You all have probably seen The Dark Knight – who hasn’t, right? I just read an article from Popwatch, written by Mike Bruno, which highlights how disappointed the writer was with the movie. Apparently, he only saw the movie over the weekend due to a busy schedule. His main message is this: he thinks that all the hype ruined the movie for him. He writes:
Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed The Dark Knight, and I was not disappointed in the slightest by Ledger’s freakish, lip-smacking fiend. But at the same time, I was let down given the movie’s gargantuan box office haul, the almost universal critical praise, and the Oscar buzz surrounding it and its fallen star. I could see Ledger taking Supporting Actor, but while I haven’t yet seen all the other Oscar contenders this year, I would be a bit surprised if The Dark Knight took Best Picture.
Mostly, I think this movie was successful –- as well as hugely popular –- because it featured a character that we couldn’t take our eyes off of played by an actor who recently died way too young. Before it appeared on a single screen this summer, the movie was already larger-than-life because of Ledger’s passing, and six months of the hype machine working at full steam had no doubt set my expectations way too high. So maybe this really is an Oscar-worthy movie and I just need to hire a babysitter more often and catch movies earlier and with less context. But if I’m to be honest, I was disappointed with The Dark Knight and hope for more from this year’s other Best Picture contenders.
I have to agree with him that one reason behind the movie’s success was Heath Ledger’s untimely death. In fact, that was one observation I made right after seeing the movie – The Joker overshadowed Batman. However, I do think that the movie deserves an Oscar. How about you?