Like everybody else, I was very sad when budding Australian actor Heath Ledger passed away - not least of all because it was impossible to get a cab in downtown Manhattan that day. But reports of him deserving a posthumous Oscar for his final performance in Batman Begins sequel 'The Dark Knight' were, as far as I was concerned, totally outrageous.
Until last night, when I saw it.
Oh. My. God.
The Dark Knight is, quite simply, just the BEST film I have ever seen, ever.
It's just unbelievable. Or, rather, it isn't.
It's a film about the Caped Crusader, Batman, and his villainous enemy The Joker. But unlike those God-awful 90s version, it's also a tense, gritty and - most astonishingly of all - totally believable crime epic.
Heath Ledger's Joker is, quite honestly, the most twisted, terrifying, realistic villain of all time. The plot of the Dark Knight is like a roller coaster, ratcheting you up and up and up until woosh! Down comes the house of cards and into the thick of disaster you get thrown.
The action? Comic-book made credible - it blows Quantum of Solace and other 'real life' big screen baloney out of the water. The acting? Amazing - Heath Ledger just becomes the twisted, faceless Joker - the man Alfred (played by Michael Caine) warns 'just wants to see the world burn.'
It's a film without villains, in which the heroes and the bad-guys are all different facets of the same conundrum. What's right? What's wrong? Where does the law end and justice begin? Do tragic events make us stronger, or destroy us completely? The four man characters, Batman, The Joker, police commissioner Jim Gordon and tragic District Attorney Harvey Dent all face the same choices, but the way they confront their personal challenges is starkly different.
You'll rent it because it's a Batman movie, or because it's Heath Ledger's celluloid curtain-call, or because you want to see the gory birth of 'Two Face,' or because you want to see Maggie Gyllenhaal get blown to smithereens (it's about bloody time.)
But whatever your reason for wanting to see it - you'll love it.
5 comments:
The hubs and I saw it in the theater. I have really enjoyed the newer darker versions of the Batman series. I have to admit - I do like watching the 90's four when I'm in a campy mood.
I'm a sucker for costuming.
death is certain and part of life .
heath ledger's joker, while good, has nothing on Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, in my opinion. When it comes to best movie villain.
We saw this the week it came out in the theater. It is a very dark movie and really had me mulling it over for days. I think knowing that Heath Ledger was dead in real life had us walking away from the theater very moved.
Fantastic film. I have always been a Batman fan. There is no other. I like this particular series of films since it takes it back to the darker version as it was intended to be.
Read any of the Dark Knight novels and you'll see why these films are so much more accepted and receive the praise they do.
Glad you liked the film.
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