At 11:00 pm last night, my wife, another friend, and I crowded into our local cinema and waited anxiously for seating to begin. Finally at 11:40 we were allowed into the theater and took our seats and awaited the beginning of the movie that I have been waiting for three years to see. But was it worth the wait and hype?
I consider Batman Begins to be the best comic book film of all time, hands down the standard by which all other movies of the genre are judged. I was already a fan of Christopher Nolan’s work, as well as Christian Bale and Liam Neeson, and Gary Oldman. The film blew me away, and when I saw the Joker’s card at the end of the first film, I was almost giddy, wondering who would take on the arduous task of bringing the Joker to life once again on the big screen.
When I heard that Heath Ledger got the part, I was stunned but was not going to pass judgment, because Heath had always surprised me. Then I saw the makeup, and I knew things were going to be as they should: darker, creepier, and altogether devilishly delicious. Finally I saw the trailer and I was fulfilled. This was going to be perfect. And silence all of those people who kept saying that no one will improve on Jack Nicholson’s take on the character.
If you are one of those people I am glad to say that all of you are wrong. When the Joker first appears on screen, it is magical. I don’t throw that term around loosely, it is hands down the best performance by anyone this year, and one of the best I have seen on film, ever. He is flawless, perfect, and I am thankful that I got to witness this master at the peak of his craft. When he makes the pencil “disappear” I knew that this was going to be one of the best on-screen villains ever.
The other characters in the film are altogether wonderful and all have great stories of their own to tell. Including Detective Gordon, and the wonderful Harvey Dent. I think that by now we all know that Dent becomes Two-Face, so I hope that I haven’t just ruined some one’s day. A great character and beautifully done by Eckhart and the director, as well as great motivation for his transformation from hero to villain.
Christian Bale was back and was as good as ever, he was somehow more somber than in BB but good nonetheless. This is chapter two in the trilogy, so the standard literary cycle holds true here. The first chapter is motivation/transformation, chapter two is temptation, and three is resolve. Needless to say it is a dark time for Batman, but Bruce Wayne is doing just fine, a contrast from the first film.
As good as the rest of the cast is, the film does seem noticalby vaccant when Heath Ledger is off-screen, he truly lifted what would be an above averag film to heights of film greatness. The Dark Knight has taken the top spot of my Top 10 Comic Book films, and has easily made a notch for itself as the best Batman film to date.
I will be seeing this movie again.
Popularity: 73% [?]
July 18th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Jake, I can not wait to see this. I have heard so much about this and being the superhero fan that I am, I have to see this movie.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Jake,
I cannot agree more on heath. What a show stealer, but I just don’t feel the same way about your description of “vacancy” during his off screen moments. But all in all, right on the head. Great movie. Amazing actors. The roles themselves in this film TRULY eclipse the actual film itself.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:23 am
I just returned from seeing the film and was completely blown away by it, especially Heath Ledgers performance, and you captured it so well. He was able to truly terrify the audience while making them reluctantly laugh at his portrayal of the Joker. Amazing.
July 19th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Heath seems to be able to communicate alot with just a furrowed brow and unkempt stare in this role.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Heath Ledger’s Joker is now the definitive, and one of the all time best performances by an actor in any movie, period. I saw it again Friday night, and it was just as mesmerizing as the first time. Thanks for the comments guys.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Jake, I have to say, I went to see this last night and I was floored. This is by far the best of all Batmans. And believe me I should know, I own each and everyone of them. The Joker is cold and unpredictable and as dark as anyone that would love to see him. And the Bats, well one could not have asked for a role better played than Christian Bale.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I told ya!
July 25th, 2008 at 5:57 am
First time ever posting to a blog about a movie… but I am compelled by the intensity and impact of this movie. While Bale did a wonderful job, it was Ledger’s performance that was awe inspiring. I am not a Batman movie fan nor a movie buff. My g/f asked me to take her to this movie - and I am so glad I went. This will be one of the very few movies that I will actually buy and watch again. If Ledger’s performance does not get an Oscar then I would be very surprised.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Totally agree. Everyone did a fantastic job but Heath scared the crap out of me. (I heard he really scared Michael Caine when they were filming the scene in the penthouse). I would love to see his audition for this as I understand that Bale was sold at that point as well.
Out of curiosity, did you catch the line: “You’ll (or It’ll) do fine against cats” when Bruce was asking about the new suit holding up against dogs? Yeah, guess we know who’s coming next.
August 7th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Heath Ledger gives one of the finest performances ever seen. If they do not give him a posthumous Oscar award for this it will be an injustice. Mr. Ledger’s family should be very proud of his final performance which will be difficult for anyone to beat. We lost a very rare talent. He will be missed.
August 30th, 2008 at 8:37 am
yes i believe the dark knight was that good and it deserves all the money and gritical success it has achieved. also heath ledger was amazing in his role as the joker.
September 5th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Come on guys. Nolan ruined the best superhero on the planet. Sure you like Heath’s performance as The Joker, because Heath was a great actor and he is no longer with us. Therefore you feel you need to like it. There’s no denying that he played the role incredibly well, but to say it was one of the best performances in film history is a bit much. If you children read the Batman comic books (Comic books are how superheros started for all you younglings that don’t know, and that think these new Batman films are good.)
I’m not saying the new films are worse than Tim Burton’s original vision, but I’m not going to say they are better. To tell the truth, Tim’s original vision followed the comic books WHICH IS WHAT SHOULD BE FOLLOWED AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT WHEN A FILM IS BASED ON IT better than Nolan’s new crap.
I will admit that The Dark Knight was better than Batman Begins, because Batman Begins gave a whole new meaning to the word crap. It was terrible, and don’t even get me started of Christian Bale playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. People only like this new film because of Heath’s performance, and Nolan, well sorry buddy but his writing is bad. The Dark Knight wasn’t a bad film, but it was a TERRIBLE Batman film.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
This film would not have been as good as it was without Heath Ledger.