Iron Man Just Doesn't Get 'The Dark Knight'

"'I'll burn that bridge when I come to it' is my favourite phrase I've ever coined," admitted Robert Downey Jr. recently in an interview with Moviehole. It's hard to argue that anyone is enjoying a better year in Hollywood, both in current box office stature and when you consider the sorts of roles he's lining up for down the road. This would be that time in someone's career when they might begin to "play the game" to protect the little empire they've suddenly found waiting for them. But Downey is apparently not going to start kissing ass anytime soon, even after the tremendous success of Iron Man and his almost immediate follow-up as an Australian playing an African American 35 years in the past in the new comedy Tropic Thunder. In an interview that covers a lot of ground, from the inspirations of his character Sgt. Osiris in Thunder to the not-too-distant Sherlock Holmes reboot with Guy Ritchie, the most interesting comments Downey makes are about another movie, one he has no part in. "My whole thing is that I saw The Dark Knight," he begins. "I feel like I'm dumb because I feel like I don't get how many things that are so smart. It's like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I'm like, 'That's not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.'" Gasp: Iron Man taking a swing at Batman? Just wait: It gets better.

"I loved [director Christopher Nolan's] The Prestige but didn't understand The Dark Knight. Didn't get it, still can't tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. I'm like, 'I get it. This is so high brow and so f--king smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.' You know what? F-ck DC comics. That's all I have to say and that's where I'm really coming from."

Classic. Sounds like he came to that bridge just in time to set it on fire.

Comments

[Moeez]

Hey, it's not a fun family movie. Not every comic book movie is trying to do that, and balls to Dark Knight for trying to elevate the genre to the level of a brilliant film. But maybe RDJ wants it to be Fantastic Four? Yeah, go back to making gag reels with Tony Stark's robots.

[stoney]

While he is having a smashing year. Robert is clearly taking a free swing for Marvel at DC's expense. Didn't like the movie? Fine. But what the hell was up with the insults? Since the bulk of the film was written by the Nolan's, Rob is indirectly taking the piss on them.

Missing the coke, Bob?

[Shamus]

Good, Im glad someone stood up against TDK, I mean sure it was good and all that but when I walked out of the theatres I just shrugged and went home. He will probally get alot of shit for this from the pretentious dark knight fans but there is books and school for learning... I go to a comic book movie to have fun, and had plenty of it with Iron Man

[Chris]

I'm with you, Shamus. I did enjoy TDK, but I enjoyed Iron Man a lot more. I think I prefer Batman Begins to TDK, actually. It's not that it was bad, but there were a lot of things that just didn't feel right. It also doesn't help that I really hate that death metal-esque "threatening" voice that Bale does for Batman. I think it comes down to the fact that I went in expecting something similar to Batman: The Animated Series and I walked out having seen something akin to Heat.

[Grimey]

Sure, we're all aware of his bias, but he's dead-on. The Dark Knight may have been a more finely crafted film, but Iron Man was way more fun and made me want to see it again right away. Can't say the same about Batman. Oh, and DC comics are hella lame!

[J.L.]

"... there is books and school for learning..." - you may need to stay away from the comic book movies and relearn grammar, Shamus.

[Huggy]

What kinda bullshit is Rdj pulling? Who the hell insults themselves like this? "I get it. This is so high brow and so f--king smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie." I'm sorry Mr. Downer but saying you need a college degree basically implies you have an IQ of like 80. Now I am no genius by any stretch of the imagination, but I have the processing power to understand the film. Christphor Nolan did what Jon Favreau did NOT have the balls to do, and that's to actually create something more than a summer blockbuster. I think Mr. Downer has finally shown the extent of damage to his brain cells from his past "activities". By the way Christian Bale is much better actor.

[Huggy]

Oh and Shamus your opinion is no longer a valid one, and trust me there is such a thing as a WRONG opinion.