!!!!!EXTREME CAUTION: SPOILERS ABOUND!!!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "THE DARK KNIGHT" YET, YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!
The day has officially arrived. THE DARK KNIGHT is finally here! My brother and I have been semi-patiently been awaiting the opening of this film since rumors of it in 2005. I'm certainly glad that Nolan & Co. put this much care into the film, it is truly noticeable as The Dark Knight is one of the best "action/superhero" movies I've ever seen. I personally loved Batman Begins and it was a great reboot to the then failing franchise. Although, strangely enough, this movie works better as a crime drama than outright superhero flick. It's rife with human morality and social commentary. The late Heath Ledger's performance as Joker is nothing short of legendary and every scene he was in literally gave me chills. My attention was rapt and focused whenever Joker was on the screen. His entrance (aside from the opening bank robbery scene) was creepy, hilarious, shocking, and potent with tension. He comes in a room full of mob bosses saying, "Ha ha ha he ho ha ha" in a relaxed fashion. Joker gets all of their attentions, pulls out a pencil, jams the pointy end into the table and proclaims he's gonna make it disappear. One mob guy gets up to put Joker in his place, while the Joker (knowing the wiser) grabs the guy's head, slams it down onto the table furiously and the pencil disappears into the guys head. The Joker then proudly yells, "Ta dah!" Such an unbelievably awesome and unnerving moment. The film was chock full of crazy and oftentimes jaw-dropping moments, mostly involving the Joker.
As the name of the film no doubt implies, this includes some heavily dark material, the likes of which most summer movies seem too scared to dwell upon. I think that is a selling point of the movie. Just because a movie like this is being released at the height of the summer, does not mean that it has to follow any set dictation of summer movies - i.e. happy ending, light subject matter, cheery characters and fun, mindless, brain-numbing cgi action. I don't want to go into a movie and have sunshine and rainbows sprayed at my eyes. A movie can be dark and brooding and terrible and still be amazing. (Take for example No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood - two very amazing, yet horribly dark films) Being a summer movie; or as I'd definitely call The Dark Knight a blockbuster because when I saw it at midnight people actually we're lined up clear down the block; doesn't mean that it also has to be mindless entertainment where my brain is kept waiting at the door. The Dark Knight shines as a master work, despite its dark subject material. And I'm not simply saying it's a masterpiece, because it REALLY IS! I'm saying so because it has one of the better scripts, ensemble actors, plots, sets, action pieces of any movie I've yet to see this year. A revolutionary thing is that most of the half-hour of action scenes, which were filmed in IMAX, were almost entirely practical stunts done in real life and without the aid of computer imagery. You are right next to the action, with flames licking your face and buildings blowing to smithereens beside you. They actually blew up the real Chicago Hospital as seen as Gotham General. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic film with many amazing sequences.
What I loved most was the dynamic relationship between Batman, who this time around is sort of in the shadow of Ledger's Joker. Joker tells Batman, "I don't want to kill you. You complete me!" Sure it sounds like a jokey riff on Jerry Maguire but it feels genuine. Really. Joker explains to Batman that there's no fun in it if Batman is around because like he says, "You're just a freak...like me!" You really feel the need in Joker for Batman to retaliate and hurt him. Joker wants Batman to kill him. There's a scene where Batman's on his batpod and Joker is in a semi truck hauling along in a perverse game of chicken. Joker's loving it, saying, "Oh you wanna play? Come on, let's go!" After Batman essentially end-overs the semi, Joker spills out and is let to do battle on foot. Batman speeds towards him and Joker eggs him on to hit him. Joker really wants it and you feel it in Heath's performance. Batman chickens out at the last second and he screams in tormented agony. He can't break his one rule. He can't kill the Joker, even when he flings him off a building, he uses his grappling hook to catch him at the last second. All the while, Joker is laughing his head off as he plummets to his expected doom. It's purely creepy and mystifying.
So yes, go see The Dark Knight if you haven't already. I'm assuming everybody has by now seen it already, but not everyone wants to see it as much as I did. And I apologize if you stumbled upon this review, or OUTRIGHT PRAISE more like, and read something you shouldn't have. That is why I put a huge spoiler warning at the top. It's hard for me not to look at spoilers. It's kinda that nagging "I want to know" but I really don't sorta thing. Well, I'm definitely going to see it again. I predict all box office records to be broken with this film. I heard it's second in midnight showings next to Revenge of the Sith. I thought it would've shattered those sales. It should beat the current weekend record of $151 million set by Spiderman 3, which was a total piece of crap but odd that it's the current leader. My guess is that no one knew how much it would actually suck, so they came out in droves. People are saying that this won't make as much money because of the "darker" content, but that's b.s. considering how many screens have been sold-out all over the country. This will shatter everything, just you wait. But I don't care if whether it does or not because it is still a mind-blowingly amazing film. Congratulations Mr. Nolan for revitalizing an ailing franchise and bringing Batman to front and center once again.
This fanboy spouting diatribe was brought to you by:
"Mailbox Arson" by Alexisonfire
"Neighborhood # 3 (Power Out) by The Arcade Fire
"The Celibate Life" by The Shins
