"What does not kill you, makes you stranger!"

This is almost a week over due, but I seriously had to get my thoughts together before I could write a proper review for Dark Knight.

I saw it opening weekend in the regular theater. I was bouncing with excitement between waiting to see Dark Knight and finally seeing the Watchmen trailer on a big screen had me excited to no end. Watchmen will have to be another post though.

One thing I liked about Dark Knight was that you were in the midst of the action from the start. No intro music and flashy screens with the title, directed by, starring, etc. Immediately you’re drawn into a bank robbery by guys in clown masks, who in the end all kill each other off, and then you’re face to face with the Joker before he sneaks away in a line of school buses. I think because you’re immediately thrown into the action is why for the first time in what seems like eons, I didn’t see anyone take out a cell phone or hear anyone talking, aside from the reaction noises to the film.

This is definitely the summer blockbuster for 2008. A great director, great story, and amazing acting from all of the actors in the film helped to bring this movie to a whole new level, trumping Batman Begins and making me wonder how they will ever top this movie.

From here on out, there will be some spoilers, so read at your own risk!

I will start off with one thing that I thought was done in a new manner that was particularly nice: The musical score. To be honest I barely remember specifics of the music, aside from the fact that it was very well done and was more of an accent to the action of the movie. There wasn’t a huge, anthem song in the beginning, nor was their one during poignant scenes or the final confrontation between Batman and the Joker. The music also had a sort of horror movie tone to it, mixed with some elements that were action movie-esque. The one musical cue that I remember is the buzzing noise that always seemed to begin softly, and then crescendo to a peak right before the Joker did something, or before his presence was known. It brought that character to more of a horror movie level, which accented his portrayal by Ledger even more.

On that note, let me talk more about the Joker. I’ve always liked his character as there was a funny air about him, but dangerous at the same time. Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker struck a chord with me because this is the Joker that I love. I love the darker Joker more than the cartoony Joker (whom I always felt was off). I felt that this darker Joker has more personality, more depth as a character, and more of a good opponent to Batman than the other villans.

The Joker is a sociopath and an anarchist. He enjoys chaos, thrives on it in fact, and has no relative care for anyone else in his surroundings. He has no affection for anyone, except maybe for Batman whom he states he has too much fun with. The Joker also believes in the worst in people. Prime example of this is his “experiment” with the people on the ferries. He expected either the convicts or the citizens of Gotham to hit the trigger and blow up the other boat. He made no contingency in case of the fact that they decided to sit and await their fate.

Heath Ledger got into the Joker’s mind and he played him so brilliantly that I feel bad for the actor who eventually has to step into those shoes. Those are some big shoes to fill, and I’m sure that will intimidate many people. Though I do think that someone may come along who can step into those shoes who will be able to bring the Joker alive again.

Another brilliant performance came from Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. I was skeptical about the Two-Face plot line, but the minute I started watching the movie, that disappeared. Eckhart did such a wonderful job beginning as Gotham’s “white knight” and showing that sometimes it really just does take a push to bring someone over the edge. His most poignant line being: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain.” And no, I don’t believe Two-Face is dead. The eulogy held at the end of the movie was Gordon taking Batman’s advice and keeping Dent’s “white knight” status alive among the people as a hero, and not make them aware that after being let out of the hospital by the Joker, he went and killed people in order to try to get to a truth. If anything, he’s locked away in Arkham for the time being.

There were a couple things with the movie that I didn’t like that much. The first being Rachel. Yes, she served her purpose, her and Harvey were cute together, and I felt bad for Bruce, but yeesh did she begin to bother me a lot about halfway through. I must say, I like Katie Holmes in the role better than Maggie Gyllenhaal. I also didn’t like Batman’s voice. Yes, I know Bruce needs to disguise it so it’s a more raspy tone, but it was too raspy. Something about it just was too over the top for me. Christain did a better job in Batman Begins.

All in all, this movie was amazing, and is my top recommendation to people if they haven’t gone out to see it yet. And I’ll actually be seeing it again, except this time in Imax. ;)