I just got back from two hours and twenty-two minutes of pure awesome. Do not read this post if you don’t want to be spoiled. I’ll try my best not to reveal too much, but trust me, the ride is well worth the wait…

The Dark Knight

Starring – Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Julia Roberts’s brother.

Rating – PG-13 (For violence and because kids under thirteen won’t appreciate its slendor.)

IMDb Rating – 9.6 (3rd out of 250)
Rotten Tomatoes – 94% Freshness

Sample Review –

With only three short words comprising the film’s enigmatic title, it also boasts three epic claims to fame: the role of a lifetime for the late Heath Ledger, one of the best films of 2008, and one of the greatest superhero films of all time.

I have to say, this is one movie that has surpassed my expectations and lived up to the hype. It rocked.

As you might have guessed by reading some of my posts leading up to this review, I’m somewhat of a Batman franchise fan. It began as a love of the original Tim Burton films, which to this day I still cherish. I decided to expand my love of Batman and read a few of the comics, the best of which being the wonderfully evil graphic novel, “The Killing Joke,” upon which much of the Joker in this film is modeled. My favorite part of the franchise remains Batman Returns, in all its gothic glory, but The Dark Knight came crashing in at a close second tonight.

Why is the film so great? Hopefully, by now, you’ve seen the film so I won’t be spoiling anything for you. One of the best things about TDK is that it is just a great movie. Pacing is well-done, driven by the excellent score. The plot is exceptional; intriguing, with thrilling twists and unexpected character deaths. It is propelled above the level of the standard comic book movie, and is simply a really great crime thriller. Often times, it’s easy to forget that the man fighting crime is not Commissioner Gordon, played by the fantastic Gary Oldman, but a man in a mask with pointy ears.

Another good part of the film was, as I have come to expect from the series, the gadgetry. Early on in the film, Bruce quips that he would like a suit that actually allows him to move his head. This is an obvious balk at the costumes of the Batman films of yester-year; 50lbs of pure rubber and anguish that the actors had to endure. The New-and-Improved Batmobile makes an appearance again in this film, but with the added bonus of a detachable Batbike. Yup, you read that correctly. And it’s pretty sweet.

The characters were also excellent. As always, Lucius Fox (Freeman) added quite a bit to the film for the few scenes he had, as did Michael Caine as Alfred. I was a bit disappointed with Maggie Gyllenhaal, but not for her performance. She was light-years better than Katie Holmes as Rachael Dawes, but she just does not have the same classically pretty face. I find her features to be quite sad and expressive. It was difficult to see beyond those sad eyes and see her as the love object of two handsome, wealthy, powerful men.

Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of Harvey Dent, on the other hand, was extremely convincing, and he injected DA Dent with what felt like true morality. It was a tragic end to see a man who seemed so hell-bent on cleaning up such a teeming cesspool of crime, sinking to such a low level just to seek revenge. As Two-Face, Eckhart was true to a vision that the character was acting out his aggression solely for retribution, because he felt that justice had not been served properly. This is a wonderful counterpoint to the madness of the film’s other, more notable, villain.

Which brings me to the highlight of the entire film. I take back every doubt I ever had about Ledger. He proved me totally wrong, and it makes me regret that we’d never seen the side of him as an actor that he showed on that screen. He was maniacal, hilarious, scary, brilliant. I found myself cringing and laughing at the same time; perfect reactions to the Joker. He made the Joker what he needed to be, a psychopath who doesn’t give a damn about money, with no future and no plans, wreaking havoc upon a city just to see the carnage and destruction.

So, do I have anything negative to say? Yes. The timing at the end was off. Does that really matter? No, because this movie was amazing, and I don’t mind that they added a little bit of comic-book dialogue at the end. It, I believe, has paved the way for Batman, who has been outlawed of his own volition, to possibly team up with The Riddler. And, if you don’t know how I feel about that, well…