The Dark Knight - Batman

Hmmmm... Not such a great film. In fact I thought it pretty mediocre. Great actors but weak story with twists and turns that were weak and felt squeezed in at the last minute. It was unbearably long - around 2.5 hours. No great stretches for Michael Caine or Morgan Freeman - same characters they have played before - especially Mr. Freeman! Gary Oldman is a great and versatile actor but his choice of character as the police commissioner was boring and lifeless. Christian Bale is also a limited and stiff actor with little charisma. He is the latest Hollywood hunk who is a profile actor - meaning he is more concerned with his profile as it relates to the camera then really digging into his chosen persona. Yet the reason for this films great success is the deceased Mr. Heath Ledger, an actor extraordinary. He became a real sicko for this dark film. Sadly his great and eerie performance was wasted on this boring and grim new franchise of the Batman cartoon character. I am so sick and tired of all these dark and irritating Gothic style films. They are as boring as Gothic influenced people. I guess it's a sign of the times when such a violent and dismal movie is so popular. Maybe it's a reflection of the dismal state we find ourselves in being in two wars with no end in sight and an economy in the toilet. This and the overwhelming popularity of violent video games (bigger $$$ then movies!) and violent TV shows. TV Shows such as all the Lawyer shows and forensic shows, all that begin with a slaughtered Woman or Man in a dark and dismal location such as a back alley in a dark, dirty city such as Gotham and or NYC or Miami. The ironic paradox is that crime is down nationwide over the last 30 years. But people live in fear more then ever before. These are obviously the results of the successful take over of America by the fear mongers both in the government and in the mass media post 9/11. When I saw the dismal and dark film previews aimed at this Batman demographic before the film started, my stomach turned and a sour puss expression took over my face. They all have a modern dark tone and lack of color - just enough color as not to be considered black and white. When I saw what they were doing with the remake of the "The day the Earth Stood Still" I was really annoyed! In that 1950s well made film the alien character was the good guy protagonist just trying to help out humans who were on the verge of self destruction. (what else is new?) The antagonists were us - the stupid and violent Americans who live in fear and solve all disputes with a gun or a bomb. Yet in the new crappy and Gothic boring version, the crappy actor Kaneau Reeves is starring in the newly revised version as a creepy, unlikeable and no good alien character and poor beautiful decent yet limited actress Jennifer Connelly got stuck opposite him as the leading sympathetic female role. Just a sign of the times when the evil Hollywood machine milks these dark days we find our collective psyche to be in and produce total crap like this for the sheep like masses to consume. Bad vibes and no imagination - (other then some really nice visuals done by the best CGI people in Hollywood) - are how I some up this below average film. Dark Knight is a very appropriate title for a dark and worthless film that only adds to the problems and offers no solutions to the dark and full of fear quandary we humans have created for ourselves. I don't understand all the fantastic reviews - the contemporary critics are all obviously bought and sold and have no real integrity or informed or valued critiques to offer us anymore. Every piece of crap film that comes out is hailed as great or a must see - give me a break! If you must see Mr. Ledger in this his last great but depressing performance (because it surely did not help his depression in real life thus pushing him over the edge toward his suicide) then just wait to rent it and save some of your hard earned money!