The Dark Knight
I've actually decided that I like the new Batman better than the Tim Burton version. That wasn't an easy judgment to make, as Batman and even the sillier Batman Returns have a warm spot in my heart, and they represent a different type of movie. I refuse to try and compare Jack Nicholson's Joker to Heath Ledger's because it's a completely different character. Each director took Batman in a different direction, and I really enjoyed the Batman of Burton, with Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfifer, the Axis Chemical plant, the Joker at the plastic surgeon's, and the Christopher Walken scenes in Batman Returns. I certainly like the original Danny Elfman score better.
What you get with the new Christopher Nolan Batman is a seriousness and an urgency. Sure it's still an action movie with a man dressed up like a Bat, but somehow it manages to seem like more than just a comic book. With The Dark Knight we see this style driven further, with the more comic book elements of the last movie pushed further back to show a villain that is genuinely terrifying, a psychological and human condition element that makes you forget that you're watching a super hero movie, and a feeling of purpose and tension that is truly amazing.
From the pencil trick to the burning pile of money, Heath Ledger's Joker is actually as good as people said it was. Christian Bale brings the same excellent, conflicted but resilient Bruce Wayne and Batman that he did so well in the first movie, but he's overshadowed by the performances of those around him. Maybe that's appropriate given the metaphor of the movie. The movie has easily risen to one of my favorites of all time, and that's gotten more and more difficult in recent years, as the top spots are crowded by really excellent films.
Hancock
I was actually really pleased with this movie. While the funny parts are mostly in the beginning, and are mostly covered by the trailer, the rest of the movie is definitely worth watching. There's a fair amount of action, but the story focuses on the characters, while the plot is fairly simple. Will Smith continues to bring a lot of genuine acting to his roles, and it shows how much he's grown from Independence Day.
The title character has some actual depth of emotion, though the movie doesn't seem to really have time to go into much of it. The story goes by quickly, and the turn around foretold in the trailer from reckless bum to upstanding crime fighter is a bit too smooth and bumpless to be believeable, but the move still succeeds in entertaining with action while having a lot of heart. If it hadn't wasted some time in spots it might have had more opportunity to not feel rushed the rest of the way through.
Wanted
If you've seen the trailer for this, you know it's a ridiculous action movie. It's the kind of action movie that has not one reality-bending premise, but three. When watching
The story itself is a typical hero archetype. We meet up with Wesley, the main character, who is "possibly the most insignificant asshole of the century". He works in a depressing office job and has anxiety attacks. If only Angelina Jolie would come out of no where and tell him he's someone special, and that his life can be so much more fullfilling if he just runs around shooting random people in the head. It's clearly a message we can all relate to.
We meet up with Morgan Freeman, a kindly old textile manager and leader of the secret weaver-assassin's club. Wesley meets the motley crew and learns the trade, then after a few introductory murders, he goes after the man that's trying to take down the club. In all of this, the best part is the curving bullets. See, you were told that bullets go straight, possibly by physics. What you didn't know is that bullets are more like mid-air bowling balls. Even though they aren't spinning, and are in fact spiralling to keep them straight, that doesn't mean that they won't curve around in slow motion. Like much in the movie, you try to take it at face value and move on.
Most of the movie takes place in Chicago, which is cool because there were moments when I thought "Hey, that's that Irish pub we ate at". They also ride around on top of the El a lot, which I think someone might notice in real life. I also think the cops might actually come looking for them in real life, but then again I shouldn't be thinking. It's a struggle throughout the movie. While the overall theme of "this is your life, don't just drift through it" is good, the idea that becoming an assassin is the way to do that is more questionable. If you can't really, really suspend disbelief, don't bother with this. The action scenes are good, and the movie's a lot of fun. The plot was actually better than I expected, and it's nowhere near as stupid as Transformers. Beyond that it gets a little thin.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The next iteration of the Narnia movies is similar to the Harry Potter stories, in that as the children grow up, the story becomes a bit darker and more serious. The same absense of strong emotion from the older children characters is present but the movie seems more fun anyway, with a few jokes added that actually give it warmth rather than detract from the fantasy.
The allegory becomes more evident in this movie, which I could do without, though it is faithful to the book in that respect. I can't remember the book well enough to comment on how closely it follows it, but the basic premise remains intact. The effects are better, which is good because the animal interactions are more ambitious. The villains are fairly flat, but the main characters are given some dimension, if only a little.
I think the movie succeeds at what it is, namely a children's fantasy movie. That puts it into the same category as The Golden Compass, which it shares quite a bit with. I enjoyed it, and it had good action and adventure, but it didn't really capture my imagination.
Iron Man
Iron Man was a delivery on a promise. The trailer told you exactly what to expect from the movie, and when you got there it gave it to you. There wasn't anything more than was advertised, but there wasn't anything less. I really enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say it measured up to Batman Begins, mostly because it doesn't have the same sense of urgency and gravity.
Robert Downey plays the industrialist playboy Tony Stark, who runs his father's weapons company. He's in Afghanistan demonstrating a missile system when he gets kidnapped by terrorists and forced to build the missile system for them. Instead he secretly builds a power armor suit and uses it to escape. The experience gives him a new perspective on what his company does, and he starts working on a new version of his armor. Of course there are several other things in play, and the plot takes every expected turn, but with a movie like this, that's ok.
Like I said, if you saw the trailer and liked it, you'll like Iron Man because that's exactly what you get. If you sit all the way through the credits they set you up for a sequel, which is pretty much inevitable. If that does the same thing, serving up an enjoyable, action and effect packed, fun time, I'll watch that too. Of course, if it keeps following the predictable course, the sequel will suck. Hopefully it will finally veer off course.