More Batman Meta
Jul. 29th, 2008 10:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meddowI saw The Dark Knight again.
I pick up quite a few things on the second viewing. Biggest thing I noticed surrounded the death of Harvey Dent. You have to admit, it's both a bit lame that Harvey fell to his death and convenient that Batman couldn't save him since imagine how damaging it would be if Harvey were to live. The White Knight of Gotham grotesque, insane and on trial for murder would be the end of the city.
Harvey living would undo all the good that had been achieved and so, to save Gotham, I think Batman deliberately killed Harvey. It wasn't a failure to save him, but rather a deliberate letting of gravity do its work (as the Joker suggests he does to him). An ongoing theme of the movie was Batman's inability to kill. The tragedy is that he doesn't kill the Joker or a mob boss. He kills the hero he fought so hard to protect.
Feel free to say "duh Meddow, of course he killed Harvey, I can't believe you didn't notice that first time around" at this point, but I think it's rather deliberately ambiguous what happens in that scene and it's left open for interpretation.
The question is: when did Batman conceive the cover up Harvey's insanity plan? Before or after the fall? Interestingly, when Batman's down having been shot by Harvey, we get no reaction shots of him even though everybody knows the bullet didn't kill Batman. Also, how many characters in this movie fell to their supposed death? Rachel, the Joker and at least four SWAT agents to name a few. Every single time Batman saved them. We're supposed to believe that this time he couldn't? Falls are not an issue for Batman.
Even more interestingly, Batman lets himself fall. Again, we're supposed to believe that he couldn't save himself if he wanted to? No, I think it was Batman momentarily subscribing to Harvey's concept of justice and applying it to himself as punishment for the action he had just undertaken and letting chance being the judge of whether he lives of dies (and, two people fall from that building, one gets up and the other doesn’t. It's sort of a 50/50 chance).
I also think that at the same time as killing Harvey, Batman killed Bruce. We see a lot in this movie of Bruce doing his Batman out of the mask and as Bruce. They're not two separate entities, they're the same, which causes many problems.
Which leads on to the address swap the Joker did. Alfred told Bruce he can't make it personal, the Joker counted on Batman making it personal and the whole mess with Harvey was a result. Clearly Harvey would be the person a cold rational Batman would have gone for. If he had gone for Harvey, he would have found Rachel, Rachel would have lived and although she would have probably been very pissed and would have mourned for a good long while, she probably would not have gone on a rampage like Harvey did. Harvey, meanwhile, would have been martyred for the cause and the Joker would have lost Harvey as his backup city destruction plan.
Instead he made the decision as Bruce Wayne and went after Rachel, found Harvey, lost Rachel and Harvey eventually ended up being a martyr for the cause anyway, but not before five people died as the result of his hunt for justice. If Batman had chosen Harvey, six people including Rachel would still be alive, and he would have never had to breach his cardinal rule and kill. Making it personal only results in more loss. Batman can't afford to be Bruce Wayne, and in those final few moments of the film we don't get to see Bruce Wayne. All we see is Batman, the guardian and I think that's because by this point, Bruce Wayne has died a metaphorical death. Batman is now truly in control. Bruce Wayne is just a cover.
Which I suppose goes back to the Bruce-Harvey parallels. By the end, both of them have become symbols at the expense of their lives, one hope and the other fear.
Okay, enough meta for today. In light of the fact that I'm reviewing Aaron Eckhart movies and that I also fangirl Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine (I define 'fangirl' as will rent a movie solely because they are in it with no thought given to how low it's rated on imdb) it's getting rated on them as well. This whole movie rating thing has become sort of a pet project to keep me occupied while there's no new Doctor Who.
The Dark Knight (2008, dr. Christopher Nolan)
Assets: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Nestor Carbonell
Warnings: None, the casting is perfect. There is a nasty incident involving a pencil though.
Cillian Murphy's only got a cameo and spends the vast majority of it in a mask but gets a bonus half point because he's got great lines. Michael Caine gets three because what this movie sorely needed was more Alfred.
Film Rating: 5
Aaron Eckhart Fangirl Rating: 4½
Cillian Murphy Fangirl Rating: 1½
Michael Caine Fangirl Rating: 3
I pick up quite a few things on the second viewing. Biggest thing I noticed surrounded the death of Harvey Dent. You have to admit, it's both a bit lame that Harvey fell to his death and convenient that Batman couldn't save him since imagine how damaging it would be if Harvey were to live. The White Knight of Gotham grotesque, insane and on trial for murder would be the end of the city.
Harvey living would undo all the good that had been achieved and so, to save Gotham, I think Batman deliberately killed Harvey. It wasn't a failure to save him, but rather a deliberate letting of gravity do its work (as the Joker suggests he does to him). An ongoing theme of the movie was Batman's inability to kill. The tragedy is that he doesn't kill the Joker or a mob boss. He kills the hero he fought so hard to protect.
Feel free to say "duh Meddow, of course he killed Harvey, I can't believe you didn't notice that first time around" at this point, but I think it's rather deliberately ambiguous what happens in that scene and it's left open for interpretation.
The question is: when did Batman conceive the cover up Harvey's insanity plan? Before or after the fall? Interestingly, when Batman's down having been shot by Harvey, we get no reaction shots of him even though everybody knows the bullet didn't kill Batman. Also, how many characters in this movie fell to their supposed death? Rachel, the Joker and at least four SWAT agents to name a few. Every single time Batman saved them. We're supposed to believe that this time he couldn't? Falls are not an issue for Batman.
Even more interestingly, Batman lets himself fall. Again, we're supposed to believe that he couldn't save himself if he wanted to? No, I think it was Batman momentarily subscribing to Harvey's concept of justice and applying it to himself as punishment for the action he had just undertaken and letting chance being the judge of whether he lives of dies (and, two people fall from that building, one gets up and the other doesn’t. It's sort of a 50/50 chance).
I also think that at the same time as killing Harvey, Batman killed Bruce. We see a lot in this movie of Bruce doing his Batman out of the mask and as Bruce. They're not two separate entities, they're the same, which causes many problems.
Which leads on to the address swap the Joker did. Alfred told Bruce he can't make it personal, the Joker counted on Batman making it personal and the whole mess with Harvey was a result. Clearly Harvey would be the person a cold rational Batman would have gone for. If he had gone for Harvey, he would have found Rachel, Rachel would have lived and although she would have probably been very pissed and would have mourned for a good long while, she probably would not have gone on a rampage like Harvey did. Harvey, meanwhile, would have been martyred for the cause and the Joker would have lost Harvey as his backup city destruction plan.
Instead he made the decision as Bruce Wayne and went after Rachel, found Harvey, lost Rachel and Harvey eventually ended up being a martyr for the cause anyway, but not before five people died as the result of his hunt for justice. If Batman had chosen Harvey, six people including Rachel would still be alive, and he would have never had to breach his cardinal rule and kill. Making it personal only results in more loss. Batman can't afford to be Bruce Wayne, and in those final few moments of the film we don't get to see Bruce Wayne. All we see is Batman, the guardian and I think that's because by this point, Bruce Wayne has died a metaphorical death. Batman is now truly in control. Bruce Wayne is just a cover.
Which I suppose goes back to the Bruce-Harvey parallels. By the end, both of them have become symbols at the expense of their lives, one hope and the other fear.
Okay, enough meta for today. In light of the fact that I'm reviewing Aaron Eckhart movies and that I also fangirl Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine (I define 'fangirl' as will rent a movie solely because they are in it with no thought given to how low it's rated on imdb) it's getting rated on them as well. This whole movie rating thing has become sort of a pet project to keep me occupied while there's no new Doctor Who.
The Dark Knight (2008, dr. Christopher Nolan)
Assets: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Nestor Carbonell
Warnings: None, the casting is perfect. There is a nasty incident involving a pencil though.
Cillian Murphy's only got a cameo and spends the vast majority of it in a mask but gets a bonus half point because he's got great lines. Michael Caine gets three because what this movie sorely needed was more Alfred.
Film Rating: 5
Aaron Eckhart Fangirl Rating: 4½
Cillian Murphy Fangirl Rating: 1½
Michael Caine Fangirl Rating: 3
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-08-01 02:30 am (UTC)