THE DARK KNIGHT

Just go see it.

I was going to write at length about it, but I caught this review on Ain’t it Cool News so I’m just linking to that one since it says most everything I was going to say.  I agree with the likes/dislikes DuPont mentions, though I must reiterate her point about the Joker’s ‘theme’:  a wonderful piece of ‘noise’ that escalates as he gets nastier.  Brilliant stuff.

A couple more likes:  the Joker changes his story about how he got the scars (and I think DuPont is spot-on with who the Joker reminds her of); EVERYONE seems to have a backstory, though the backstories may never be mentioned all the characters seem to actually exist as opposed to just serving a purpose in the script.

Let me add my two cents regarding Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker.  I think it’s a great performance, but I don’t know if it’s Oscar-worthy.  I’m trying to separate the hype from the real thing, and, like I said, Ledger does a fantastic job, but I’m going to hold off on Oscar nominations for now. 

A couple of dislikes:  It’s too long.  Yeah, yeah, I get it, but I don’t need it to be 2.5 hours.  (Having said that, the time does fly.)  Also, as DuPont mentions, characters come and go with effortless travel arrangements. 

But those are quibbles.  I’m a big fan of SPIDER-MAN 2.  I think that was the best comic book movie ever done (apologies to IRON MAN), but THE DARK KNIGHT is a damn fine movie that happens to be about a comic book character.  More in common with the Bourne films than men-in-tights movies. 

Like I said:  Go see it.

Tags: christian bale, christopher nolan, dark knight, heath ledger, joker