|
|
The Hero You Deserve: The Dark Knight
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Almost done -- here is the first of two reviews done by site editor Hannibal Tabu. After his Lupe Fiasco review next week, the site will be taking a winter hiatus until February 4th in celebration of both Kwanzaa and Hannibal's January 20th birthday. Expect new original fiction afterwards, new assignments and more hilarity in general.
But screw tomorrow, what about today? Due to personal commitments from apprentices, there was no peer review for this one, so Hannibal had to chop down the original draft himself into something that'd fit word count and still service the goals of the review. Hopefully that happened. You can look through the three drafts to see some of the thought process that goes into making a rough hewn original into a publication ready piece of commerce.
FINAL DRAFT
"Sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more."
An enduring property must retranslate itself through different eras. From 1930s swashbuckling to Adam West's go-go dancing psychedelia to the the 1989 film's tightrope tension, Batman is an icon that is pervasive in the western ideascape. "The Dark Knight" focuses our time through the eye holes of the cowl.
"Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push ..."
Two things dominate discussion about this movie. The first? Christian Bale's ridiculous vocals throughout the film sound like gravel filtered through a wood chipper. The less said about that, the better.
"This town deserves a better class of criminal ..."
Second, Heath Ledger's Joker takes nihilism past art and into religion. Every second he's on stage is an F6 tornado, twitching and chuckling across the screen. From a dump truck-sized stack of money to an odd moment in a professional uniform, Ledger manifested a sociopath that'd make Ted Bundy blanch, shooting, slashing and demolishing in a virtually symphonic way.
"You either die a hero or live long enough to be a villain."
Almost lost is Aaron Eckhart's performance as the complicated, nuanced Harvey Dent. Featuring disturbingly detailed make-up, Dent's descent from iconic paragon to fallen angel is the movie's true dramatic thrust. Had Ledger's passing not dominated the news, Eckhart's masterful performance might seem more prominent.
"Some men just want to watch the world burn."
Christopher Nolan's masterful direction balanced two triplicate story axes (Batman/Gordon/Dent, police/gangsters/Joker) in a dance of great intricacy. When the script finally decrescendoed into entropy, it was a grim resolution mirroring the zeitgeist of pre-Obama times. This film's a triumph of filmmaking, deserving every dollar it made.
SECOND DRAFT
"Sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more."
-- the g**damned Batman
A property that endures must translate itself through the moral states of different eras. From swashbuckling thrills of the 1930s through Adam West's go-go dancing psychedelia and straight through to the complicated characterization from the 1989 film, Batman is an icon that is pervasive in the western ideascape. The latest cinematic adventure for Bob Kane's masterpiece focuses our time through the eye holes of the cowl.
"Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push ..."
-- The Joker
Two things dominate discussion about this movie. The first is Christian Bale's ridiculous vocals throughout the film, sounds like a gravel filtered through a wood chipper. The less said about that, the better.
"This town deserves a better class of criminal ..."
-- The Joker
The other thing people talk about is Heath Ledger's Joker. Taking nihilism past art and into religion, every second he's on stage is an F6 tornado, twitching and chuckling across the screen. From a dump truck sized stack of money to an odd moment in a professional uniform, Ledger manifested a sociopath that'd make Ted Bundy blanch, shooting and slashing and blowing things up in a way that's virtually symphonic.
"You either die a hero or live long enough to be a villain."
-- The Joker
What's lost is a very nuanced performance by Aaron Eckhart as the complicated, nuanced Harvey Dent. Featuring make up that's disturbingly detailed, Dent's descent from iconic paragon to tragic vengeful madman is the movie's real dramatic thrust, and had Ledger's passing not dominated the news, Eckhart's masterful performance might be more prominent.
"Some men just want to watch the world burn."
-- Alfred Pennyworth
Christopher Nolan's masterful direction carefully balanced the two tripartate story axes (Batman/Gordon/Dent, police/gangsters/Joker) in a dance of great intricacy. When it finally decrescendos into entropy, it was a grim resolution mirroring the zeitgeist of those pre-Obama times. This film's a triumph of filmmaking, deserving every dollar it made.
FIRST DRAFT
"Sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more."
-- the g**damned Batman
The true test of a property that will stand the test of time is how well that idea translates itself through the variant moral states of different eras. From the swashbuckling thrills of the 1930s through the go-go dancing psychedelia of Adam West and straight through to the complicated characterization from the 1989 film, Batman is an icon that is pervasive in the western ideascape, and the latest cinematic adventure for Bob Kane's masterpiece focuses the modern day through the eye holes of the cowl.
"Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push ..."
-- The Joker
There are two things most people will talk about after seeing this movie. The first is the simply ridiculous vocal acting that Christian Bale does throughout the film. To even people who know who he really is, Bale's vocal work sounds like a box full of gravel being filtered through a wood chipper. The less said about that, the better.
"This town deserves a better class of criminal ..."
-- The Joker
The other thing people will talk about is Heath Ledger as the Joker. Taking nihilism past art and into religion, every second he is on stage is an F6 tornado twitching and chuckling its way across the screen. From a stack of money the size of a dump truck to a moment in a professional uniform that's brilliantly tense, Heath Ledger acted and acted and continued to act like a sociopath that'd make Ted Bundy blanch, shooting and slashing and blowing things up in a way that's almost symphonic.
"You either die a hero or live long enough to be a villain."
-- The Joker
What's lost in this, however, is a very nuanced performance by Aaron Eckhart as the complicated, nuanced Harvey Dent. Featuring a make up job that's disturbingly detailed, Dent's descent from iconic paragon of good to tragic vengeful madman is the real dramatic throughline of the narrative, and had Ledger's passing not dominated the news, Eckhart may have received greater acclaim for this masterful performance.
"Some men just want to watch the world burn."
-- Alfred Pennyworth
Christopher Nolan's masterful direction carefully balanced the two tripartate story axes (Batman/Gordon/Dent, police/gangsters/Joker) in a dance of such intricacy that when it finally decrescendos into entropy, it's a grim resolution that mirrored the zeitgeist of those pre-Obama times. This film deserved every dollar it made, and is a triumph of filmmaking.
What the heck is this assignment again?
|
|
