And Here We...GO!

The Dark Knight. What can I say? The midnight showing Thursday night was entirely worth sitting in a theater for almost 2 1/2 hours waiting for the 2 hour and 35 minute movie to start! 5 screens were sold out by noon Thursday afternoon, they added 3 more screens and over 1900 tickets had been sold in our Theater! The audience was pumped but as soon as the movie started you could hear a pin drop. It was AMAZING, I have NEVER sat with such a respectful audience before! For ONCE, a movie has met my high expectations! Lets run through what I thought, and don't worry, I will be nice and leave out any spoilers.


The Story:
The Main story and sub plots were well crafted and easy to follow considering their complexity and the mythology behind them. We follow Bruce/Batman as he struggles with duality, the rise of the villainous Joker, and the newly elected DA Harvey Dent and how they all fit together in Gotham's puzzled population. The Dark Knight is fast paced, and full of surprises, no joke...

There is a lot going on in this film, so much that I am now hoping to see it more than the two times I originally thought it would warrant. Batman fans will love references to comics, the viral marketing campaign and the previous movie. I would not recommend this movie for children under 13 because of the violence and the overall idea that they will not comprehend the motivation behind the actions of some of the characters.


Filming:
On location in Chicago, using real stunts in place of CGI in places you never thought possible and beautiful building top shots of the city, these guys packed it all in. The action shots were much more polished than in Batman Begins and once again the story really lent itself to grand camera angels.


Acting:
Christian Bale was great as usual, but I must say that his "Batman Voice" was a bit much sometimes. Batman had more screen time and more lines this time around tho, lending to my observation. I think they have positioned the Bruce Wayne character as the Main Identity, so that would make sense that Bruce is more finely tuned than Batman.

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent was excellent. He brought a depth to the character that many might overlook because of other outstanding performances in this film. I was really impressed by Aaron's take on this character, and in my opinion, he was right on.


Maggie Gyllenhaal was fine, but her part was not very well developed, possibly because the development of Rachel Dawes was on the shoulders of Katie Holmes originally in Batman Begins, which was never fully realized. Maggie had some back peddling to do, but she was a fine addition to the talented cast. She grew on me.

Gary Oldman is still the man. It is cool to see him as the good guy, adding to the range of roles he can play. Oldman remains so even with his characterization of Jim Gordon that he is very endearing. The development of Gordon in this installment was well thought out and played.

Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were wonderful in their supporting roles as usual. Michael Caine, still embodied what Alfred Pennyworth is: The voice of reason, the guidance, the father figure and the protector of Gotham's Protector. Lucius showed us again that he is a man of principle, strong values and a great ally to Bruce.

Did I miss someone, you ask? Why NO! I Was Saving the BEST for LAST!

Heath Ledger ROCKED. The Joker was such a complex and meaty role, and he took full advantage of it without being over the top. He was funny, he was scary and he was downright demented. You couldn't take your eyes off of him and waited in anticipation until he was next on screen. The Joker drew you into his psyche like a moth to a flame, which made him more believable as an anarchistic agent of chaos. Heath was SO AMAZING and SO CONSISTENT that I feel The Joker was the defining role of his career and it breaks my heart.

The Music:
A Score from Hans Zimmer again. A rehash of Batman Begins themes, and not much new, the movie utilized a lack of music in a few scenes to create feelings of anxiety and suspense. I distinctly remember a chase scene where there was no music. It literally made me stop and think, "What is missing here? Oh, No Music? That's weird...hmmmm... Actually this fits really well here, and is doing it's job to make me stay on the edge of my seat!" (Yes, I actually was thinking all of that!)Anywho, it actually worked for me, and I appreciated it. Sometimes movies can overuse music, so this was noticeable but well done.

Conclusion:
I am looking forward to seeing this movie again (a few more times) so that I can concentrate on some of the subtle parts that I felt I couldn't pay as much attention to because of the sheer charisma that Heath Ledge brought to the screen. The audience clapped when it was done. Whistles and shouts of "AWESOME!" and "THAT ROCKED!" filled the air. All I could say was "WOW" because it's been a long time since I saw a movie this good, and watched it with an audience this well behaved! This movie blew my mind and blew away the opening weekend sales records as well. (stick that up your ass George Lucas!)

Thank you Christopher Nolan (and cast) for bringing Batman back to life on the big screen in a HUGE way!!