comment #1

p.Vice says ...

And the bubble bursts...

comment #2

Filmsnob says ...

Yet he raved about Zohan?
Can't take this guy seriously, now I know I'll love the film.

comment #3

Caustic712 says ...

The weak point of Begins was admittedly the action, but the action sequences aren't really the draw for me (and in fact, there has yet to be a competent action sequence in any Batman movie). Nonetheless, the TDK prologue gives me hope that Nolan's improving in this area.

Someday, p.Vice and D.Z. will mate and produce a race of super-trolls... then we'll really be sorry.

comment #4

JckNapier2 says ...

I liked the film more than he did, but Edelstein is right. Nolan has only barely improved. The bank heist is shot in a fashion completely different from the rest of the action sequences (long fluid takes, a sense of geography, wide shots, etc). The other set pieces are the quick-cut, ultra-tight, hyper stylized sort that plagued Batman Begins. The action is often a mess and difficult to follow (as is some of the violence, since it's cut super quick and abstractly for that PG-13).

And, dear god, the monologuing... the character exposition... it really does sound like a study guide at times. Like Batman Begins, Nolan is dealing with specific grand themes, and like Begins, he wants to be damn sure you get every point, thrice-highlighted with a purple highlighter.

As a giant-sized Batman epic it is great fun. The acting is great, the visuals are astounding, and the plot is pleasantly complex and knotty. But it is too ambitious for its own good (or at least for a single film) and certain character arcs don't always make much sense. For example,, Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent is less psychologically realistic and complex that Richard Moll's from Batman: The Animated Series.

Frankly, the willingness of earlier critics to overlook major flaws may create a backlash with later critics and eventual audiences who are expecting the greatest action film ever. It's not. Its a very good movie, and I look forward to seeing it again, but it's not the best thing since sliced bread.

comment #5

scooterzz says ...

while i'm a huge fan of sliced bread, i really do think 'the dark knight' is better.....but, that's just me....

comment #6

NickF says ...

Honest review. Now he will sadly get threats and the like from Bat-fanatics on RottenTomatoes

comment #7

tophertilson says ...

"Like Batman Begins, Nolan is dealing with specific grand themes, and like Begins, he wants to be damn sure you get every point, thrice-highlighted with a purple highlighter."

This pains me to hear. All that talk about fear and theatricality and symbols in BB just served to point up how terribly silly the whole idea of Batman really is. I know I'm relatively alone in this opinion, but who the hell wants Batman in a real world? What's the purpose of it?

Say what you will about Burton's first two movies, but he created a universe where you just accepted that someone would dress up like a giant bat. No one had to talk and talk and talk and talk about why.

I have a dreadful feeling this is just going to be more of the same. Two and a half hours more.

comment #8

Filmsnob says ...

Check this link the review is postive.
It has a check and says Critics Choice/

http://nymag.com/listings/movie/the-dark-knight/

comment #9

tophertilson says ...

Check or no check, that ain't a positive review.

comment #10

Rod32303 says ...

whatever. I'm there. Several times, probably.

comment #11

Arran says ...

We're now in a modern, untransformed Manhattan, where the Joker's opening bank heist unfolds in a tense, realistic style with multiple point-blank shootings.

Actually, they transformed it so much it now looks like Chicago.

comment #12

EDouglas says ...

I wonder how long before the New York Magazine building is burnt to the ground by rapid fans who disagree before having seen the movie.

Hey, Jeffrey, just noticed you FINALLY added "previous" and "next" after years of me clamoring for it...THANKS! First drink in Toronto is on me!

comment #13

D.Z. says ...

Caustic: I actually liked the action in 'Begins. The weak point for me was Katie Holmes. Well, her and all that pointless ninja training stuff.

Scott: I was not aware that Moll played Two-Face. I didn't know he was that flexible an actor, even though I liked him as a loan shark gangster on Married with Children.

comment #14

Jake says ...

>>>>All that talk about fear and theatricality and symbols in BB just served to point up how terribly silly the whole idea of Batman really is. I know I'm relatively alone in this opinion, but who the hell wants Batman in a real world? What's the purpose of it?

You're not alone. Here's the problem:

You can make the movie as serious and realistic as possible...but at the end of the day, it's still a movie about a guy who dresses up as a bat.

comment #15

scooterzz says ...

'You can make the movie as serious and realistic as possible...but at the end of the day, it's still a movie about a guy who dresses up as a bat.'

actually, that's not what it's 'about' at all......

comment #16

calraigh says ...

What's it 'about' then, Scooterzz?

comment #17

bents75 says ...

"Say what you will about Burton's first two movies, but he created a universe where you just accepted that someone would dress up like a giant bat. No one had to talk and talk and talk and talk about why."

That's true, but at the point of Batman Begins, people weren't still thinking about Burton's films, they were thinking about Schumacher's. And Schumacher took that credible fantasy aspect and completely destroyed it for anyone who wasn't six.

They only way you could overcome the complete tidal wave of shit that was Batman and Robin was to bring it back down to earth. Literally and methaphorically.

comment #18

DeafEars says ...

I do remember thinking while watching the first film that Nolan wasn't much good at staging action. My first impulse is to blame Oliver Stone, but his films although hyperkinetic in style always have a good sense of geography and who's doing what to whom. That's what's missing from the films the imitators make.

comment #19

Jake says ...

>>>actually, that's not what it's 'about' at all......

If you'd like, we could change it to, "It's still a movie WITH a guy who dresses up as a bat."

comment #20

K. Bowen says ...

Without talking about The Dark Knight, I will say that Batman Begins' worst feature is the fact that Nolan didn't know how to stage or shoot action.

comment #21

K. Bowen says ...

Whoops. I momentarily let Katie Holmes slip my mind.

But the action might indeed be even worse.

comment #22

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