I'm Batman, heh-heh-heh

Friends,

I'm not the first to think this (see link here), hell, I'm probably last in line for this following post, but for those of you who have seen The Dark Knight, did you see the parallels with George W. Bush and this War on Terror? Well, if you're pro-Bush, you probably couldn't help but see them.

For those who have not seen the movie, I'd recommend not reading this post if you have any intent on seeing the movie....okay, here we go.

I had that Batman-GWB thought after the first time I saw it what with the illegal and massive spying network Batman set up to catch the terrorist (as labeled by Alfred the butler) Joker. And it goes further with making unpopular choices to protect the lives on the innocent, and breaking laws to do what he saw necessary to protect the people. And so on, and so forth. It really is obvious where people are getting this idea.

The thing is, those people who think that, and believe that this movie is really nothing but a veiled pro-Bush movie...you're wrong. First, Batman is doing all these things to fight the Joker. It's not the Joker rumbled into town, fucked up some stuff, then Batman goes over to Metropolis to punch Lex Luther in the face. If he did, then I'd say that this was indeed a straight GW parallel. Also, there aren't religious concerns in this flick, and if Bush is anything, he's a sleight-of-hand Christian...unless Batman is a Jesus figure, but I don't think that quite works because as far as I know, Jesus wasn't much for punching people in the face (unless they gambled in a church)...and Jesus was totally poor. Also, lest we forget Batman is a character we can trust to get The Bad Guy (which is some strange shit because why would anyone logically trust a trillionaire vigilante dressed in a body armor and pointy bat ears to do anything?) and the GW character cannot be trusted to get The Bad Guy. And, the real kicker for me that makes this a non-GW movie...(spoiler here)...the Joker wins. By the end of the movie, the white knight of Gotham is dead, the only hope the town had for a non-caped crusader to clean up the joint, and the Batman, the only other hope for a clean Gotham for the citizenry, becomes a hunted criminal, leaving Gotham with only a tragically crooked police department and the mob. The regular citizen no longer has any salvation. Their symbols of hope are gone, just like what the Joker wanted. So, for this to be a pro-GW movie, then doesn't that mean that this movie is saying that terrorists will win this war, and all hope will be killed or sullied during this Pyrrhic fight...and that's somehow a good thing for GW? Really?

With all that out of the way, how is this movie? Good. Pretty damn good. I can't think of a comic book movie that was better, or as interesting as this. This is the only comic book movie where I felt some actual tension as to what is going to happen. And the acting, particularly Heath Ledger with the Joker, is as hyped. He is frightening, magnetic, funny, charming, and smart. He is the perfect movie villain. It is absolutely beautiful. Also, what's good, how sneaky this movie is. Consider how much of this movie is about falling from grace...how many physical falls happen in this movie? Four? Five? Pretty slick I think. It reminded me in a strange way of all those falling references in Michael Cunningham's "White Angel" because of how seamless and thematic they were. Also, another thing I love about this movie, and it is a Christopher Nolan staple, is that all the swerves in the plot are shown to you right up front, so when the twists happen they aren't cheap.

So, yeah, go see this movie. It is worth the price of admission, I think.

Oh, as for my IMAX experience. I was impressed with the screen, but I really do wish the screen was even bigger. In fact, I thought IMAX screens were much larger...and this one was 5 storeys tall, which is pretty fucking big, but it really didn't feel as completely immersive as I wanted it to. And, I do have to say, the sound was way too damn loud. The bass was shaking my pant legs, and I couldn't understand some of the dialogue if music was going at the same time because it all blended together into this rock concert wall of sound.

And, the preview for Watchmen that comes in front of the movie gives me hope that they didn't fuck up the best graphic novel ever written. But, its the guy that did 300 directing this movie, and the preview did show some of the stupid slow motion to fast forward bullshit that was all over 300. And I've heard tell of more slow motion parts in the Watchmen as well. And, you know, I understand that slow motion is cool, but it is like simile of film making...you should use them, but you can't go throwing it around all the damn time because it gets silly, and masturbatory, and show-offy. One final point about this Watchmen preview...it takes a lot of balls to put its preview in front of what is really the best comic book movie made to date. Comparisons between the two will be made anyway because both of these movies cover the ground of destroying ideas of the hero and they both share claims as some of the best comic book stories told, but having the preview in front of this movie is demanding the comparisons get made. I know this is really just about marketing...millions of people will see The Dark Knight...makes sense to put that trailer in front of that movie, but still.... I just hope that since The Dark Knight lived up to the hype, then if Watchmen can deliver...oh my.

viva el mustache