TGWTG User Blogs

Once again, this isn't going to be a detailed description. I'm saving that sort of thing on a couple of Batman blogs (top episodes from the animated series and maybe top batmen, but I'm not sure about that since cracked.com beat me to it and their list would be pretty similar to mine) and a retrospective on Calvin and Hobbes in the near future. I'll give my thoughts in general then discuss spoilers.

First off, I am a bit of a Batman geek. I was dubbed "Batman" in high school for knowing more about him than anyone and I took a permanent marker and gave myself a Batman cowl on my school ID because of that nickname. I'm not the biggest comic book geek, but I'm pretty familiar with most of the types of Batmen. I was very familiar with the comics that were given out for inspiration, The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum, and The Long Halloween, so I kind of knew what to expect. There weren't any big surprises, which can be seen as a good thing. I hoped it would meet my ridiculously high expectations and it did. This IS probably the best movie adaption of a comic book and it's what you really want from a movie. It stays very true to its references without simply copying and pasting them. It's a different telling with the same elements hardcore fans will enjoy.






Mild spoilers for those who already know who's going to be in it.






I was afraid that the Joker wouldn't be funny. People discussed how he was the scary interpretation before it was released. It was going to be a different take because he's always been the funny clown with some edge in the cartoons and movies before this. Once I saw the movie, I saw how wrong they were. The Joker was hilarious. It may be reversed, a very edgy clown with some humor, but I think I prefer it that way. Serial killers or mass murderers shouldn't be all fun and games. Two Face's face will not disappoint. The first time it's revealed all I could think was, "PG-13? This would have been R 15 years ago. And Jesus, is his eye going to fall out?" And I'm glad they replaced Mrs. Cruise when she didn't want to do it or whatever bullshit reason she had for not doing it (There isn't a good enough reason in the world to not want to be apart of this movie). I have a lot more respect for Maggie Gyllenhaal anyway. I only wish she was cast as Rachel in the first movie.

This is a darker movie than the first one, probably the darkest PG-13 movie I've ever seen. They touch more on Batman's detective skills in this, which is one of the main things I looked for. I would be a little disappointed if the world's greatest detective wasn't a detective. It has a few surprises and is definitely worth seeing at a theater. IMAX doesn't bring much more to the table. Actually, it's quite possible that it takes away from it. I don't think the picture is really made for it and I actually think there were scenes cut at the theater I went to. See this at a normal theater.





Spoilers you definitely shouldn't read until you watch the movie.






A lot of people have been concerned with the ending. Personally, I think it could work out very well. Yeah, the Joker wasn't killed by someone and if there's a sequel, they'll probably have to cut him out or recast him due to Heath Ledger's untimely death. It sucks that such a brilliant performance won't be continued, but honestly, who thinks he would be the star of the sequel? This is Christopher Nolan's first sequel to my knowledge, and the only reason The Dark Knight exists is because it's so different from the first one. The Joker most certainly wouldn't be the star of a sequel. That would be staying in the same place if not going back a step. He would be the Scarecrow of any sequel at least, but the plot wouldn't circle around him again. It satisfies me thinking that they would continue their war in that universe by not killing him and the Joker explaining how they need each other. It immortalizes Ledger's performance in a way, which is definitely a good thing. If you think everyone's just glorifying his performance because of his death, just wait until you watch the movie. They're really not.

Two Face didn't have a split personality, but that's definitely not a problem for me. It was neat in most of the interpretations of him, but it was just that... In most of the interpretations of him. If I want to see that so badly, I can see it somewhere else. If I wanted to see my favorite story arc from the comics recreated on the screen and this was supposed to be it, I would be pissed. Thankfully, that's not the case. I like the split personality gimmick, but it would be a little much in the more realistic world they're trying to create in these movies. It's not that it's completely unrealistic for him to have a split personality, but chances are he wouldn't if all of this really happened. And if you'll notice, you never see a confirmed death of a villain in this Batman universe. I like to think that he's locked up somewhere and people are trying to help him privately. Harvey Dent died and a funeral was held for him, not Two Face. Otherwise Batman killed him and should be more devastated. Batman isn't an executioner.

I was a little concerned about these movies having too strong of a love story for Batman. They made up a character just to have that story in there, which isn't what I necessarily want to see. I want to see an obsessed detective, not a horny lovesick teenager. I think it was the right move to kill her off. It created the perfect tool for creating Two Face and only made Batman more dedicated to his cause. I only hope people don't think she died because she wasn't Mrs. Cruise. Well, I also hope that's not true, but I don't think it is.

The plans the Joker made worked against the completely batshit crazy and random interpretation of the Joker. Again, just like Two Face's split personality, I don't think it's completely necessary. The Joker is a bit Riddler-ish, but I kind of like that as long as we don't see The Riddler as the lead in any future releases. If you give The Riddler a dark edge, he's pretty much this Joker with subtle differences. Maybe The Riddler wouldn't try to get himself killed in the name of ruining the best men and maybe he wouldn't burn all of that money or be batshit crazy with a multiple choice past (nicely inspired by Alan Moore's Joker in "The Killing Joke". Glad they didn't have him sing like he did in that comic book), but that's all the differences I can foresee. They once again ended on depressing note, but being accused of murder isn't something Batman can't overcome. The people needed to believe in a Harvey Dent and in the end they do. At that point, that's what was most important.

Spoilers end

To sum up, this movie was everything I hoped it would be. To me, a movie now exists that can be considered THE Batman movie. 5/5