Is there a better comic book movie? I haven’t seen one. Simply put The Dark Knight is one of the best movies in years. The sequel to Batman Begins took home an opening weekend record of $155+ million. It was one of the most hyped up films in recent memory and more than lived up to it. I never wanted it to end. I’m not sure I have a single thing to complain about. It’s easy to get let down by a movie after you’ve waited so long to see it, but that was not the case here. I want to see it again.
Christian Bale already became my favorite Batman following the last film. With all due respect to Michael Keaton, Bale was just better. He was a comparable Bruce Wayne, and a far superior Batman. Both men were better for the role than Val Kilmer and not even close to the forgettable effort my George Clooney in Batman & Robin. Bale brought the same intensity to his Batman and cockiness and swagger to his Wayne from the first. Bale’s stat line would be 2-2, 2 HR.
Director Christopher Nolan certainly made sure to put the “dark” in Dark Knight. At times I was almost surprised the film was rated PG-13. I guess as long as you don’t drop F bombs or show boobs anything can avoid the R rating. Clearly the movie executives wanted to make sure it wasn’t an R so it could capture the highest grossing opening weekend, but you could see how they could have crossed a line and just made it over the top. Perhaps an unrated DVD is in the future? But the film still delivered with implied violence and excellent camera work.
What put this movie over the top was the performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. A year or two ago when I read that Ledger agreed to play the part, I admit I was very skeptical. How could he pull this off? I mean, Jack Nicholson was the Joker. It would be like recreating Star Wars with a new Han Solo or Ace Ventura with a different…Ace Ventura. Looked like an up hill struggle. But as you have seen, whether in the theater or on the previews, they just made him crazier, scarier, and well darker.
This ain’t your father’s Joker. Ledger portrays an absolute psycho path who has nothing to lose. His makeup is fantastic, and his performance is one of the best villains I have ever seen on screen. As I have mentioned before other super hero movies like Iron Man or Hulk lack popular/ fascinating villains. It’s the exact opposite in The Dark Knight. You’ll find yourself more interested in the Joker and even the chilling reincarnation of Two-Face more than Batman. And it’s no fault of Batman’s because he too is very good.
The acting is unparalleled for the typical comic book movie. I enjoy this films so much I always over look the less than stellar performances by the actors/actresses in movies such as X-Men or Fantastic 4. The Dark Knight is on par with any other Oscar nominated film. Bale, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman reappraise their roles from the 1st film along with the additions of Ledger, Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/ Two-Face), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (in for Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes.) The cast is a Dominique Wilkins slam dunk. Wind mill style.
What more can I say about it? It’s one of the best movies I have seen in a while, I recommend it to everyone and anyone, whether you’re a comic fan or not. Even though I assume most of you have seen the film, I didn’t want to get into any kind of spoilers, but please leave a comment with your thoughts on the movie or any questions you may have.
Final Rating: 10/10
-Keefe
1 comment:
i still wish Katie Holmes had stayed on board as Rachel Dawes for the Dark Knight; it was like the time spent getting familiar with her character in Batman Begins was wasted...
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