When James Fleming watches, he'll be looking for comparisons between Batman and Hamlet.

Fleming, a Ph.D. fellow in the University of Florida's English department, is writing a paper on the topic, and said the common themes shared by the two "traumatized heroes" are what really draw crowds to theaters 70 years after the Batman character was created.

Superman and Spider-Man may have all the superpowers, but the darker, vengeful, wholly human Batman's got all the crowd appeal, according to Fleming and experts in popular culture.

"Spider-Man could in no way ever happen to you," Fleming said. "Batman appeals to anyone who's been through a trauma. This is not to say that everyone who's been through a trauma is going to put on a bat suit and run around the city, but that it's possible to restructure yourself or reinvent yourself. It's a portrait of endurance and survival."

In addition to the superficial similarities between Batman and Hamlet — the mournful attitude, the black outfits, the upper-class backgrounds — both characters are avenging the death of a parent using methodical detective tactics, Fleming said. Both characters have loyal elders as best friends, and "both are ultimately operating from a trauma they can't resolve," Fleming said.

You will feel utterly numb after the screening of The Dark Knight. The film is bleak and brilliant. Batman is Hamlet and Heath Ledger is a sensation as the Joker. The late legend doesn’t just steal the film, he murders it in style...

As the new Batman film - The Dark Knight - grinds towards us, like some slow-moving juggernaut whose driver isn't strong enough to turn the wheel, it occurs to me that the Caped Crusader is really something special. Batman is the icon for our times, Shakespearian in his ability to withstand multiple reinterpretation, a Hamlet or Lear for the 21st century.

Opening paragraph from the review in The Times (london)

Opening paragraph from the review in The Times (london)

There is no reason to see The Dark Knight. It is a standard comic book movie with a thin veneer of brooding darkness splashed over the juvenile story to give it the illusion of depth, but the story and characterizations are standard and one dimmensional. The actors strive to raise the material but since it is at its core a cartoon, the performances remain cartoonsih. The action scenes are garbled and hard to follow, the whole thing strangely slackly paced. If cartoon movies are your bag, no doubt this will appeal to you. If not, though, there is no reason to see it.

There. Does that help? I assume my opinion of the movie will remain the same if I ever actually see it.

And back I go onto the fence. Damn.