Five tries later, I have yet to finish "The Dark Knight"

I know this is an oldie and much loved, but I find Christopher Nolan's Batman movie "The Dark Knight" an oddly uninspiring and meandering movie. It's absolutely beautiful to look at, with a smart script, and good performances, but every time I try to watch it, I get terribly bored with the film. I've tried five times to watch it (today being the fifth time) but despite the pyrotechnics, action, and gorgeous production, after about an hour the film just seems to go nowhere and I turn it off.

I mean, what's not to like, right? Heath Ledger's Joker is a great creation (he provides the best guilty pleasure in the film) and the growling Christian Bale is always good to watch, but I find the film strangely static. I think the problem is the film lacks the propulsive quality you find in a good action film. There's really no sense of building momentum for much of the film. It tries so hard to be a by-the-number crime thriller that every step of the story is meticulously covered, so much so that there are too many tightly packed scenes tracing every step of the story. There's no roller coaster swing between tension and lacks the lighter moments of relief to make the film more bearable as an experience. It's simply structured to have you grimly grit your teeth and march onward, step-by-step.

I think Nolan fails by attacking the story so realistically. The rote telling of every step of the story, for me, smothers the film as a cinematic experience. It feel more like a "Law and Order" episode than a blockbuster. I can see Nolan wanting to make an absolutely "realistic "Batman movie, but I think he over does it and as a result the film chugs along as a methodical, but somewhat dreary telling of the Batman story.

Worst of all, on this fifth viewing, as with every other time I go back to the film, it slowly dawns on me that I'm re-watching scenes I've already viewed. And what does that say about the film in general? I never get that "oh, this is a great scene" feeling, like I get from many other films that I love. I think the writing in top notch. It's smart and very well crafted, yet there's no "oh, I love this part" feeling because there's nothing particularly magical or fun about any of the scenes (except the odd pencil in the eye). It's not an action story, it's a master thesis on 'Batman and the roots of Corruption". The scenes work as part of the story's stuck-on reality logic structure, but I think most lack any real magic or inventiveness which make them memorable. Maybe the ending is rousing, but I have yet to get there, because the docu-drama like structure of the film eventually tires me out.

Yes, I hated the silliness of the Tim Burton films, but I think Nolan took "The Dark Knight" too far in the other direction and "Batman Begins" was a much better mix of fantasy and crime.

 

The (relative) realism of "The Dark Knight" is the main reason I've been able to enjoy it and why it doesn't feel too long despite its running time, while many "superhero" films (including most Marvel films) leave me cold and bored and sometimes struggling to complete viewing. "The Avengers" nearly put me to sleep.

While it's relative realism is one of my favorite aspects of "The Dark Knight", I wouldn't call it anything near a "docudrama" sort of thing, or like an episode of "Law & Order." I think it strikes the perfect balance of action, crime, drama, superhero flashy fare, and so on.

I've said in other threads I'd probably only characterize about 3 or 4 "superhero films" as truly *great films*, and Nolan's "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" are two of them (one other is "Logan").

 

Yeah, it is insanely overrated and even appears on iMDB's list of top movies of all-time. I mean, come on!

It's a comic book movie. The one thing I liked was the bank heist. That's it.

 

After watching Batman Begins way back when I just couldn't get into it at all. I wasn't even going to watch The Dark Knight at all but then Heath Ledger died so I felt compelled to check out his new Joker. While he did a find job acting I don't think that I will ever get used to the new portrayals of the Joker in any film ever.

 

I saw it once in the theater, and that was more than enough for me.

I realize this is a deeply unpopular opinion, but I don't think the Nolan Batman films are that great.

 

The word "overrated" is overused online but in this case it is justified. Ledger's Joker isn't even in the top 50 villains of all time and the ferry boat scene is the single dumbest thing in the history of film. It is even sillier than those Lifetime and Hallmark movies.

You can't discuss the films flaws without being called a troll by Nolan fans. I dislike his fans more than his movies. The nutjobs even got the Rotten Tomatoes site to disable their comments function because they were sending death threats to critics who didn't like The Dark Knight Rises.

 

I totally understand how the Nolan Batman films wouldn't be to the liking of everyone. Where I find it more puzzling is when someone derides those films but eats up the Marvel superhero films (or other later DC films, etc.). Obviously, I get that opinions can be arbitrary and vary for no particular reason.

But when someone says they don't like a given movie, one of my first things I'm always curious about is what *their* movie shelf looks like.

 

As someone who has (sometimes by choice!) watched way too many Hallmark Christmas movies, I have to disagree. Even the Joel Schumacher Batman films are more realistic than Hallmark movies.

 

I like the movie, but then again I like Batman & Robin.

 

What is the point of this thread?

 

To be honest, you need to watch the rest of the film, then judge it as a whole.

Why not approach the movie the "old fashioned way" and build an intermission in the middle? That or just start it up in the middle and go from there.

 

This has to be the least-scathing, most complimentary review I've ever read of a film that one says they can't even make it through to finish.

 

Next attempt, just cue it up for the last 10 or 15 minutes and then go back as necessary. No rules here, you don't have to keep watching from the beginning.

 

Part of the problem might be that you're watching the same parts 5 times over and over again...and I imagine you're going in each time with a bit of bias about how you already feel about the film.

Is it mind-blowingly great? Certainly not. But it's an enjoyable action-thriller, probably best appreciated in a theater. And it's absolutely one of the best of the modern superhero genre.

 

It is much more than just a superhero movie. I think it's one of the more important movies that tackle several key issues of our time: leadership, terrorism and surveillance. Most movies in the genre would simply juxtapose chaos against law and order, but this one goes really deep and you are supposed to be seeing things (especially on repeat viewings) that is apparently eluding you.

The ferry incident scene (which epitomize modern terrorism and modern surveillance) go beyond Hallmark movies because it explores such things as crowd mentality through different prisms and also the use of individuals' cell phones to triangulate and record without warrants or any concern for privacy. These are important issues and Nolan tackles them head on, showing the reaction by Lucius (Morgan Freeman). The morality of wielding this much technological power--even to help save lives--becomes a central theme. And so does the ending, which I really should discuss but feel like I can't. The thread starter hasn't made it to the end, and that scene really ties it all together. I prefer Batman Begins too, but Dark Knight is the more important film.

 

Agree on Batman Begins.But, I just find the Nolan films boring.

 

Now that was more entertaining.
Then again I'm no doubt one of those ..

 

Just trying to figure out for myself why I keep abandoning the film -- in an analytical manner.

 

The more pertinent question is why you keep trying to finish it. Maybe 6th time is the charm, right?

 

I certainly haven't seen it five times, but I remember the opening bank heist scene, which I thought was one of the greatest openings I have ever seen. The negotiations with the criminals, the two ships and the final Two-face scene were all pretty memorable. It might be too dark and twisted for some - Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is certainly the easier movie to enjoy..

 

You don't care for it. Stop. Don't waste your time. That's all. Life's too short. Your viewpoint is valid for you.
Maybe in 5 or 10 years you might have an interest in trying again.

 

Way overrated movie.

 

I think this is a valid opinion. I enjoyed all three Nolan movies to an extent but mostly because of the cast. The Dark Knight is a movie which I remember enjoying up until the last 45 minutes or so, when it became somewhat tedious and over-complicated. IMO, whenever you try to cram more than one key villain into a superhero movie, it's very hard to make a GREAT movie. It tends to become a jumble. The Dark Knight Rises is definitely a jumble.

I find that Batman Begins is satisfying enough to bear repeated viewings but the other two tax my interest.