http://faerye.net/tag/dark+knight Posts tagged with "dark knight" - Faerye Net 2008-07-25T08:03:00+00:00 Felicity Shoulders http://faerye.net/ http://faerye.net/post/the-dark-knight-reviewed The Dark Knight reviewed 2008-07-25T08:03:00+00:00 2008-07-25T11:49:13+00:00 <p>I love Batman. And so, evidently, does Christopher Nolan. We even seem to love the same Batman &#8211; dark, driven, not played for laughs. The kind of Batman that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, with awe if not with fear. That&#8217;s what I meant a few years ago when I said <a href="http://faerye.net/post/whaddaya-know" taget="links">&#8220;They made a Batman movie with Batman in it.&#8221;</a> THE Batman. The real one.</p> <p>Well, they did it again. <em>Dark Knight</em> was complex, well-written, and well-acted. As <a href="http://wonko.com">Ryan</a> pointed out to me, it also had blessedly little <span class="caps">CGI</span>. Since we recently offended our eyes and brains by inflicting <em>Spider-Man 3</em> on them, this is particularly pleasant to note. It also lacked the one horrible jarring note that made rewatching <a href="http://faerye.net/post/batman-begins"><em>Batman Begins</em></a> an alloyed joy: no Katie Holmes.</p> <p>I was somewhat concerned that the Joker in the previews would not seem like the &#8216;real&#8217; Joker. My fears were unfounded. Pared down, certainly, but the real, menacing core was there, vivid and compelling. The Joker is quicksilver, self-defining and self-redefining, striving for a moral victory as terrifying and shifting as himself.</p> <p>There were some pleasant surprises in plot and characterization, which I won&#8217;t get into as I enjoyed the way even the broad strokes of the subplots were left intact by the trailers I saw before going. Suffice it to say they involved some of my favorite things and people in Gotham (but not Harley Quinn, <a href="http://faerye.net/post/on-movie-rumors-and-girlish-dreams"> heart-stopping rumors</a> notwithstanding.) There were some honest frights and some moments of sheer, awed joy. The quick-cut action scenes did not interfere with my enjoyment overmuch. The music was, well, exactly the same as last time and exactly the same throughout. More of a missed opportunity than a regret.</p> <p>This movie maintained and deepened the moral tone of the first. It was important not only that Batman save X, Y or the city of G, but that he make the right choices, understand the complex choices before him. That richness goes far towards explaining why I say that these movies feature the real Batman. My favorite major superhero, in the best superhero movies ever. Sometimes they get it right.</p>