The Dark Hype

I admit it.  I got sucked into the hype machine for the new feature film The Dark Knight.  The dark trailers with just a hint of Batman and The Joker left me salivating for more.  The speculation that the role was so emotionally exhausting for Heath Ledger that it caused him sleeping problems sparked curiousity.  The sold out shows days before the film opened.  The critics unanimous rave reviews about the impending summer blockbuster made my heart palpitate. 

Alas, I saw the film and clearly I missed something.  I was greatly disappointed.  In all fairness, I did not see the entire film.  I saw about an hour and a half of the two and a half hour movie. 

Here are my major gripes with The Dark Knight:

1.  IMAX.  Never again will I see a film in IMAX.  I was fascinated by the monstrous black pit that was Christian Bales' nostril, however, I don't think that's what the director had intended to be so captivating in his movie.   Not to mention I had to look over my shoulder to see all the characters in a shot.  IMAX is beautiful for landscape shots but not so much for talking heads.

2.  Time.  Way, way too long for a film that is story driven instead of character driven.  The Godfather, yes.  The Dark Knight, no.

3.  The script.  The Joker was an unbelievably great character and Heath Ledger has done a better job than any other actor at protraying the Joker.  So why couldn't he have had snappier lines other than, "You wanna know how I got this scar?"  (Which he repeated about three times.)

4.  Preaching.  After my forty-five minute nap in the theater, I awakened to so much preaching about good and evil that I thought I was in church!

5.  Batman's voice.  I found the raspy and obviously mechanically enhanced voice distracting.  I wanted to offer him a Halls or Ricola or something.  I don't recall his voice being so annoying in Batman Begins. 

Having said all that, I am heading back to the theater to watch the film again without the IMAX experience.  If everyone is raving about the film then clearly I missed something.  And who wants to be the odd man out?