12.08.2008

Dark Knight tomorrow!

In celebration of the movie Dark Knight coming out tonight midnight/tomorrow, I decided to throw something small up about the movie.

In the first movie the underlying theme as I understood it was masks. It seems to be about who the characters are. Finding their true self. There is also a running theme of the uses of fear.
The path of discovery leads Bruce Wayne on a never ending search for outward meaning. Since that doesn't work, Ducard suggests he turn his search inward.
What does he find???
Mr. Wayne finds his fear is rooted in a childhood accident. Coupling that fear with urges of vengeance, and the need to mete out justice, he turns his fear into a weapon. He pours himself into a dedication to punishing those who are untouched by law. He becomes the Batman, and Bruce is his false persona.
The Scarecrow uses a toxic gas to generate an unnatural fear in people, and the mask as a further agent of manipulation. Using the mind against itself with the assistance of the gas and a dirty old potato sack.
Ra's Al Ghul I feel to be the best use of a mask. Ghul's mask is a completely other person. He uses a decoy. He hides himself under an alias as a shield. The League of Shadows he is leading wants to destroy the "decadence" that Gotham City has become. His use of fear was the plan to infect Gotham with it, and let the city destroy itself.

The Dark Knight appears to be about motivation. Why do things? Why keep trying to fight injustice? Is the corruption too deep?
While there is a reason, that I believe is to show that people will fail to do the right thing when pushed into a choice they don't want to make, Joker doesn't need to stand for anything.
The Joker represents the literal "Wild card". A force that does things just because.
He just kills off his help. Hires obviously unbalanced people. His acts are seemingly random.
How do you fight a villain that isn't affected by efforts to extract them?
Spreading terror throughout the city and letting the people exacerbate the effects, and sits back and enjoys it. He manipulates both the general populous, the government, and the criminal underground. He is playing them all.
Batman himself has to change. His image is dual. He is viewed by Gotham as good guy/bad guy and ends up becoming a scapegoat to salvage another image. He won't let the Joker's deeds be known by the public. A sacrifice for the greater good. True heroics.
Harvey Dent? Do I have to even talk about this? From the power of choice to that of chance.
Purpose to chaos.

I would also like to post thoughts about a 3rd movie. There have been rumors about Catwoman being the villain. This choice would be perfect. A love interest and a villain.
I have also heard that Angelina Jolie wants the role. Disgusting. While it's possible she could be good, I believe it to be terrible. I think someone like Charlize Theron would be better. There is immense possibility for great action and chase scenes with a cat burglar.
For a secondary villain, while being close to the Joker, there is also the Riddler. Not the crazy, semi-retarded Jim Carrey Riddler, but an Equestrian one. The bowler's hat and suit. Smart and reserved, pushing Batman to think through difficult puzzles.
Could Ralph Fiennes be called for? I think so. He almost was in the Riddler character in the Avengers movie with Uma Thurman. He had the suit, hat, and demeanor.

3 comments:

  1. word, Jolie would suck a muck. Theron might be alright but i honestly hope they just do a no name actress so that they can keep the character pure. what made Ledger so good is that no one even recognized him as himself when he was the Joker. And cat Woman is just as important to the story of Batman so the last thing the series needs is a cocky actress who has been in too many movies.

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  2. Good call on the need for a "no namer".

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  3. I think the theory of "His use of fear was the plan to infect Gotham with it, and let the city destroy itself." is obviously used in the second one as well, I just watched "The Dark Knight" not Steve Campbell but Batman of course last night I thought it was pretty good, I also hate Bruce Wayne as a character in this movie. Cocky is not a strong enough word to describe him, I feel as though I am looking in a mirror, laughing out loud. Also I bring a question to you, why does Joker change his story about his scars on several occasions?

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