The Dark Knight

From the first scene, I could think only one thing throughout this entire movie.

This ain't your daddy's Gotham.


In 1989, the first feature-length, live-action Batman film was released, and was lauded for its dark tone and the deliciously over-the-top performance by Jack Nicholson as the Joker.

In 1995, Tommy Lee Jones delighted as Harvey Dent in Batman Forever with his delightfully campy and in-your face version of the classic character.

In 2005, Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale finally create a Batman movie where Batman actually felt like the main character, rather than the foil to whatever supervillain was placed opposite him

Now, with The Dark Knight, many things change. The set remains in Chicago from Batman Begins, but it's a much more literal setting as compared to the earlier film. Gotham in Batman Begins is an incredibly dark and savage place complete with tremendous high-rises that leave the viewer feeling trapped within this monstrosity of a city. Everything seems to be in a kind of mist, distorting features and making the city seem even more foreboding.

The Gotham City in The Dark Knight shows off a little more of its shooting location. In the opening shot, the Sears Tower (I'll never call it by its new name) is plainly visible. Later, shots of the Chicago docks and a green Chicago River are quite evident. Even the opening shot of the new Wayne Tower (strangely no longer the impressive Chrysler Building but rather a drab black building) contains a shot of the Standard Oil Building. For a native Chicagoan, this sort of took me out of the film a little bit.

However, having the city shown much more literally, especially in the beginning of the film, shows just how much progress Bruce Wayne has made as the Batman flushing out the criminals in Gotham City. The streets are brighter, buildings are easier to see, and people are walking the streets uninhibited by the gangsters that have long plagued Gotham. Even the first fight scene of the film shows how much progress Wayne has made as he takes down a couple of idiot college boys playing copycat. The new Batcave and Bruce's penthouse are also decidedly upgraded from their iterations in the earlier film. The Batcave is now a secret laboratory underneath the city of Gotham, specifically in the docks of the city. Bruce's penthouse suite is far more modern than the Wayne Manor of the previous film. Fewer sweeping curves, lots more right angles and vertical and horizontal lines. Makes it look like there's been progress.

The returning actors all reprise their roles well. Gary Oldman's Lt. Gordon is particularly well done from the returning cast, showcasing a subtlety and range that Gordon never showed in the previous film. Bale's performance is very nuanced, but at times is just plain cold and unappealing. There are long segments where Bale's face and vocal intonation simply doesn't change, and that needs to be fixed for the next film.

I don't know who did the makeup and costuming in this film, but that person deserves a significant raise for their next role. The new Batsuit seems much more thought out than the version in Batman Begins. Joker's makeup is perfectly erratic at all times, showcasing his insane, irrational mind. Between points where Joker can actually reapply the paint, it scrapes off, it runs, it bleeds, and it does so perfectly to the action surrounding him. Even better is the job done on Dent in the second half of the film. I thought that Tommie Lee Jones's version of Dent was impressively done from a makeup and costuming standpoint, but this new version blows that completely out of the water.

A good comic book movie is nothing without good action scenes, and this one delivers in droves. I count no fewer than 8 extended action scenes, and each can be broken down into numerous segments, starting right at the outset with the first heist. And the action only gets bigger and more dramatic every episode. Trying not to spoil anything, the highlight of the action, much like in Batman Begins, happens in the underground highway system of Gotham. This was one of the most technical and demanding shoots I can possibly think of, and it was done to perfection.

The story moves along very briskly, which I think is one of the downfalls of this movie. During my first viewing, I was worn out by the third act, then realized there was still an hour of movie left to go! Granted, I'm not exactly a big fan of extended movies and pure action scenes, so take this thought with a grain of salt. We get pulled from one major plot point to the next without any real character building, which I can understand as most of the major characters were introduced and perfected in Batman Begins. Some of the plot points can be a little obtuse at times, mostly because it seems like a three hour script was compacted by half an hour. There are some places where the motivation of certain characters is unclear on the first viewing and only truly becomes clear on the second.

This brings me to the part of this movie that everybody is talking about. Heath Ledger as the Joker. Let me say this first: the Joker is not a subtle character. There is no nuance here. He's a psychopath whose only thought is how to best corrupt those around him and how to best create chaos. Nevertheless, Ledger's Joker completely outclasses the Nicholson version in virtually every possible area. His past is left shrouded intentionally because it's not really important to understanding the character. His ruthlessness is unbounded as he corrupts two of the most uncorruptable characters that the writers could come up with. His final sadistic choice for the citizens of Gotham makes the Green Goblin's sadistic choice in 2002's Spiderman seem like child's play. Ledger is perfectly believable as a psychopath, which is a very difficult feat in acting. He's big and showy when appropriate, and subtle when necessary. Two of my favorite sequences in the entire film are completely Ledger's work. In fact, in one of them, I kinda wish that Nolan had done less editing and cross-cutting than he actually did. I wanted to see Ledger just light up the camera, which he did on multiple occasions.

The one thing that I did not like about the script and story of this sequel was the handling of Lucius Fox, Morgan Freeman's character. In Batman Begins, he's Bruce's constant tech adviser while maintaining his distance from Bruce's extracurricular activities. He's not an idiot, he can guess what Bruce is doing with the technology and resources he's pulling from Fox's department. However, he never comes out and says what he thinks, and he maintains his plausible deniability about the Batman. In this film, he basically singlehandedly maintains the new Batcave, and he speaks to both Bruce and Batman in the same scene, confirming completely for himself Batman's identity. The plausible deniability he maintained so fiercely in the first movie is shattered, and I feel that's a mistake for a character so shrewd and intelligent like Lucius Fox.

This is about as close to perfection as a darker, more serious comic book movie can be. In fact, I believe that this film would have been almost as successful if it didn't rely upon the known characters of the Batman universe. The script and production were just done to near perfection at virtually every part in the film. Of course, having the license to Batman can only increase the box office numbers ^_^.

I give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Watchmen

"I triggered it 35 minutes ago."


One of the most classic and treasured lines in all of comic book history. I'll admit that I'm something of a fan of Alan Moore's works, at least the two books I've read by him (V for Vendetta and Watchmen). Watchmen was a fantastic graphic novel that in my view redefined how graphic novels should be produced and introduced some of the most intriguing characters to ever grace this world. Now, about 20 years after its completion, Hollywood decided it was time to produce a Watchmen movie. Situated in release almost immediately after the truly excellent Iron Man and The Dark Knight, expectations were high for this movie to both entertain and remain true to the source material.

In many ways, it succeeded. The script for this film was very well thought out and included pretty much all of the major points that needed to be hit from the novel. I was a little disappointed that certain characters that were important to the novel were practically glossed over in the movie, but I can understand why Snyder and the writing team decided to cut them. They turned out to be extraneous to the overall plot, and there is only so much screen time that the average audience can handle. The major reveal at the end is actually even better than the original version in the graphic novel, and it's always impressive to see something like that come out of a movie.

The characters all maintain their unique characters and both move and sound almost exactly how I imagined they'd sound in my mind. The Comedian is a gruff, overbearing jock with a deep voice and a snarky smile. Nite Owl II is appropriately dressed down and underwhelming, even though he's impressively skilled and intelligent. Rorschach has a gruff, deep voice that is subtly different from Comedian's, and he emits an air of danger and intrigue basically everywhere he goes. Adrian Veidt, in my mind, was somewhat underwhelming both as a hero and a villain. His personality was very understated, and his voice wasn't as commanding as I would have liked it. However, he serves his purpose very well and Goode's acting skills are well utilized.

The story moves along at a relatively brisk pace most of the time and doesn't attempt to overwhelm the viewer with too much information at any single time. Again, some subtleties and nuances of the original novel are missed due to the more visual nature of the film medium, but that is again to be expected.

Visually, this film takes great strides, but ultimately I believe comes up short in a lot of ways. Rorschach's face is an impressive bit of CGI and shows his emotions perfectly. Nite Owl II's gadgetry is treated with great respect and is utilized perfectly. Veidt's true nature is almost literally shown many times with the way the lighting and camera work captures him. However, there are flaws here, as I'll explain below.

I have four major gripes with this movie, though, and all three of them have to do with the movie's style, not its substance.

The first is the overall visual style of the film. The Watchmen graphic novel was almost unnecessarily bright, filled with sharp colors and crisp, clean lines that clearly defined each character and his surroundings. The film, however, is very, very dark pretty much from beginning to end. The only character that relays the brightness in color of the original novel is Dr. Manhattan, and his body is literally glowing. Other than that, the entire film is all but noir in look. Colors are subdued almost to the point of being black and white. Compare the movie version of the characters above to the comic version to the left to better understand my point. There are some interesting things that happens because of this scheme, but overall I feel that it detracts from the experience of Watchmen.

The second is the film's score. I understand the need to have more topical music for some of the montages, but the music as a whole just felt wrong for the scenes it was used in. For example, they used Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence for the funeral scene. A great song, to be sure. Yet I don't feel it was appropriate for both the funeral and the collection of montages that surround it. The rest of the movie is littered with these odd music choices that I feel only distract from the movie as a whole.

The third is the almost unnecessarily graphic treatment given to basically the entire movie. Fight scenes involve not just arms getting broken, but skin getting ripped off, blood splattering everywhere, bones sticking out of bodies. In one scene, a character takes a bite out of another character's cheek. In another, an extended fight scene between two Watchmen and a gang of thugs culminates in a thug getting stabbed in the neck and then getting used as a human bullet shield. In the novel, one of the things that is quite clear is that the violence is talked about, but never shown. Most of the characters try to avoid taking lives unless it's absolutely necessary. The level of violence is obscene. The treatment of sex is almost as obscene, almost to the point of being pornographic. At least no parts were shown in action, but that seems to be a token gesture at best. This is not a movie to take the kids, no matter how much they beg and plead.

The forth is the use and overuse of CGI footage. One of the basis of the original graphic novel was the idea that every single hero was an ordinary person behind the mask, with no superpowers to speak of; just a will and the training to be better than their opponents. It seems like every single fight scene in the entire movie utilized CGI to some extent. One human character seems to be completely CGI generated whenever bathed in light. These characters were never supposed to be pretty. They were supposed to be ordinary, flawed people. Having CGI to alter one human character's appearance is completely out of line in my opinion. The only character that truly deserved CGI treatment was Dr. Manhattan, and that's because he's literally a glowing, pulsating body of energy.

Overall, this is a faithful retelling of the Watchmen story. It's filled with unique visual images, the characters are true to the original telling, and its script is well done. This film, while not a classic, is a worthwhile watch for any comic book fan interested in the history of the craft.

3.5/5

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)

I figure that, since this is my first review here, I might as well start with another cinematic first. Namely, the first animated feature ever released to theaters, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Disney.

I'll first give a little background behind this movie. It's 1937, and Disney is clearly on top of the animated featurette business after a long series of technically and artistically appealing shorts. Disney was hailed a pioneer for creating the first sound cartoon only a decade earlier with Steamboat Willie. What followed was a series of technical firsts for the animation business: the first successful melding of sight and sound with The Skeleton Dance, the first technicolor cartoon (and theatergoing experience) in Fowers and Trees, the first animated cartoon to win a Best Song Oscar from The Three Little Pigs, the first successful animation of speed in The Tortoise and the Hare, and the first demonstration of his remarkable Multiplane Camera in The Old Mill. Keep in mind that all of these innovations and firsts happened in a mere 10 years. Nor were these minor improvements or innovations either. Disney once said, "By 1935 even The Three Little Pigs looked dated and a bit shabby in comparison with the newer Symphonies." It took only two years to create this incredible growth, but Disney was not lying. The brilliance of Pigs was in its score and its script, and the animation that was above and beyond anything before it, but was outclassed by what followed.

Disney began preparing for Snow White as far back as 1934 when he realized that the animated short business was increasingly becoming unprofitable for his needs and wants. Disney was a man obsessed with perfection, and he expected no less from anybody working for him. Thus, his shorts began to yield less and less profit as he increased the budget for each short. He knew the future of his type of animation would lie in the feature film, and he knew he needed more people in order to successfully create a feature length film. Remember that Xerox technology wasn't available at this time. When animators drew their images, they passed them on to hand copiers, who would transfer the images onto celluloid by hand, a tedious process to be sure. Even without the need for hand copiers, there was still the need of more workers simply to create the drawings that went into Snow White. Disney's animated shorts were all 7 minutes long. Snow White runs for 84 minutes, almost 12 times the amount of drawings that went into each individual short.

In short, Disney succeeded. Snow White launched in 1937 to intense accolades and was held over many, many times in virtually all theaters it ran.

Just as Disney wanted, the final product looks superb. Every shot in every scene could go straight into a picture book and succeed. The backgrounds are lusciously crafted and seamlessly integrated into the animation of the characters. The animation of the characters is beautifully executed within the limits of their subjects and the inexperience of the staff at creating characters that moved for such an extended period of time. The dwarves and the animals in particular have some of the most fluid movement ever put to screen, either in animation or in live-action. Snow White's animal companions all maintain their realistic proportions and movements to some extent, and are all exaggerated just the right amount for the purposes of animation. The dwarves are wonderfully constructed and executed, and each has his own personality and manner of movement, no small feat given that they are all basically built the same. It's impossible to mistake Happy for Sleepy, or Sneezy for Grumpy, and that's due to the very individualistic movements of each character.

Quite easily the most fantastic sequence of this entire movie, from an animation and composition standpoint, is Snow White's flight from the Hunter. In one of Disney's first forays into surrealistic imagery, the forest is made into something terrifying by simply altering minor details. Snow White's cloak catches on some tree branches, which sprout arms and continue to grab the cloak. She runs into some branches that grab at her as she tries to escape. She falls through the maw of a dragon-like stump only to come face-to-face with logs that act like crocodiles. Trees have faces that would haunt the dead. Eyes point from everywhere, the bodies that they inhabit shrouded by shadows. This is one of the most terrifying sequences in animation history, and the capable artists and animators at Disney pull it off superbly.

Snow White, told in its most basic form, is a wonderfully short tale. Disney had to extend this tale enough to suit an entire feature by adding segments that felt like they belonged in the story. The Dwarves washing for dinner and the extended dance scene aren't in the original fairy tale, yet they flow quite naturally from the events that precede them and flow into the next series of events. This is due to a wonderfully crafted script that both tells and enhances this well-known tale. The movie also features a score that fits both the film and its audience perfectly. Everybody knows the incredibly catchy Whistle While You Work and Heigh-Ho, and even less catchy segments like the Dwarves washing and Snow White's dance are memorable because of the character movement in the segments.

There is no such thing as a perfect movie, however, and Snow White does have its share of flaws, even though they were made mostly due to inexperience with the form. The main flaw was the animation of the human characters, particularly their faces. The Disney animators can create a wonderful scene with animal characters and characters whose faces can stretch and shift as necessary for a given scene. The faces of the human characters, on the other hand, are very flat, and there's very little room for expansion or exaggeration, which is the forte of the animation medium. Snow White's facial expression does not change throughout the movie. No, eye movement does not equate to a change of expression. They fared slightly better with the Queen, mostly because her formal prose is almost perfect for a flatter, more rigid style.

The characters also have a propensity to overact, Snow White in particular. Her arms flare out unnaturally when she enters a room, and her movements, meant to be graceful, are simply overdone. It doesn't help matters when the characters themselves are designed in a completely unrealistic manner even though they are meant to be completely realistic. Snow White is designed to be about 5 heads tall, when a realistic human form is closer to 6 heads tall (have somebody measure the size of your head, from your neck to the top, and compare it to your entire body to prove this). This is best seen when Snow White is leading the Witch into the Dwarves' cottage. Both characters are supposed to be full sized humans, yet the stooped Witch is exactly the same height as Snow White.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves represents a key moment in the evolution of animation. It is funny, witty, heartfelt, and terrifying at various points. The animation is a little spotty at times, but the overall feel of the movie is exactly as it should be.

I give this film 4 out of 5 stars.