Knight Falls

I've never been a fan of comic books, so the past decade's slough of comic-book-character-inspired films has left me unimpressed.

That said, I went and saw The Dark Knight last night (finally!).

And?

Meh.

Maybe it's the down-side to so much hype for a movie. Maybe it's that I don't understand the character the way a rabid comic book fan – nay, a fan of "The Batman" – does. Or maybe it isn't really all that great a movie, despite what just about every other last person on the planet has been saying.

Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed the film. I found it engaging and entertaining, intentionally funny at points, delightfully macabre in parts, and, despite my comments here, I thought Heath Ledger did a fine turn as The Joker. Will it define his short-lived career? I doubt it. Should it? Definitely not!

I wanted to enjoy this movie more. I really wanted to. But the film lacks something that, in my opinion, a fantastic film must have. What that is, exactly, I've had trouble putting my finger on. There are spectacular fight scenes. There is gunplay. There are explosions and car wrecks. There is believable dialogue – the main plot element aside. It has a plot…always a good thing! There is a definite direction the film took me. There is no female nudity…is that the missing element? No. I didn't find myself yearning to see Maggie Gyllenhall's tits at any point in the film.

So what is it?

I think the film fails in its utmost responsibility as an action-adventure/fantasy/escapist film: the suspension of disbelief.

For instance – and despite the fantastic make-up/CGI work (WOW!) – how is "Two-Face" able to form plosives and fricatives in his speech with half his lips missing? And am I the only person in America who was waiting for The Batman to say, "Do you feel lucky, punk?"

Again, this probably goes back to the whole "I'm-not-a-comic-book-fan" thing, but at no point could I buy into the premise that an infinitely wealthy young playboy would – for any reason – devote so much of his time and fortune to the research and development of a relatively impervious suit of futuristic armor, not to mention the development of his mind and body into a sharp reflex.

So, while the film is entertaining and certainly watchable, and dark and evocative of old B-movie villainy with a distinctly 21st Century edge, I really think it misses the mark. Any film that requires the viewer to have a foreknowledge acquired outside the viewing of the film – an earlier film, perhaps, or immersion in the character's original medium – in order to understand or appreciate it fully, is incomplete.

So, on a Numb Butt Cheeks scale of zero to ten - zero Numb Butt Cheeks indicating such a disregard for the film that one could get up to go to the bathroom at any point without worry of missing anything exciting or important - or of returning - and ten Numb Butt Cheeks indicating there is no way one would get up and leave, save for a distinct tearing of bladder tissue - I give The Dark Knight 6.5 Numb Butt Cheeks.