After all, it was a Hollywood movie!
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America is a bright student of std IV, and India is a poor student of std XI. Most of what America talks is childish, but that rings with confidence. India, unsure of what it knows, on the other hand, stammers when opens its mouth, and looks pretty stupid.
I had read in a review on IMDB that this movie explores literary themes. It was this that lured me into watching this movie. I do not attach much expectation with a typical Hollywood movie. And I hardly bother myself with most of them. But being right at the top of all time great movies is no joke. Well, it is a joke, but I didn't know that till yesterday, when I found myself at the wrong end of the joke.
This movie does explore literary themes, but at std IV level. This movie is an adaptation of a batman comic, and a good adaptation indeed, but of a comic strip only, not of a Tagore or a Tolstoy. It was foolish on my part to expect anything more than comic literature. But I did, and that costed me Rs 120/-, 3 weekend hrs and 1 liter of petrol.
The antics of the villain - Joker - were not funny. They were sometimes boring, and sometimes very boring. He plays role of a psychopath, but he fails to inspire fear. The reviews had led me to expect a devil of a villain but despite all his witty one-liners he doesn't look very sharp. With all paint, plaster and slurps, he looks rather disgusting than intimidating.
In fact, the hero looks more intimidating with his fleet of cars and women. He, and his alter-ego - Batman, can do whatever they fancy thanks to the mind-numbing gadgets devised by their Research and Development team. And when someone can do whatever he wants, it doesn't awfully matter who he is up against. It does, from a moral standpoint, but not otherwise. There is nothing heroic in not having limitations. It's easy to be a hero when nothing is at stake and nothing costs much. The point is that there was no genuine contest between good and evil. There was no genuine temptation, no genuine dilemma, and no genuine despair. The whole game was made-up, and poorly made-up.
Actually, apart from disproportionate dependence on science and finance, and lack of art, the main problem with American movies is externalization of Evil. Americans film-makers almost feel a scatological compulsion to import enemies - either Russians, or Koreans, or Chinese, or Iranians, even aliens, and now psychopaths - to make movies. They fail to see the evil in their own society. They fail to see their enemies in themselves - in their ignorance, in their insensitivity, and in their paranoia. They fail to explore situations that generate moral conflicts in a normal Man, in each one of us. And that's why most of their movies are childish, of std IV level, this one being no exception. "The Dark Knight" is hopelessly Hollywoodish - again with a petty theme set on grand stage.
And Bollywood worships Hollywood! It's interesting to see how disgracefully we behave under the influence of inferiority complex!
Rating - 5/10
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America is a bright student of std IV, and India is a poor student of std XI. Most of what America talks is childish, but that rings with confidence. India, unsure of what it knows, on the other hand, stammers when opens its mouth, and looks pretty stupid.
I had read in a review on IMDB that this movie explores literary themes. It was this that lured me into watching this movie. I do not attach much expectation with a typical Hollywood movie. And I hardly bother myself with most of them. But being right at the top of all time great movies is no joke. Well, it is a joke, but I didn't know that till yesterday, when I found myself at the wrong end of the joke.
This movie does explore literary themes, but at std IV level. This movie is an adaptation of a batman comic, and a good adaptation indeed, but of a comic strip only, not of a Tagore or a Tolstoy. It was foolish on my part to expect anything more than comic literature. But I did, and that costed me Rs 120/-, 3 weekend hrs and 1 liter of petrol.
The antics of the villain - Joker - were not funny. They were sometimes boring, and sometimes very boring. He plays role of a psychopath, but he fails to inspire fear. The reviews had led me to expect a devil of a villain but despite all his witty one-liners he doesn't look very sharp. With all paint, plaster and slurps, he looks rather disgusting than intimidating.
In fact, the hero looks more intimidating with his fleet of cars and women. He, and his alter-ego - Batman, can do whatever they fancy thanks to the mind-numbing gadgets devised by their Research and Development team. And when someone can do whatever he wants, it doesn't awfully matter who he is up against. It does, from a moral standpoint, but not otherwise. There is nothing heroic in not having limitations. It's easy to be a hero when nothing is at stake and nothing costs much. The point is that there was no genuine contest between good and evil. There was no genuine temptation, no genuine dilemma, and no genuine despair. The whole game was made-up, and poorly made-up.
Actually, apart from disproportionate dependence on science and finance, and lack of art, the main problem with American movies is externalization of Evil. Americans film-makers almost feel a scatological compulsion to import enemies - either Russians, or Koreans, or Chinese, or Iranians, even aliens, and now psychopaths - to make movies. They fail to see the evil in their own society. They fail to see their enemies in themselves - in their ignorance, in their insensitivity, and in their paranoia. They fail to explore situations that generate moral conflicts in a normal Man, in each one of us. And that's why most of their movies are childish, of std IV level, this one being no exception. "The Dark Knight" is hopelessly Hollywoodish - again with a petty theme set on grand stage.
And Bollywood worships Hollywood! It's interesting to see how disgracefully we behave under the influence of inferiority complex!
Rating - 5/10
7 comments:
a frnd showed my this link..... and my expression goes... wow... u have some real superiority complex! may be u shud try to watch movies looking at the good aspects and not really worry abt they lack... for e.g., wot a batman movie lacks when compared with a tagore??? wot crap! sorry... but thats weird.
1. superiority complex? no comments on that.
2. I don't watch movies to see what they lack. Read again, I seldom watch movies though I love watching them. I don't because they don't make good movies very often.
3. Yes, a batman movie can not be compared to a Tagore. May be because they belong to different genre - apples and oranges, nay apples and hamburgers. Or may be because the premise of a batman movie itself doesn't allow any sensible film-making, though personally I am a bit reluctant to admit it.
However, people do rank movies on IMDB, irrespective of their genre. You or I may not approve of that, but why be so serious about it anyway? There is no point being serious when of all the movies, this movie - The Dark Knight - dethrones the king - The Godfather. Enter the absurd.
The Godfather is not among my favorite movies, but I must say that that is better than this, frame by frame. I would rather watch the Godfather mute than watch The Dark Knight with dolby digital.
Watch The Godfather again to see what i mean. And my friend, I suggest you to watch some good Asian and European movies. You will come to know what film-making is all about.
When you go to see a movie that sells escapsism unabashedly, why should you be so disappointed when the movie turns out to be exactly what it promises?
The response to your inane comment ends here.
i think u failed to see what other people saw so easily - brilliance..may b u shd jst sit and see what the director wants 2 shw u or u shd go 2 a director who wil mak a movie jst 4 u..nd u hav 2 tak of d glasses of superiority complex which r blinding ur eyes..
Abhiskek,
Allow me to put across a few points...
1. Let us stop the Hollywood bashing for a moment. Many great & entertaining movies (all aspects regarded) have been made by the directors of the West. Watch An eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Stranger than Fiction, Transformer, Benjamin Button, Titanic, Milk, 300, Casablanca, LOTR trilogy, Gone with the Wind, Marley & Me, Bruce Almighty, Bonnie & Clyde, The Graduate, Psycho, Schindler's List, One flew over the Cuckoo's nest, Apocalypto, Matrix series, It happened one night, blah blah blah. Godfather, undoubtedly is a great movie. But so are others. Let's not have an Ostrich view of things.
2. The reason why half of us have enjoyed Dark Knight is because of the sheer genius of Heath Ledger. He has acted so well that the lines between fiction & reality get erased quite simply.
3. Perhaps, you found the character boring.I did not. There have been very few times when i have gasped with wonder @ some character in a movie. Joker had me on the edge of my seat. He is one hell of a whacky dude.He is weird.....an attention-seeking psycopath.....someone with a chain saw & no clams about bringing down the unreliable pillars the society stands on. But that is not his strongest characteristic. His underlining aspect is his honesty. His ability to see things as they are. His unclouded vision of what the world REALLY IS.
I would suggest you have a look at the movie once again. And listen to what he says. He is by far the most prctical villian we could have asked for.
Sorry abt the misspelt name...!
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