The Dark Knight

Ok, if you haven't seen it, you must see it right now. Yes, now, spend the 9-12 bucks to see it in the movie theater. Go ahead, look up the times for the next showing for your local theater. I'll wait.










Good, you bought your tickets online right? Very good.
Believe me, you are in for a treat. This movie was amazing. I know that there was alot of hype, but I believe it lived up to all of it. The acting was superb, the special effects were truly fantastic, and the story plot was riveting.
My rating: 4.7 stars out of 5

I know what you're thinking; if I loved the movie so much and forced you to buy tickets before I even told you my rating, why did I only give it a 4.7 stars? Well, my quibbles as to why I gave it a lower rating are rather small in comparison to the awesomeness of this movie. First, the positives:

1. Like I said, the acting was terrific.
Heath Ledger (who has one more film coming out) might just receive an Oscar posthumously for this role. While I love Jack Nicholson's portrayl of The Joker as much as the next guy, Heath's acting and his performance of The Joker fits very will with the film. He's dark, creepy, and scary, but at the same time, he's funny. Heath's humor, however, is more of a dark humor as opposed to Nicholson's campy humor.

While I'm sure Heath's role will gain more attention because of his passing, the other actors are just as good. Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, played by Aaron Eckhart, does a great job of portraying a heroic villain. As always, Christian Bale (although, almost like a side character) is great as Batman; Michael Caine is an excellent Alfred (a fun, sarcastic, and loveable Alfred); Morgan Freeman, although not much screen time, is also great; and Maggie Gyllenhal, which as another critic mention (and to which I agree), is an immediate improvement over Katie Holmes. Gary Oldman is also an excellent choice for Commisioner Gordon. I thought everyone was fabulous!

2. The filming and special effects were awesome. I loved the camera angles, and I thought the shots were very well done. The explosions, car chases, and fighting scenes were pretty sweet. Batman is known, not for his superpowers, but for his sweet gadgets that allow him to be like any of the other radioactive, alien superheroes. His gadgets in this film definitely live up to Batman's claim to fame. There is a lovely scene in which Batman ventures out of Gotham City (the first Batman film to ever do so) to Hong Kong to take care of a little "business." Although I wish that they had stayed in Hong Kong a little longer, the shots of Batman swooping down to the nightlife of Hong Kong was breathtaking.

3. The plot and storyline was actually very well done. Some action movies and superhero movies tend to overlook plot in favor of special effects (see the latest Star Wars movies). However, The Dark Knight makes the plot very central to the film, and by doing so provokes very profound questions for its characters, the citizens of Gotham, and the audience. What is a hero? Does Gotham really need Batman? Do we need a superhero or just a scapegoat? Many other questions are brought up in the film that directly compare to the viewers own circumstances in America. Of course, if one is not looking for these "philosophical" questions, the plot is just as good in advancing the characters and storypoints to the climax.

Alhough minor and could almost be overlooked, here are my negatives:

1. I felt like it ran a bit long. I love action, but I felt like the chase scenes went longer than necessary. Some love this, but for me, not so much.

2. It was a little too psychological. While I did enjoy thinking about the implications and questions that came up, I believe The Dark Knight was way more in depth than I wanted it to be. What happens to Harvey Dent, as part of his transformation into Two-Face, is, aside from the obvious physical deformity, much too psychological for my liking. To top off the fact that The Joker is who gets Harvey thinking the way he does, it just makes my brain hurt.

3. Ok, this one's not really a negative, but it is a warning. This movie is very dark, much like Batman Begins, but more so. There were parts that my mom had to look away because it was too much. Do not take your kids. There is a reason why it is PG-13. It is an awesome movie, but very adult. Just so you're warned.

That's it, go enjoy the movie. Afterwards you'll probably need to go see something happy, like Mamma Mia. Also, there's nothing after the credits, so unless you want to pay your respects to all those that worked on the film, don't wait around.