Film Review: The Dark Night

I think I was one of only about six people in the world who wasn't enamoured of Batman Begins, Christian Bale's first outing as Gotham City's famous anti-hero.
Sure, I liked that Bale and director Christopher Nolan were taking the character in a darker direction, scrapping away any camp and kitsch from Batman's previous cinematic outings. Plus the vehicles were really, really cool. But parts of the film dragged and I just couldn't warm to it.

It's a pleasure then, to be able to report that the follow up is everything we've been led to expect. A masterpiece of the superhero genre, mixing mythology, philosophy and explosions in nearly equal measure.
Most of the pre-release hype has understandably focused on Heath Ledger and the plaudits are fully deserved, he is absolutely mesmerising as The Joker but he's not the only one. The whole of the stellar cast are acting their socks off and Bale shines in the less showy central role.* The balance between nobility and savagery is expertly portrayed. When he drops Eric Robert's Mob Boss from several floors up and his ankles crumple with a sickening crack we're reminded that this is no true-Blue Superman-style hero figure.

I don't want to give too much away, suffice to say the plot is engaging and exciting and The Joker is just one of two gruesome super-villains that make an appearance. The action is suitably explosive and the score ramps up the tension to almost unbearable levels.

If I had to find fault with the film at all, I'm still slightly dubious about Lucious Fox and his drawers full of gadgets pushing Batman slightly too close to James Bond territory for my liking but that really is quibbling for quibbling's sake. Go and see it, go on, now!

*and how often to you get to describe a role involving a man in tights and a cape as, 'less showy'?

Stephen King's The Mist

In watching this movie adaptation of a Stephen King Novella I couldn't help but compare it to The Happening. In that movie M Night Shyamalan, armed with some bizarre casting and some of the worst movie dialogue ever, attempted to convince that watching people run away from wind is a gripping cinematic experience. Was director Frank Darabont now out to kid us that a bit of mist could be terrifying?
Luckily Darabont filled his mist with all sort of CGI nasties and while they look a bit shiny and silly at times the movie at least delivers both shocks and gore. Not only that but the central characters actually give the viewer something to care about, which is more than can be said for Mark Warlberg's science teacher and his girlfriend agonising over dessert with another man while people continue to die all around.
It's not a brilliant film and it works best when it concentrates on the thrills and avoids vague nods towards science fiction or social commentary. The whole thing ends with a twist that any intelligent person should spot a mile off. I never saw it coming.