tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post6397471356777110599..comments2022-03-24T16:11:50.124-04:00Comments on The Man From Porlock: Panic AttackCraighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-50422008600333462832008-07-21T21:17:00.000-04:002008-07-21T21:17:00.000-04:00My opening remark about comics was aimed at the cr...My opening remark about comics was aimed at the crazies attacking Keith Uhlich, David Edelstein and others. I was also saying that I don't know much about the genre, so I can only approach these films in a certain way. In the abstract I can admire the art and creativity and talent that goes into these works, but for some reason I just can't get into them. Yet one of my favorite movies is <I>American Splendor</I>, so I must be able to appreciate them on some level.<BR/><BR/>I like <I>Batman Begins</I> quite a bit too. It had me from the first shot of that wintry Chinese landscape, something I wasn't expecting to see in a Batman movie.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-38721539016007963042008-07-21T09:44:00.000-04:002008-07-21T09:44:00.000-04:00An interesting review. I liked Batman Begins more ...An interesting review. I liked <I>Batman Begins</I> more than you, I think, but I agree that this one blows away its predecessor. I share your concerns about the ending, especially Gordon's melodramatic speech, but it doesn't do much to wash away the film's profound moral ambiguity. This is a Batman film where Batman is not an unquestioned hero, and Nolan definitely wants audiences to think about whether or not some of Batman's actions are justified, necessary, and morally correct. I'm not sure if the film itself comes to any conclusions on that front, but the fact that a summer blockbuster is even posing such questions at all is worthy of note.<BR/><BR/>I do have to take exception with your opening paragraph, though -- comics have a lot to offer to readers over 11. For one thing, I can't understand the continuing tendency to equate "comics" with "superhero comics." In a cultural climate where Chris Ware, Dan Clowes, Dave McKean, the Hernandez Brothers, and many other talented artists have earned deserved acclaim for making smart, sophisticated comics with nary a cape or superpower in sight, it's important to make a distinction between these comics and the bland dreck coming out of Marvel and DC. For that matter, though, there are worthwhile superhero comics around, too. Nolan's film basically couldn't exist without Frank Miller's <I>Dark Knight Returns</I> and <I>Year One</I>, and especially Alan Moore's marvelous <I>The Killing Joke</I>. The motivations and attitude of Ledger's Joker are right out of the Moore story, which I'd highly recommend to any fans of the film.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.com