Before we were married, one thing we did all the time was go to movies. Alan and I have very similar tastes in movies. Every now and again, I go really girlie on him, but not too often. We are usually up for at least one summer blockbuster, even in the post-Mason world. When the opportunity for date night comes up, more often than not, we'll go see a movie. (Which is not say we've seen more than a few since Mason was born.)
A couple Fridays ago, this led us to the opening night of The Dark Knight. This movie has received a lot of hype, I think, because it's just one of those summer releases. The death of Heath Ledger after finishing this film only further heightened all the hype, but I certainly don't think that's the whole reason for it.
Even if Heath Ledger were still alive, I would have gone to see it. I loved Batman Begins and I really love Christian Bale. He's a solid, methodical actor who is not too hard on the eyes. His performance is as dark and stoic as this version of Batman should be. Bruce Wayne is told (in a very foreshadowing manner by Harvey Dent) that "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." This is a distinction he appears to be really struggling with as the body count in Gotham City mounts, and I would guess an overall theme of the brooding aspect of his character and the portrayal is so spot-on that you feel his doubt, loneliness, and uncertainty but at the same time, his need to take action because he is one of the few who can.
Heath Ledger is super creepy and very entertaining as The Joker. Even the phenomenal reviews given don't do his performance justice. It has to be seen to be believed. There were a hundred tiny little quirks in his performance that made you chuckle or made your jaw drop.
All the other characters are rock solid as well. I was skeptical about watching Gary Oldman in anything post-Sirius Black, but he is just as good here as he was there, albeit this time as a conflicted mangement-level police officer rather than a wrongly convicted wizard criminal. I was also not too sure of Maggie Gyllenhaal because I usually don't like her much, but she brought a tough element to Rachel Dawes that I liked a lot better than Katie Holmes' version. Finally, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were both almost scene stealers. I have never seen either of them in a movie and not liked them and they both continue to be favorites of mine.
This movie is dark and it goes very fast. I will probably have to see it at least a dozen more times to catch everything I missed; but the movie is good enough I would have no problem watching it over and over again in rare and precious down time. I read a review that says the director, Christopher Nolan (who has never made a movie I don't like, by the way-The Prestige is one of my favorites!), doesn't let up. The way the movie is cut just slowly ratchets up the tension until all the characters reach a peak that can only be described as pure chaos. That review was the so correct. There are a few little sassy comments that make you chuckle, but for the most part the story is dark and deep. One major theme was rules we live by. By making rules, are we just setting ourselves up to break them, or are they successful guidelines? And just what does it take to break a person so completely their rules disappear? One of my favorite lines: "Madness, you know, is like gravity...all it takes is a little push."
I don't want to say too much that would ruin the movie for anyone else. I will say, though, that my favorite thing is the fate of the Batmobile. The special effects were all absolutely solid. My least favorite part was the (brief) gutted and burning fire truck. On the whole, this movie was 152 minutes well spent. However, this movie is not for the squeamish. While it isn't overtly graphic, the ideas are well enough conveyed that more sensitive types wouldn't be sure what to do with all the chaos.
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