I went to see the 12:01 a.m. screening of the new Batman movie, and … whoa. I’m really torn about saying this, because I love the superheroes with actual superpowers, but this is probably the best “superhero” movie ever made. The acting throughout was stellar — there wasn’t so much as an eyebrow out of place — but the writing, the dialogue, all the rest of it was incredibly good too.
Oscars: Yes, Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar for the chilling, deadly Joker he created. But Michael Caine deserves an Oscar too, for his supporting role. Aaron Eckhart deserves at least a nomination.
Sitting in the theater and looking around at the audience, I didn’t see another person my age in the room. I don’t know whether they had all grown up and left Batman behind, or maybe were just at home in bed at this unreasonable hour. And all the young people sitting around me — how did they come to know and like the Batman? Was it the movies? The hype about THIS movie? The graphic novels?
It’s amazing the stuff you can find inside yourself: At one point I actually looked around and sniffed with disdain at that audience of 20-somethings. None of these people were REAL fans like me, whose life has encompassed most of Batman’s 69-year history, and who has been a reader of comic books since I learned how.
Get it? I felt SUPERIOR for a moment. Because I’m a better comic book fan.
Argh.