The Dark Knight Review

The amount of hype to The Dark Knight has been absolutely unbelievable. Movie theaters around the country are having sold out shows and including showings at even 2 and 6 am just to give people an opportunity to see it. This has been a film that I have been anticpating for well over a year. I've seen the viral marketing ads, the gotham knight anime, followed production as it was chronicled on sites like batman-on-film, and just generally been very excited for the movie to come out.

After getting the chance to see it, I must say that this is the best Batman film in history. Christopher Nolan's vision is to make a Batman film that could very well be taking place in present day. The amount of realism to this movie is amazing. To think of cartoon characters like The Scarecrow, The Joker, and Two Face to be walking amongst us creating chaos is something that seems very far fetched and hard to believe, but this movie is able to pull it off perfectly. The movie is very deep on many levels as it's essentially a character struggle between good and evil. Batman is in costant conflict about what he's doing, whether its right or wrong, the rules he needs to follow, and the overall effect his actions will have on the people around him. Christian Bale is a great Batman and an even better Bruce Wayne. I must say that the voice he uses as Batman in this movie is a bit distracting, but you have to take it from the character's view point that he is trying very hard to make sure noone can recognize him. I also liked the idea that they implemented Batman's knack for detective work in this movie as its really the first one to do so.

Heath Ledger's performance in this movie has been heavily hyped up and there is already talk of a possible Oscar nomination. The Joker in this movie is the perfect blend between creepy, humorous, and just plain psychotic. He kills with no regard to human life and admits that he has no plan but to create a path of destruction and a world of chaos around him. Ledger based his Joker off of the graphic novel "The Killing Joke" and has a dead on portrayl of the character.

Aaron Eckhart really surprised me as Two Face and Harvey Dent in this movie. It started off a bit shaky when he was trying to portray "the white knight" and a man of the people, as there is something about Eckhart even in "Thank You For Smoking", where he just doesn't come across a very genuine guy. The transformation to Two Face was perfect and he really showed the rage of the original character while showing the high values of Dent. Even Maggie Gyllenhaal was bearable as Rachel Dawes although you don't feel too horrible for her when she meets her fate.

Overall, this is a truly great film and one of the few movies where the audience in the theater was so into it that they would clap and cheer throughout the movie. The Batman vs Joker rivalry is a true classic of good vs evil and it came across perfectly in this film as there is even the gray area where the two men are so similar in personality and so different in their actions. There are a few twists in the movie and the supporting cast of Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon), Michael Caine (Alfred), and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) were outstanding as always. This is definitely a movie to see in theaters as the action is breathtaking in certain scenes. I'm not quite sure where the series would go if there was in fact a third film, but I understand Christian Bale has signed on. The Dark Knight may get Ledger an oscar nod, maybe even getting one for best picture as well. It is a movie that should not be missed by any fan of comic books or crime films.

10/10