Not A Superhero Movie

As per my sister's request, a review of Batman.

Slick and I saw the Dark Knight tonight. Not since the time Crash & I saw Blackhawk Down have I left a movie speechless. We were in the car before I could utter a single word about the film and that was to say "I'm not sure."

It was not a superhero movie. It was a gritty, violent morality play. It's hard to even talk about it for fear of giving things away. I feel comfortable telling you this: The events of the previous movie left the a gaping hole in the criminal power-structure. Batman & his allies have been scrambling to fill that void with law & order. Instead a new player has appeared, one that is chaos incarnate. His name is the Joker.

I will set aside the hype over Ledger's final performance. Yes, he was amazing. Yes, it was chilling. This is the Joker that I know and hate (because saying I love him would be so wrong.) This is not some clown prince of crime. This is the the same vision of Joker that killed Jason Todd & paralyzed Barbara Gordon. This is a sadist who plays with knives & bombs.

The story that director Christopher Nolan tells here is more akin to something you see trying late in the winter movie season. It strives to be an Oscar film. It feels more at home with movies like Unforgiven & Mystic River than it does with Ironman & Hancock. Like Eastwood's Unforgiven turned the western on it's heels, so does Batman forever change the landscape of supposed superhero movies.

A warning to potential viewers. You can not watch this film without feeling the utter hopelessness that Bruce Wayne faces. You can not avoid the shocking morality play. It is not for the faint of heart. I almost couldn't believe that Hollywood allowed them to make a movie about the Dark Knight.

I assumed that it would eventually swing back to a traditional summer blockbuster. I assumed we would see something of the Batman that Tim Burton envisioned. It never happened and I'm still shocked about that. This is makes Frank Miller's Batman almost cheery. I'm still wondering what all those sheep in the audience thought they were going to see. I'm still wondering what THEY thought after it was all over.

Frankly, I'm not sure I do.

P.S. Watchmen trailer FTW!!!