This featured discussion is an experimental idea on Sci-Fi Heaven. It’s intended to be like a forum thread rather than your traditional blog post.
It’s been a few weeks since The Dark Knight splashed onto our home screens in DVD and Blu-Ray glory, and so hopefully those of you who didn’t see the movie an unhealthy number of times in the cinemas now have had the chance to do so.
Now that the hype has settled, and the dust begins to form on top of what is widely considered to be a modern day masterpiece, there have been one or two voices in the distance crying out to be heard. They proclaim The Dark Knight to be overrated: a over-hyped piece of cinema that’s simply too dark to be enjoyed. Some say it’s just not that good.
So what’s it to be? Is The Dark Knight truly a 21st Century wonder that will sit atop the favourite lists of film critics for decades to come, or is it simply much ado about nothing: a film made famous in no small part by the very tragic passing away of Heath Ledger. Is that too cynical?
Discuss.
Now that the scene’s set, it’s time to deliver my two cents.
The film is not overrated, and I’ll tell you why. It is a triumph in the cinematic art form, in terms of performance, spectacle and impact. The quality of filming – including scale, location, relative absence of gratuitous CGI – all lend themselves to creating a magnificent film.
The performances, with obvious standout from Heath Ledger, are strong. Ledger hits the role out of the park however, with a performance that is simultaneously terrifying, chilling and humourous as required. It’s a delicate and difficult balance to achieve, yet Ledger nails it.
The pacing too seems pretty flawless. It’s not a short movie, yet the action is well directed and interspersed with just the right amount of dialogue and plot development. Nolan knows his stuff.
The fact that the film grossed $1,000,000,000 worldwide has to show something. It’s not a movie for everyone – it does not hold the massive widespread appeal that some RomComs might. It’s a niche market, so why the massive public enthusiasm? Because it’s worth every ounce of hype it received.
Additionally, Ledger’s death may have heightened that hype a little, but I think the performance would have stood up for itself regardless. His death is a massive loss to future Hollywood productions. However, it seems incredulous to argue that it in itself was responsible for the reception the film received.
i went to see this particular film 3 times at the cinema for various reasons..and most people must agree no matter how good a film mite b after the second viewing in as many days u will start looking at things in detail and noticing things…and im sorry but i can honestly say i enjoyed the dark knight even more the 2nd or 3rd time as these little things u see just reiterate the modern genius of this film and the talent of the actors and christopher nolan….even if the guy that acts as the mayor does wear bloody eye liner…a modern masterpiece i have no doubt
oh and n.b. batman has a lisp at the part were dent is threatening one of the jokers henchmen…u knw the schizo guy..thts it ..thts all the flaws i can think of lol
I have to agree with Chris on this one, I for one did not think it was over hyped in any way shape or form. Sure as Chris has said Heath’s death added to the hype, and I am sure this added to the crowds of people who went to see it. You do hear the odd remark of the Dark Knight being too over hyped, and that it was just alright. These comments could be coming from those that got introduced to the Nolan’s Batman series from the build up from Heath’s Death?
Personally I loved every single minute of The Dark Knight, I normally with a film that does have such a big hype surrounding it you normally come away feeling let down (eg X Files I want to Believe) but I can truthfully say I did not feel let down.
I shall be enjoying the Dark Knight again on Blu ray in the not to distant future.
Yes it is overrated, as you describe it.
Ten years from now I will look back at a bunch of Sci-Fi movies and I am not sure that Dark knight will be one of them. I will also look back at a bunch of characters featured in the movies… Batman and the Joker will probably be there.
A few early reflections of the movie:
http://boywing.blogspot.com/2008/08/dark-knight.html
It is overrated.
The way people respond to this film reminds me of a comic book plot: an evil fiend releases an airborne toxin thereby making practically everyone who has seen The Dark Knight believe it is a masterpiece.
The praise Chris Nolan has gotten for this film is overblown considering that he is the man hailed for re-inventing and re-imagining Batman. He publicly stated that he was bringing Batman into the real world and yet he didn’t do this. It’s funny how so many people develop selective amnesia whenever I say this. They get defensive and pull out every possible (but useless) excuse to say this movie is comparable to a crime drama. If you want a crime drama, go to the pros, watch Law and Order. This movie is not comparable to The Godfather 2 or Heat. TINMAN–which was on the Sci-Fi channel about a year ago–was a true re-imaging of The Wizard of Oz. The film kept all of the beloved characters but the story was a completely different interpretation.
All Nolan did was remove Tim Burton’s and Joel Schumacher’s art deco set pieces, as well as CGI. In its place, he made Gotham a real city, and wrangled up a critically acclaimed cast to provide a semblance of the realism people seem to think he achieved; as well as to try to camouflage a ridiculous plot. He has not done anything radically different from Burton and Schumacher. He did not re-imagine anything. He patterned his Joker after the Joker in THE KILLING JOKE (Burton based his Batman movie on THE KILLING JOKE). If people feel bad about Ledger dying, fine. It was a tragic thing to happen; but people really need to stop confusing a strong performance with strong storytelling. This is not a good film.
Overhyped and overrated, but for the wrong reasons.
The common praise I see by moviegoers is the “magic-trick” scene. What they failed to see was that minutes later, the best acting of Ledger surfaced: he answered to someone calling him crazy, “no I’m not,” with so much conviction and expression I truly believed his character.
I hear a lot about the boat situation but found the scene rather pedantic. I understand the message Nolan is delivering, but he could have approached it a little more realistically at that point.
Ledgers performance was truly remarkable, dead or not. I cannot understand how people find it overrated. People criticize Bale’s performance for being soulless, but I believe it to be contemplative instead.
In regards to the plot, it was not challenging or groundbreaking, but the concepts presented and its ability to hold interest is worthy of the attention it gets.
That aside, I found the end scene with the narrative by Gordon to be rather messy and not very cohesive. Two Faces depiction could use a more realistic approach, modeled after his comic book counterpart, perhaps.
The Dark Knight is a 9.4 in my books, and rightfully deserved a Best Picture nomination (if not award).