Sunday, July 27, 2008

Not another Batman review...

Actually it is, but it isn't like most of the raving reviews I've seen.

Andy and I went to see The Dark Knight this afternoon. I think I'm the odd man out here when I say that I was disappointed. I will not go into a lot of detail for those of you that haven't seen it. If you would like to see my opinion of the movie you can read it over at Jenny's blog. She pretty much said it all.

I have another disappointment to interject though. I'm not so excited about the dark twists and turns that are being taken in today's superhero movies. They did the same thing with Spider Man 3 as they have done with The Dark Knight, though it's admittedly more intense in the later. I understand that the movies are being made to follow the comic books more closely. My issue is that it seems like these darker, more intense movies are being marketed for all ages. The Dark Knight is rated PG-13, but who's kidding who here? What kid doesn't want to go see Batman catch the bad guys, 13 or not? It just seems like these movies have a lot of psychological undertones that children wouldn't be able to understand. In The Dark Knight they aren't undertones really. It's as much a psychological thriller as it is an action movie. But then you go to the toy store and there is an entire isle dedicated to these superheros. So who is really to blame here? They film industry or the toy industry?

I don't know, and nothing has really happened for anyone to be blamed. It's just a concern I have, and I'm going to have to leave it up to good parenting (assuming that still exists) to determine if a child is ready to see this movie or any other like it. But, if I had a child right now, I would be making the decision to NOT let him/her go to see The Dark Knight.

Although, there was a preview for a new Pixar film that I would like to see, even in my childless state.