Sagittarius
In the months that followed my first glimpse of Ledger as the Joker, the anticipation continued to grow. As the movie was filming, word got out that Ledger’s performance would be incredible; a brand new, darker, dirtier version of the clown prince of crime. When the late actor passed away at the beginning of the year from an accidental overdose, it only increased speculation about his final full role. Well, after seeing the midnight showing of ‘The Dark Knight’, it’s safe to say both the movie and Ledger exceeded my already lofty expectations.
As spectacular as the film is (and it really is something special), ‘The Dark Knight’ truly belongs to Ledger. He is electrifying, making every scene he’s in crackle with energy. Truly, from the first moment we see the Joker robbing a bank until the time the credits roll, I wasn’t able to take my eyes off him. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give him is that not once throughout the entire two and a half hour movie did I think about the actor's death. His performance is that special, that entertaining, that you forget about anything else. His Joker is at all times terrifying, funny, creepy, and manic. It wasn’t until after the movie ended that I realized we’d never see this wonderful talent again.
I’ll try to put Ledger’s performance to the side for a moment, and focus on the movie as a whole. Christian Bale returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne, and as was hinted at in the final moments of ‘Batman Begins’, his appearance in Gotham City has caused an escalation in the criminal community. No longer is the criminal underworld made up of mobsters and gangs, ‘freaks’ like the Joker have emerged to take on the masked hero.
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Re: 'The Dark Knight' Is A Classic
By Melkor, July 18, 2008 at 15:07O.K.,
I’ve not seen the movie yet, and to be completely honest, I didn’t even read your article Mike. I’m wicked paranoid about NOT consuming any pre-movie hype of any kind (I like to arrive with a clean slate).
Anyway, ‘Batman Begins’ instantly made my top 10 of all time list. No flaws at all, with the possible exception of Mrs. Cruise (although I didn’t find her performance at all off-putting – a lot of craziness off the screen during that time if memory serves) which the filmmakers took care of for us in the sequel. Refreshing when Hollywood makes a decision that has a positive impact on an audience. However you haven’t seen it until you’ve watched it on 60 inches of glorious plasma – that’s an open invite.
Needless to say I’m super excited to see the next instalment. My greatest hope is that they will not make the same mistake the first franchise did by killing off the Joker – the greatest villain in the DC universe (sorry Lex) if not the entire galaxy (o.k., Lord Vader and the galactic Emperor remain in the conversation). As for the title ‘The Dark Knight’, obviously super cool but ripped from the graphic novel (of the same name obviously) which I always hoped would be turned into a movie – with Clint Eastwood starring as an aging Bruce Wayne. I’m still hoping they’ll get around to doing that one.
Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to give my 2 cents on this topic.
And Heather I think you’ll be looking a long time to produce a man who would want to see sex and the city of their own accord. People have done much stupider things for love though. Hell, I saw ‘Clueless’ (which I actually liked by the way).
Re: 'The Dark Knight' Is A Classic
By Mike Small, July 18, 2008 at 15:13I am excited for you to see it. If 'Begins' was top 10, 'Dark Knight' will easily be top 5.
Re: 'The Dark Knight' Is A Classic
By Heather Wallace, July 18, 2008 at 15:20...and I'm excited for him to see Sex and the City. If he liked Clueless, it can only go up from there. In fact, men could learn a few things about how women think...aren't you guys always lamenting you don't understand us? It's educational.
Re: 'The Dark Knight' Is A Classic
By Melkor, July 18, 2008 at 15:20I don't know dude but we'll see - after Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and 'Begins', there is only like 4 slots left (excluded from my top 10 is return of the jedi - I did love it, but was pushed out by Batman).
Re: 'The Dark Knight' Is A Classic
By Heather Wallace, July 18, 2008 at 13:46Safe to say Batman is to men what Sex and the City is to women...yet I know women can enjoy this movie as much as the guys. Men enjoying Sex and the City? Now, that could take convincing.
Can't wait to see it. Thanks for making my anticipation that much greater Mike.
Heather :)