I don't hate the man at all, he just doesn't deserve all the acclaim he receives. Most of my criticisms with the film are very valid, as the film is genuinely very flawed and problematic. His movies are very watchable and easy to digest, but that by no means makes them great. My favorite films are ones that can hold up to analysis and evaluation, Nolan films are the exact opposite of that.
Like I said, he's just "ok".
Like I said, he's just "ok".
My comment is more in regards to the constant comments made regarding the 'depth' of Nolan's films. It's factual objective like statements such as 'his films have little intelligence/depth so they can't be great' that annoy me, and I feel sorry for some people who genuinely enjoy and love his films. It's like they are being belittled for enjoying something that you see as something sub-standard to what you consider stronger movies with more intelligence/depth.
What acclaim does he receive? The majority of people that I see hold the Batman films and his other works in such high regard, are ones I would expect. People with certain expectations and cinematic experience they're after, they go into the movie and walk out having enjoyed a good film. It's not like the man has received a ton of Oscars or other critical awards for his films.
Okay they have high rankings on IMDB, but I think that furthers my argument more than working against it. I think it's quite pretentious to state that over one million users who give it an average of 8.6 out of 10 are fundamentally wrong in doing so. The majority of fans clearly got what they wanted and why should the be begrudged of such?
Since I've joined these forums my tastes have expanded massively, for better or worse. There are a ton of directors and hundreds of films I might prefer to watch, but it doesn't sit easy with me when it sounds like people are criticising others for enjoying cinema for different reasons to them. I think Roger Ebert understood this, a man who watched all kinds of cinema and used his rating system to give viewers a better understanding of how much they would enjoy the film rather than ranking them all against each other.
When I started to get into films, Inception and The Dark Knight were films I enjoyed a lot, and I don't think I will ever truly dislike them as far as my tastes expand. I remember watching Memento in the initial months where I branched into new films, and I enjoyed it a lot. If I sat here and dismissed these films just because my tastes have evolved, I would be lying to myself.
The films clearly work for a lot of people, and if they love them, then I say let them. Not everyone analyses every film in the same way, and I think its harsh to apply the same type of in depth approach to a film like TDKR to a film like The Mirror, they are clearly made for two very different audiences. So what if they have little intelligence or depth? If you get enjoyment out of it, who cares at the end of the day?