Post by jjpor on Jul 24, 2008 23:51:21 GMT
So, I've finally seen it after nearly three years of anticipation, and I have been going round telling everyone I know about it, so I'm not about to spare you lot...
Was it any good? Well, no. It was BRILLIANT! To be honest, it probably didn't live up to my ridiculously overinflated expectations, but it was certainly the very best superhero film I have ever seen. In fact, it was a very good film, period. It has already been said in some of the online reviews, but it is genuinely true; it's as if somebody had set out to make a film like "Heat" or "American Gangster", but just happened to put one of the main characters in clown makeup and the other in a bat costume. That's not to say that there are no comicbook thrills and spills in this picture; there certainly are, but they feel even more impressive - the stakes seem even higher - precisely because they are rooted in this sense of reality. The Tim Burton Batman films were very, very good, but "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" blow them out of the water, IMHO.
Does Heath Ledger's Joker live up to the absurd levels of hype that have been generated over the last couple of months? Maybe not, if I'm honest, but then again those were absurd levels of hype; he is, nevertheless, absolutely superb. The stuff of nightmares. The "magic trick" he does early in the film made me simultaneously wince and snigger, and then made me feel guilty for having sniggered. This is one of the darkest, most evil, characters you're likely to encounter in a movie of this genre, but genuinely, sickly, funny at the same time. When he asks another character "Why so serious?", you'll be squirming worriedly in your seat at what he might do next.
And this post isn't entirely Who-irrelevant, either, for the TV Movie's very own Eric "The Master" Roberts makes an appearance, too. He plays a mobster called Sal Maroni, and although it's only a supporting role with maybe a few minutes of screentime altogether, he certainly made a big impression; on me, anyway. Roberts plays "the guy you love to hate" better than just about anybody in the business, IMO, and here, with only a comparatively few lines, he really sells his character; he is simultaneously arrogant, charismatic, sleazy and completely despicable. Mind you, I always liked his version of the Master, despite what a lot of other people felt.
Was it any good? Well, no. It was BRILLIANT! To be honest, it probably didn't live up to my ridiculously overinflated expectations, but it was certainly the very best superhero film I have ever seen. In fact, it was a very good film, period. It has already been said in some of the online reviews, but it is genuinely true; it's as if somebody had set out to make a film like "Heat" or "American Gangster", but just happened to put one of the main characters in clown makeup and the other in a bat costume. That's not to say that there are no comicbook thrills and spills in this picture; there certainly are, but they feel even more impressive - the stakes seem even higher - precisely because they are rooted in this sense of reality. The Tim Burton Batman films were very, very good, but "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" blow them out of the water, IMHO.
Does Heath Ledger's Joker live up to the absurd levels of hype that have been generated over the last couple of months? Maybe not, if I'm honest, but then again those were absurd levels of hype; he is, nevertheless, absolutely superb. The stuff of nightmares. The "magic trick" he does early in the film made me simultaneously wince and snigger, and then made me feel guilty for having sniggered. This is one of the darkest, most evil, characters you're likely to encounter in a movie of this genre, but genuinely, sickly, funny at the same time. When he asks another character "Why so serious?", you'll be squirming worriedly in your seat at what he might do next.
And this post isn't entirely Who-irrelevant, either, for the TV Movie's very own Eric "The Master" Roberts makes an appearance, too. He plays a mobster called Sal Maroni, and although it's only a supporting role with maybe a few minutes of screentime altogether, he certainly made a big impression; on me, anyway. Roberts plays "the guy you love to hate" better than just about anybody in the business, IMO, and here, with only a comparatively few lines, he really sells his character; he is simultaneously arrogant, charismatic, sleazy and completely despicable. Mind you, I always liked his version of the Master, despite what a lot of other people felt.