The Fatal Flaw
The Dark Knight (2008)
directed by Christopher Nolan
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
Three women have speaking rolls in The Dark Knight: Bruce Wayne's dead girlfriend, a weak cop, and a helpless mother/wife. In Jack Kirby's cover for the first issue of The Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm team up to fight an adorable green monster. The best that Sue Storm (the 4th Fantastic) can offer is this call to action:
"I can't turn invisible fast enough!"
The Dark Knight is a lot like American Psycho, except that Christopher Bale, instead of comparing business cards with Wall Street good old boys, tries for "best growl" at the Gotham City Kennel Club. And wins. The movie is flush with cash, a big summer tent-pole diminished in spirit as much as size on my television screen (I admit it), but Heath Ledger is the only cast member who really rises to the absurdity of the occasion. After all this time, comic books still look ridiculous in the real world, and a purple suit or rubber cowl just doesn't belong in a city like Chicago. In movies like The Dark Knight, the city is always Chicago, or New York, and never Gotham, or Metropolis. How could it be? Dreams of the future have no purchase on now, except as a point to escape from. A nice excuse for a blockbuster, when it works.
directed by Christopher Nolan
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
Three women have speaking rolls in The Dark Knight: Bruce Wayne's dead girlfriend, a weak cop, and a helpless mother/wife. In Jack Kirby's cover for the first issue of The Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm team up to fight an adorable green monster. The best that Sue Storm (the 4th Fantastic) can offer is this call to action:
"I can't turn invisible fast enough!"
The Dark Knight is a lot like American Psycho, except that Christopher Bale, instead of comparing business cards with Wall Street good old boys, tries for "best growl" at the Gotham City Kennel Club. And wins. The movie is flush with cash, a big summer tent-pole diminished in spirit as much as size on my television screen (I admit it), but Heath Ledger is the only cast member who really rises to the absurdity of the occasion. After all this time, comic books still look ridiculous in the real world, and a purple suit or rubber cowl just doesn't belong in a city like Chicago. In movies like The Dark Knight, the city is always Chicago, or New York, and never Gotham, or Metropolis. How could it be? Dreams of the future have no purchase on now, except as a point to escape from. A nice excuse for a blockbuster, when it works.
posted by NPK at 9:38 AM
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