my dad used to watch the adam west tv show back in the 60's. he really liked batman begins, but wasn't into the dark knight. he thought that this movie was too complicated, and liked it back when big actors could be on the show and just be silly.
got me thinking about the spectrum of the mythology of batman...someone should have a screening of the "shark repellent" batman back-to-back w/ this version; serve jello shots for the first movie, irish car bombs for the second. it's amazing to think what kind of batman movies will be made in 40 years - this has been a process of improvement, but at some point, the viewers have their choice in what kind of batman to indulge in, and the spectrum will only get wider as long as the name makes money. I keep telling this to star wars geeks still rubbing their noggins over the shitty prequels, they're gonna get redone after the fat man dies.
as to an older dude not "getting" it, which seems to be a case w/ a lot of the more grumpy NYC reviewers (j. morgenstern of the wall st. journal, d. fear of time out new york, new yorker, etc.), they kinda need to look @ nolan's entire list of overall themes in films to have TDK make a bit more sense. memento intended to jar the viewer's linear thought. the prestige was one big magic trick. and the dark knight is meant to terrorize the viewer. there are distinct choices that nolan has made as a filmmaker that transcend the patina of blockbuster movies.
take the sound editing. what do we hear when harvey dent reaches for the coin and realizes the love of his life is dead? or when the viewer is finally let in on the secret that the joker meant to break in to the police station as he takes feral whiffs of free air?
nothing.
these are key emotional moments in the film where directors like tim burton, joel schumacher, michael bay or james cameron would've dredged the vocal track for as much emotional "depth" as possible. nolan simply lets the power of the buildup to those paying attention to the plot fuel the rapport between visual stimulus and the attentive voyeur.
it's no
but it works for me.
my one gripe with the sound editing is that the soundtrack seems a little...dated at times. they could really use a fresh theme.
I think the new joker would approve. and my dad would get his 60's fix.