Day: May 3, 2020

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight features and masterful performance by Heath Ledger and is a nihilistic movie I despise.* While every actor involved is excellent** I do not think that plot points hold up.*** Again, Gotham looks great**** though the cool monorail has disappeared and the Wayne building is entirely different than in the first movie.

The verdict: Skip

Read the Wikipedia summary and you can move right on to the next in the series.

Cost: free because Matt owns two DVD copies of this film.
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

• Batman Begins
• The Dark Knight Rises
• Logan

Further sentences:

*Psychopaths with no plan who want to cause only chaos do not make for an interesting film. There’s a bleak worldview that runs through this that only gets bleaker as the film wears on. It’s like everyone involved making this movie was going through a divorce, declaring bankruptcy, and their dog, wife, or child died while filming. I gave it a second viewing because everyone loves this film, but I do not like it, not at all.
**Maggie Gyllenhaal was a particularly good addition to the cast.
***”Where is he getting all his weapons?” I asked as the Joker picked up a bazooka/big gun thing and started firing. The Joker says that explosives are cheap, but they aren’t that cheap. I don’t buy that someone who aspires to be an agent of chaos would have this much discipline to coordinate the details of his nefarious scheme.
****Though again, where are the women? That entire police funeral was 95% dudes.

Questions:

• If you are a person who likes this film, what makes it great for you?
• What’s your favorite version of Batman?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

While filming a chase scene on Lake Street, the Chicago Police Department received several calls from concerned citizens stating that the police were involved in a vehicle pursuit with a dark vehicle of unknown make or model.

Other reviews:

• Dana Stevens, Slate
• Stephanie Zacharek, Salon