Not my words but agree with the sentiment entirely. Also, while the message I'm quoting is for TDK, It's more how I feel toward BB as I haven't seen TDK (and probably never will as why would I go see a sequel to a movie I couldn't stand?)
QuoteI think a few posters here have, in my opinion, really nailed the main flaw of the Nolan films, in that while they try desperately to cling to some sort of "real" or "credible" context for the characters, ultimately fail at creating any meaningful philosophical statement.
the dark knight, in particular, fails in its treatment of terrorism. for some reason, most people think that by removing any logical motivation behind the joker's mayhem, the dark knight is a more "mature" film (when compared to batman 89). but reality doesn't work that way, and as much as we want to paint terrorists as evil, impenetrable abstractions, they're not like that in real life. what kind of message does this film give us- that we can never understand the motivations behind terrorism? that's intellectual laziness.
the dark knight is plagued with all sorts of trite, pseudo-intellectual exercises. a lot of the blame must be placed on the nolan brothers, and the screenplay is simply not that good. the climax with the two ships seemed like it was taken out of some 100-level philosophy course. the major rule of film- show, not tell- is violated constantly. every character spews out bad philosophy as to make sure that we "get" what's going on. the themes and subtext of a film are not supposed to be expressed through dialogue. it really just bothers me that so many of us are calling this film "brainy" and "realistic" and "mature," because it shows how stupid and lazy audiences are becoming.
there's nothing realistic about the dark knight. the joker doesn't fall into a vat of acid, so that's supposed to be realistic? saying such rubbish as "i'm an agent of chaos" is mature? that line doesn't even make any sense.
and while much of the blame should be placed on the nolan brothers, we shouldn't forget that batman is, no matter how you slice it, a comic book character. i'm not saying that it's impossible to create a legitimately smart, deep work of art based around a guy in a rubber suit, but i wouldn't want to try it. there's only so much you can do with these characters, because they were never meant to be placed in such a serious, "mature" context. why do people care so much about maturity in a comic book film? if you want a mature film about psychosis, watch man bites dog. there's no need to clutter up comic book escapist entertainment with realism.
the burton films weren't exactly "mature" either, but they never tried to be. burton knew exactly the limits of the characters, and to his credit, still created something that had enough subtext to make an interesting film. he never went overboard, and with the exception of a couple of lines here and there, never really goes into the outright pandering that nolan does. burton doesn't leave it to the dialogue to explain every nuance that he's trying to put in the film. there's room for subtext to breathe. in addition, the film is stylish and fun. while nolan has absolutely no idea how to shoot an action sequence, burton utilized different editing patterns and camera angles to cinematically reproduce a comic book. the film is a vibrant celebration of comic book oddities. danny elfman's score is fantastic, and that itself created all sorts of different psychological nuances within the characters. hans zimmer's score, specifically the joker's "theme," is really just a monotonous, predictable attempt at illustrating the character. there's none of the psychological complexity found in elfman's score. and most importantly, elfman's score is just plain fun. while it might not be high art, it at least knows what it is, and doesn't bore us by trying to be "mature." it's just a swashbuckling romp, and elfman knows it.
it doesn't seem like the makers of the dark knight had much fun while creating the film- which is fine, but there's nothing really smart or mature about it either. what we're left with is a bland, pseudo-intellectual, ugly film that unfortunately has seeped into the culture. it's devoid of anything worth digesting. it's not fun, and it's not smart. it just "is." indeed, the emperor is not wearing any clothes.