The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralyzed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.

In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains). Director-cowriter Christopher Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism--there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans--and not just superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi Amazon.com

not your typical superhero movie

This movie leaves you speechless when it's over. The acting is great, the storyline and the character build up is very exciting. The movie is so dark in a sadistic way especially when it comes to the joker. What is scary is how real it is because all the things the joker does could be done to any city, state etc. Its emotional, its fun, and it gets your heart rate going. This is one of my if not my favorite movie of all time! Don't listen to the negatives people put towards this movie. See it for yourself first if you haven't already. November 27, 2008

this movies was so bad i fell asleep

the fact that everyone thinks that heath ledger made a good joker is unbelievable it just shows that no one has seen the batman made in the early 90's starring jack nicholson, i will admit that christian bale has made some good movies (equilibrium for example) but this is sad that heath ledgers final performace was so bad. the man is a good actor but his portrayel of the joker was completely and utterly wrong in keeping with the actual character from the comic books. he looks different acts different and does not use tactics as crude as the ones that they had him using in this farce November 25, 2008

Studios cheap out again.

Again only 5 channel audio for such a huge release. The studios are really getting lazy and putting out trash. For this reason alone I cannot take Blu-ray seriously. Until we start really utilizing the technology this format is a lost. I'd expect at least a DTS ES 6 channels or ideally full 7 channel HD audio. For this reason I would suggest people boycott buying these HD formats simply because the studios and Sony are ripping people off.
November 25, 2008

BATMAN WILL ROCK THIS CHRISTMAS!!!

WOW ONE OF HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME AND WHO EVER THOUGHT BATMAN WOULD BE THE HERO TO CAPTURE TODAYS GENERATION AFTER THE FIRST BATMAN MOVIES, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT THEN THERE'S NO POINT OF GIVING THE EXCITEMENT AWAY JUST GET IT YOUR SELF AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT BIG FUZZ IS ABOUT. November 25, 2008

Define a perfect film...................

I just saw this film and i am speechless, i have literally no words to describe this movie.
Its unlike anything i have ever seen and with unbelievable performances by Heath Ledger as the Joker (The Glasgow Smile was a fantastic touch to the evil) and surprisingly Aaron Eckhart as Harvey two-face.
In my opnion, the key in this film was the editing, it was just too good with the scene sequences and flow being there and clear.
The double-triple-quadruple climatic/anti-climatic/ anti-anti-climatic plot and script was really the best.
I think this is Chris Nolan's Taj Mahal.
I hope it makes it to the AFI's list of top 10 movies of all time.

For Heath Ledger: Rest in peace, you gave us a great great gift with your performance, beyond cool, just beyond.....
November 24, 2008

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