On The Dark Knight

The Joker: "Come here. Hey! Look at me. So I had a wife, beautiful, like you, who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I ought to smile more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks... look at me! One day, they carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just want to see her smile again, hmm? I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars. So, I stick my razor in my mouth and do this to myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling! "

Rated PG-13 for action, violence and for Christian Bale giving Batman the worst voice ever.

Staring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Maggie Gyllenhaal

Skeptical. That's really what I felt about the rave reviews this movie was getting when it first opened in theaters. Due to the fact that I am a huge jerk, I thought that perhaps the buzz over Heath Ledger's performance, was in part, due to his untimely death. Let's face it, death is a good career move when your in Hollywood, remember that David Caruso, so I skeptically felt this had to be the case. At least in some part anyway. Then, I actually went and saw the movie and found that I couldn't have been more wrong. Not about David Caruso, but Heath.

In fact, I have to say that Heath is not only one good tasty candy bar thats terrific in a Dairy Queen Blizzard, but also a pretty darn good actor as well. He pretty much single handedly carries this movie upon his creepy shoulders. Yes, the special effects were cool, as was all Batmans neat gadgets, but after the film, none of that stuff really stuck with me. The only thing that really did stick was Ledgers haunting performance as The Joker, and of course that Milk Dud I sat on, which needed to be removed from the seat of my pants with a putty knife. If it were any other actor I think that Batman Begins would be a much better film hands down, yet Heath's portrayal carries it above and beyond any Batman movie, and he will go down in history as one of the greatest villains ever in cinema.

Try as I might, I cannot find anything that was terribly wrong with the movie, though superficially I find the voice of Batman to be rather annoying, but thats it. The acting, special effects, directing and cinematography are all top notch and completely complement the films atmosphere, which is palpable in every shot. Most the credit for this, again, has to be given to Ledger, for it is just by his acting alone that the films motif is, not only made apparent, but also made rather powerful. Indeed, Ledger succeeded in conveying a large quantity of creep out factor almost on A Clockwork Orange level to the audience without the need for blood, guts and gore. Though, that is not to say that there isn't any disturbing imagery within the film, on the contrary it does have its share, but in my mind even that doesn't surpass Ledger's acting. I mean no disrespect, but after 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knights Tale, I would have never thought...

I believe if there is to be a sequel, which I am sure there will be, filling the part of The Joker again is going to be extremely difficult, and I feel impossible. The Joker's mannerisms and even his voice that Ledger brought to the role cannot be reproduced by anyone else, and the character in any future installment, I feel, will have to be completely reinvented.



In addition to The Joker, the movie stars Christian Bale returning as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face, and Gary Oldman as Lieutenant/Commissioner Gordon. Ah, but who cares about them though? It all centers around Ledger. He completely steals the show. Even Christian Bale, who is a great actor (watch The Machinist) is overshadowed by The Joker. Even veteran actors Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman's performances, though good, pale in comparison.

Although, in the movie there are several villainous figures in The Dark Knight, including Two Face and a brief cameo appearance by Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) from Batman Begins, the movie mainly centers around The Joker and the Dark Knights pursuit of each other; though not in a romantic sense. Just because it has a Gyllenhaal in it doesn't mean its that kind of movie.

I will tell you what kind of movie it is though. It's a real dark movie, full of pleanty of thrills, car chases, explosions, guns and a bat-bike, a new bat-suit and you even get to meet some bat groupies, one of whom is unfortunatly captured by The Joker and dispatched in a effort to drive out the cape crusader and reveal his true identity. In fact, The Joker promises to murder someone each night till the demand is met. This situation, although fodder for plenty of suspense and drama, also gives us a glimpse into the psyche of Batman/Bruce Wayne, those who surround him and Gothem society in general. There becomes apparent an interesting clash between the two personas of Bruce Wayne and Batman, which Bruce struggles with as the days pass and people die. With all of this, what you have is one great movie, which further divorces itself from any previous portrayal of Batman and takes us deeper into a world that hopefully we will all be able to revisit soon in a subsequent movie. However, sadly, it will have to be without Heath Ledger who created one of the most memorable characters ever in the whole history of the arts.

I give this movie 4 out of 4 bags of bat guano. Oh, and just kidding Mr. Caruso!