Dark Knight Movie Poster

Okay, so here’s the thing about The Dark Knight.

Rarely has a movie had THIS much hype. Going into this movie, you would believe that this movie had reached the pantheon of upper-echelon films before it ever opened. The movie had been mentioned in the same breath as The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back- and people were serious. Those two movies go beyond the idea of “popcorn movie” or “sequel” and into “true art.”

People had essentially beatified Heath Ledger in his role as “The Joker.” Never mind the fact that a comic book movie had never had a performance even nominated for an Academy Award. Now, Ledger was being virtually guaranteed a posthumous Oscar.

Both the movie and Ledger’s performance had been built up to an almost unmatchable hype.

Almost.

For you see, this movie actually meets and matches the hype. It’s been a week or so since I’ve seen the movie, and I’ve been counting down the days until I can see it again in a much better theater.

The story is essentially that which was laid out in the first movie- the concept of escalation. Everything steps up a level in this movie, from the war on crime that Batman fights, to the profound effect that his villians have upon his life and the city of Gotham.

The best story in this movie is the story arc of Harvey Dent, played brilliantly by Aaron Eckhart. The man brings about a performance that is brilliant and tragic. His rise and fall make this movie.

All I can really say otherwise is to go see this movie- though it appears most of us already have. Thus, go see it a second time. I’d like for it to knock Titanic off the perch if it can.

Out.

The Dark Knight

While Alamo is completely sold out for the Dark knight, Fandango shows a couple theatres with seats still for tonight.  Don’t miss your chance to see what is being touted as one of the top action/drama movies of this year.   I can almost garantee that this movie will be awesome and that you’ll want to see it again.

So, Heath Ledger is going to play the Joker.

This, in and of itself, is an interesting choice. I mean, there’s a LOT of fan interest in the new movie, The Dark Knight (which is incidentally the coolest possible title the WB could have come up with for the new movie). The Joker is an iconic character, and for better or for worse Jack Nicholson and Mark Hamill have defined the role in the past 20 years. It’s considered the crown jewel in the pantheon of supervillian roles.

And it’s gone to an actor who was never considered by fans for the role, an actor whose most famous role so far has been a gay shepherd. I mean, come on- I KNOW I’m not the only person who’s made that joke in the title of this post.

Never mind the fact that Heath Ledger is a very good actor, for that matter. The question is if he is a good actor for THIS ROLE.

I’m hoping so, in this case. I’m truly hoping that the decision to hire Heath Ledger was made by the director and writers after a kick-ASS testing process and not by a jaded studio looking for any way possible to bring in a few more market segments into the seats.

Out.