BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT(2008)
I may be the only person on Earth that REALLY didn't like
this movie! I know that Heath Ledger got nothing but cudos
for his portayal of The Joker, but he couldn't hold a candle
to Jack Nicholson, in my opinion! Didn't like the darkness,
I've always enjoyed the lightheartedness of Batman, and
of course none of this is present in this "re-boot"! Oh, well.
JMO! Of course I need to watch the third installment of the
trilogy, The Dark Night Rises, to really see if this was a
necessary lead-up to the final installment! We'll see! C
From Amazon.com:
The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best
superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath
Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling
it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise,
since part of what makes the movie great--in addition
to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a
compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy
element of the superhero genre and makes it all
terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham
City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the
crime rings that have paralyzed the city. He enters an
uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim
Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale),
the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and
whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress
until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game:
the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a
solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters
is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes(Maggie Gyllenhaal,
after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her
role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger
is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening
force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world
is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy
choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as
Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison
(not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains).
Director-cowriter Christopher Nolan(Memento) follows his
critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better
sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero
movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its
sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism--there
are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At
152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too
intense for kids. But for most movie fans--and not just
superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a film for the
ages. --David Horiuchi