A Darker Knight (and an Illustration to Celebrate!)
You wouldn't have to be much of a fan of cinema, and comic adaptations in particular, to be hugely excited by the prospect of The Dark Knight, with Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale returning as director and lead actor respectively, three years after the majestic Batman Begins. Beware if you've not seen the movie yet as some small spoilers follow in the text...
I was lucky enough to see it at the IMAX in London the second day of release, and was really glad I made the effort, with six scenes having been shot with IMAX cameras. It really did feel like a huge cinematic event, and there's no denying that the movie is almost relentlessly intense, and as dark and 'adult' as anyone could have hoped for. Go and see it at the IMAX if you can.
Of course what's interesting is that we've had all the hype about Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker, and the tragedy of the young actor's untimely and tragic death, but however wonderful he is (extremely wonderful by the way), in the end the movie is really all about Two-Face, and in particular how The Joker proves his macabre manifesto by essentially creating him. I'm not the first to point out the paradox this creates with the plot arc (including Mark Kermode), although overall I still loved seeing all this up on screen, and didn't find the 2.5 hour run time an issue.
Somehow this time I felt it was harder to identify with Bruce Wayne/Batman though, which was strange considering all the great work they did in the last movie. I wonder if seeing a new Wayne Manor under construction, or an improved batcave in the pipeline, would have helped tie it all together more satisfyingly. Especially as this was used as the final 'beat' to the last movie. Still, it's a small point. The main thing is that the Dark Knight showed the world that a grown-up comic book adaptation can be done. And our hero didn't have to go into a jazz club with an emo haircut to prove it, Mr. Raimi.
There's no doubting that the Joker is one of the greatest ever comic book villains, and it was fascinating to see how he was thrown onto the screen here without any attempt to explain his origins. Immediately he just fits into this notion that he's both the same as, and the opposite of Batman, and it was great to see this relationship explored.
Before seeing the movie, I had been reading The Killing Joke again (written by Alan Moore), and a few days after the movie, I had this idea for an illustration which was inspired by both the graphic novel and the new movie. Brian Bolland opens The Killing Joke with these beautiful panels of rain which set the tone perfectly for this extremely cinematic novel. Then after seeing The Dark Knight, you realise that the Joker is always going to haunt Batman, in the way that he hopes to haunt his own enemies. While trying to get to sleep with an ear infection, the following illustration just jumped into my head somehow, with The Joker's face distorted in the puddles behind Batman. It's not so much that he's actually there, more the idea that Batman is seeing him there as the neon light and the rain plays tricks on the pavement. Enjoy!
I was lucky enough to see it at the IMAX in London the second day of release, and was really glad I made the effort, with six scenes having been shot with IMAX cameras. It really did feel like a huge cinematic event, and there's no denying that the movie is almost relentlessly intense, and as dark and 'adult' as anyone could have hoped for. Go and see it at the IMAX if you can.
Of course what's interesting is that we've had all the hype about Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker, and the tragedy of the young actor's untimely and tragic death, but however wonderful he is (extremely wonderful by the way), in the end the movie is really all about Two-Face, and in particular how The Joker proves his macabre manifesto by essentially creating him. I'm not the first to point out the paradox this creates with the plot arc (including Mark Kermode), although overall I still loved seeing all this up on screen, and didn't find the 2.5 hour run time an issue.
Somehow this time I felt it was harder to identify with Bruce Wayne/Batman though, which was strange considering all the great work they did in the last movie. I wonder if seeing a new Wayne Manor under construction, or an improved batcave in the pipeline, would have helped tie it all together more satisfyingly. Especially as this was used as the final 'beat' to the last movie. Still, it's a small point. The main thing is that the Dark Knight showed the world that a grown-up comic book adaptation can be done. And our hero didn't have to go into a jazz club with an emo haircut to prove it, Mr. Raimi.
There's no doubting that the Joker is one of the greatest ever comic book villains, and it was fascinating to see how he was thrown onto the screen here without any attempt to explain his origins. Immediately he just fits into this notion that he's both the same as, and the opposite of Batman, and it was great to see this relationship explored.
Before seeing the movie, I had been reading The Killing Joke again (written by Alan Moore), and a few days after the movie, I had this idea for an illustration which was inspired by both the graphic novel and the new movie. Brian Bolland opens The Killing Joke with these beautiful panels of rain which set the tone perfectly for this extremely cinematic novel. Then after seeing The Dark Knight, you realise that the Joker is always going to haunt Batman, in the way that he hopes to haunt his own enemies. While trying to get to sleep with an ear infection, the following illustration just jumped into my head somehow, with The Joker's face distorted in the puddles behind Batman. It's not so much that he's actually there, more the idea that Batman is seeing him there as the neon light and the rain plays tricks on the pavement. Enjoy!
posted by Sam G at 11:03 PM
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