.

I hate to say it, because Katie Holmes gets a lot of flack, but Maggie Gyllenhaal is the far superior actress, and I really liked how that storyline played out. It was one of the few times where I've believed that the girl in a love triangle loved both men.

I adored Harvey Dent, and found his arc honestly tragic (I was hoping he'd stick around and be a reoccuring villain). Also, I really like that actor.

I like how Christian Bale has different voice for himself, Batman, and Bruce Wayne in public.

I liked seeing Will Tippin as a petty criminal.

Heath Legar was honestly amazing - I really liked how he kept having different origin stories for his scars, and he was totally believable as someone who was just crazy.

I didn't have a problem with the movie being pretty bleak, simply because Batman has thematically been darker (the idea that because it's depressing bugs me, and I know that's why it's getting Oscar buzz - well, that and Legar's death.)

What did bug me is that how as soon as Rachel died, it became incredibly main dominated, and didn't have to be. I mean, EVEN IF you needed to kill off Rachel, what tipped the movie over into a male ego fest was all the attention paid to Gordon's kid - and not the one who grew up to be Batgirl. I mean, think about that - instead of focusing on the child who has an instrumental or at least really important role in the comics, as well as her own comic series, you're focusing on the son. Just because. Sweet god, you don't even get to see her face.

That last scene with all those men arguing and Barbara huddling with her children was really annoying, especially when you realize it was the exact same as that scene on the ferry, when the only women you get a reaction shot off of was the mother.

So, the movie really lost me there.

Also, I spent a lot of time going, 'I wonder how smillaraaq feels about the bad rep pit bulls are getting in this movie.'

And now, a nice maiming of the women in refrigerators trope:
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Comments

[terenewen.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm glad that you mostly enjoyed it. That said, I interpreted the 'not showing Gordon's daughter' thing as a way to tease the fans with the fact that L'il Batgirl is RIGHT THERE and mwahahahaha NO you don't get to see her yet, we're just going to let you sit and stew on it. Sort of like they did with having the Joker's card show up at the end of the firs movie, or the reference to Batman's new suit being able to stop a cat (totally a giant wink and elbow to the ribs about Catwoman possibly showing up).

Oh, and those were Rottweilers, not pitbulls. And yeah, I was kind of miffed about the bad rep of the dogs. I operate on the belief that all dogs are big, drooly cuddle bunnies until humans fuck them up. That said, a dog raised by the mob would certainly not be a big cuddle bunny. Oh well, I still wish that people would present guard dogs more positively in film.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, I think that was a very bad way to tease, especially considering how horrible male-dominated that movie ended up being.

And I agree about the humans fucking dogs up, but I wish that guard dogs would get a better rep as well.