July 20, 2008
RUTHERFORD ON FILM: 'Dark Knight'
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
When you go to escapistic flicks, they usually have but a single, somewhat rudimentary element : Variations on the good guy(s) versus bad guys(s) sometimes doused with a sense of morality like sprinkling dressing on a salad.
Occasionally, one rises past the inevitable prevail of good against evil.
Growing up reading Silver Age comics, they had a similar formula, too. Pressed by diminishing page counts, the artists and writers had a fraction of normalcy before crisis, challenge, disaster, plan, kiss, leap, punches and pow completed the 20 some pages of color panels.
Anyone serious about their superhero comics suspended disbelief yet sought the one adventure that would reveal an elusive, incisive piece of the hero’s personality while not outwitting or tackling a villain.
Along comes a movie, which stretches past leaps and bounds. This film has it all. A complex back-story which cruises along nibbling into the main tenant. An assemblage of cast members negating any ‘camp’ or ‘fairy tale’ elements for a gritty physically bruising (they suture wounds), for continual intellectual astuteness, and for swelling of an emotional continuum which grabs you in an all too swift pattern like the glory of air time on a racing roller coaster.
“The Dark Knight” packs adrenaline even before the gadget laden, utility belt wearing Batman pulls a specialized weapon out of his pouch. As updated behind the scenes Robin substitute , Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) seems akin to the dude who invents concealed weapons and secretive optics for 007. He also sees the stitching, blood, and tears from the Caped Crusaders one-on-one fisticuffs.
Place plaudits in the arms of writer/director Christopher Nolan for his ability to seamlessly mesh with perfect attention to what dramatists call ‘beats’ by straddling the fortunes of multiple characters (Bruce Wayne/Batman, Joker, Harvey Dent/Two Face (Aaron Eckhart) , Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman ) and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) with painstaking continuity that the time eclipsed during cutaways fester no interrupted confusing adjustments, just race to the next complication that must be unwoven.
Opening with a daring daylight bank robbery that empanels extraordinary tools and surprise escape mechanisms, “Dark Knight” abruptly establishes its cleverly cunning style, as the costumed culprits escape with tainted mob money by joining a parade of yellow school buses.
Picking out an essential or best aspect of the picture relies on perspective. Unlike the familiar skyscraper canons of NYC, “Knight” chose Chicago for the Gotham stand-in. Avoiding signature icons musters greater menace particularly as the Joker’s newest threats usher a new panic or evacuation. Since Batman does not have the power to fly, he relies on cables (like Spiderman) which enable enhanced detail to the exterior of high rises and deeper dwelling on the instruments similar to the precision of “Mission : Impossible” yet avoiding cumbersome temptations that would have muddied the impeccable pace.
Christian Bale empowers the darker, more secretive aspects of the Batman character, allowing him to handily straddle the hero/vigilante crossroads, which radio dramas did best with such heroes as “The Green Hornet” or “The Shadow.” Fully costumed uttering gravel voiced commands and strategy Bale favors an ominous presence.
However, the acting accolades must fall on Heath Ledger (The Joker), whose painted, scarred face with straggling hair, depicts a egocentric psychopath chuckling about the death toll and casually asking, “Did I ever tell you how I got these scars?” His diabolical diatribes wistfully harken to (albeit shortened) monologues spoken by Shakespearean kings weighing hideous decisions.
Speech alone does not embody Ledger’s personification. Watch closely, you’ll see that he’s added movements of hands, eyes, and face into the scenes. Nowhere does his heart cultivate disdain for life than an explosive scene in which one charge fails to immediately trigger.
Unlike cinematic developers betting on a feature length special effects fireworks, “Knight’s” fit the need of the character, not vice versa.
The film has so many readily accepted twists that rely on banal stereotypes ( mob members , dirty cops, etc) that they screen without imposing a label of convenient stretching to make the elements boil in one pot. It’s lustrous urban cinematography, close ups and narrow escapes lean toward gangster lore of the 30s and 40s, not the mob epics pioneered by Francis Ford Coppula”s, “The Godfather.”
You’ll not notice the extended running time, with happenings unfolding on three fronts much like cameras in three race cars (but not the driver’s eyes perspective). You could chide about dangling events without closure (how long does it take to rig all those explosives day after day?) , but, hey, this isn’t meant to be “C.S.I.” or “L.A. Law.” Just set back, let the imagery nab20your mind, and enjoy one awesome sequence after another. Better have someone waiting to catch you up if you dash for popcorn or the restroom.
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RUTHERFORD ON FILM: 'Dark Knight'
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
When you go to escapistic flicks, they usually have but a single, somewhat rudimentary element : Variations on the good guy(s) versus bad guys(s) sometimes doused with a sense of morality like sprinkling dressing on a salad.
Occasionally, one rises past the inevitable prevail of good against evil.
Growing up reading Silver Age comics, they had a similar formula, too. Pressed by diminishing page counts, the artists and writers had a fraction of normalcy before crisis, challenge, disaster, plan, kiss, leap, punches and pow completed the 20 some pages of color panels.
Anyone serious about their superhero comics suspended disbelief yet sought the one adventure that would reveal an elusive, incisive piece of the hero’s personality while not outwitting or tackling a villain.
Along comes a movie, which stretches past leaps and bounds. This film has it all. A complex back-story which cruises along nibbling into the main tenant. An assemblage of cast members negating any ‘camp’ or ‘fairy tale’ elements for a gritty physically bruising (they suture wounds), for continual intellectual astuteness, and for swelling of an emotional continuum which grabs you in an all too swift pattern like the glory of air time on a racing roller coaster.
“The Dark Knight” packs adrenaline even before the gadget laden, utility belt wearing Batman pulls a specialized weapon out of his pouch. As updated behind the scenes Robin substitute , Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) seems akin to the dude who invents concealed weapons and secretive optics for 007. He also sees the stitching, blood, and tears from the Caped Crusaders one-on-one fisticuffs.
Place plaudits in the arms of writer/director Christopher Nolan for his ability to seamlessly mesh with perfect attention to what dramatists call ‘beats’ by straddling the fortunes of multiple characters (Bruce Wayne/Batman, Joker, Harvey Dent/Two Face (Aaron Eckhart) , Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman ) and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) with painstaking continuity that the time eclipsed during cutaways fester no interrupted confusing adjustments, just race to the next complication that must be unwoven.
Opening with a daring daylight bank robbery that empanels extraordinary tools and surprise escape mechanisms, “Dark Knight” abruptly establishes its cleverly cunning style, as the costumed culprits escape with tainted mob money by joining a parade of yellow school buses.
Picking out an essential or best aspect of the picture relies on perspective. Unlike the familiar skyscraper canons of NYC, “Knight” chose Chicago for the Gotham stand-in. Avoiding signature icons musters greater menace particularly as the Joker’s newest threats usher a new panic or evacuation. Since Batman does not have the power to fly, he relies on cables (like Spiderman) which enable enhanced detail to the exterior of high rises and deeper dwelling on the instruments similar to the precision of “Mission : Impossible” yet avoiding cumbersome temptations that would have muddied the impeccable pace.
Christian Bale empowers the darker, more secretive aspects of the Batman character, allowing him to handily straddle the hero/vigilante crossroads, which radio dramas did best with such heroes as “The Green Hornet” or “The Shadow.” Fully costumed uttering gravel voiced commands and strategy Bale favors an ominous presence.
However, the acting accolades must fall on Heath Ledger (The Joker), whose painted, scarred face with straggling hair, depicts a egocentric psychopath chuckling about the death toll and casually asking, “Did I ever tell you how I got these scars?” His diabolical diatribes wistfully harken to (albeit shortened) monologues spoken by Shakespearean kings weighing hideous decisions.
Speech alone does not embody Ledger’s personification. Watch closely, you’ll see that he’s added movements of hands, eyes, and face into the scenes. Nowhere does his heart cultivate disdain for life than an explosive scene in which one charge fails to immediately trigger.
Unlike cinematic developers betting on a feature length special effects fireworks, “Knight’s” fit the need of the character, not vice versa.
The film has so many readily accepted twists that rely on banal stereotypes ( mob members , dirty cops, etc) that they screen without imposing a label of convenient stretching to make the elements boil in one pot. It’s lustrous urban cinematography, close ups and narrow escapes lean toward gangster lore of the 30s and 40s, not the mob epics pioneered by Francis Ford Coppula”s, “The Godfather.”
You’ll not notice the extended running time, with happenings unfolding on three fronts much like cameras in three race cars (but not the driver’s eyes perspective). You could chide about dangling events without closure (how long does it take to rig all those explosives day after day?) , but, hey, this isn’t meant to be “C.S.I.” or “L.A. Law.” Just set back, let the imagery nab20your mind, and enjoy one awesome sequence after another. Better have someone waiting to catch you up if you dash for popcorn or the restroom.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
