movie review - The Dark Night
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
This is a super-hero movie with a crime drama skin. It is quite good, in that it presents a gripping story that's equally fueled by good characters, excellent action, and a compelling story. But what this movie isn't -- despite a billion breathless hours stating the contrary -- is genius. Yes, a lot of it is engaging and memorable but it's also over-the-top comic-book faire and it shouldn't be venerated beyond that. There is simply *no way* that things could have worked out anything like they way they do in the story. Virtually everything that the villain does in this film would have been impossible, but his constant excellent luck in his execution is absurd. Things would have fallen apart on their own in a hundred different ways with just his vaunted escape from the police station, never mind all the screw-ball antics in pursuit of his goals.
And now to really take my life in my hands: I didn't find the acting behind the villain "the Joker" particularly noteworthy. He's a great villain, even a trope into himself, yes. But a lot of the actor's affectations throughout the film are just annoying. I really don't think that this is a masterpiece performance in the sense of defining a master. Yup, the actor died. And? This emperor has not *no* clothes, but not much. Slacks and flip-flops.
Recommended. For good comic-book faire. But it's not something you're going to want to re-watch from time to time as some kind of instant classic.