The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is a great film, go see it. Now, with that being said, this movie is probably not best for younger children so parents please use your discretion. This is a comic book movie for adults. It is a movie for those of us who have lived with Batman for at least fifteen to twenty years. Funny but it is not even really a comic book movie.

I walked out of the theater two and a half hours after this movie started. I turned to my friend and fellow nerd Jay and the first words from my mouth were, “That was a really great crime drama!” Honestly, even if there were no batman character, this would still have been an incredible movie. Every major character was used, and had something integral to do with the plot moving forward. And move forward it did, as I never once found myself wishing they would get on with it.

No, this is not the Batman from the comic books. It isn’t even the same Batman we saw last time from Batman Begins, This was a newly motivated and very personal look at a character that is real. It is about a person who lives in a world just like ours. It just so happens to be based on a comic book character many people have read about for years. Christian Bale does an outstanding job playing the title and dual role of Bruce Wayne Billionaire and the Batman nighttime vigilante. Bale plays it as three roles actually. Bruce the public persona, Bruce the real man, and the Batman, and all three get about equal screen time.

Maggie Gyllenhaal picks up for Katie Holmes as Rachael Dawes the assistant district attorney. The character certainly had much more to do and say in this sequel as apposed to the damsel in distress from the last picture. Maggie plays the role with much more confidence than Katie did and thus I enjoyed the performance tenfold. Rounding out the good guys supporting cast are insanely talented actors Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain and Gary Oldman.

I have said this for the last couple of years but I love anything Aaron Eckhart is in. He continues my little man crush by delivering what is perhaps one of my favorite performances thus far in his career. Harvey Dent, the man who will become Two-Face is such a great character but only if portrayed correctly. If played incorrectly you get a silly cartoon of a villain with no other motivation other than “Oh look he was scarred down half his face.” In this movie you get a realistic look at the horrors of falling off the deep end. Having it all at your fingers then losing it and trying to lay blame. Aaron never once let go believing in this performance one hundred and ten percent.

And then there was Heath. Heath Ledgers’ performance of the Joker could not have been done by any other actor. This version of the character made me a little sad and you couldn’t help but love him. The Joker has been portrayed many ways in film, television and in print but this was such a fresh and perfect picture of a man who is a product of the times we live in. I identified with Joker because I grew up back in those pre-grunge, pre-goth, pre-emo days when kids started to dress differently to express who they were. Heath’s Joker was just like some one I would’ve hung out with in high school but before he took a dive off the deep end of morality. I felt bad for him and never once hated him.

The Dark Knight will probably go down as a great example of how to do a big budget comic book movie. Just like The Incredible Hulk and Ironman, comic book movies are here to stay. Great acting and heart for the performances will keep at least me in my seat until the next picture debut. Now I am just waiting patiently for Star Trek.

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