I had been hearing good things about the new Batman movie and I admit, I was intrigued. When dad offered to take me, I said sure. I usually don’t watch movies, I can’t remember the last time I went to the theatre to see a movie. It’s been at least 6 or 7 years. This surprises people, they can’t understand why I don’t go. I have never really understood why people enjoy doing it. Sure, it can be a great experience, but it is usually a total waste of time.
This movie is no exception. I had heard how “dark” the movie is, how action packed it is, and how “powerful” a performance Heath Ledger gave as the Joker. What a load of BS. This movie is no different from any other pile of steaming feces that Hollywood churns out on a regular basis. It was predictable, had ridiculous dialogue, no characterization to speak of, and I was actually bored in the middle of it. I can think of 4 or 5 comic book stories off the top of my head that are head and shoulders above this, including some Batman ones…
Ledger’s supposedly “amazing” performance amounted to him trying to channel a combination of Jack Nicholson in “The Shining” and Freddie Crugar in the first “Nightmare on Elm Street” movie. He’s playing the Joker folks, it is fundamentally impossible to give an amazing performance in that role. The best you can do is make it creepy and I don’t even think he did that.
After the film, my father told me something that I have heard all my life and I have never understood. He said that it was important to see a movie once in a while, even if it’s bad. It’s a common thought, but no one has ever been able to tell me why it’s a good thing to pay for and sit through something when I could have been doing any number of other things that are better. This goes for bad music and bad books too. In my experience, most movies suck and are a waste of my life. I won’t make the mistake of going to the theatre again for quite a while.
More than ever, this movie has me worrying about a country that thinks this is a good film. I’m even more worried about a culture that thinks this is good entertainment. It doesn’t have any redeeming values that I can think of. You don’t learn anything from it, it’s expensive, and it isn’t even interesting to look at. There are about a zillion films that are more exciting if action is your thing. I literally don’t understand why anyone would like this film…