I went with some friends to see the much-hyped "Dark Knight" yesterday... already well on its way to being the biggest box office hit of the summer, the year, and maybe all time.
That type of hype usually disappoints.
I won't lie, about 1 hour into the film, I was ready to leave the theater at the end of the movie less than fulfilled. It was VERY entertaining to that point, following new twists on traditional action/superhero sequences involving a clever bank heist, the Gotham mob, a jaunt to Hong Kong, and getting re-introduced to the cast of characters in Batman's world -- but it still seemed just like a very well done superhero movie.
The Joker (Heath Ledger) is also introduced, and he owns the screen early on -- but as a whole I was getting nervous that the movie wasn't going to deliver the unique storyline that would transcend other movies in the genre (as all of the reviews promised).
That all changes when the second act starts -- Ledger's Joker goes into overdrive.
Up until this point, he is the pure embodiment of evil, but nothing extraordinary. Once his true motive is unveiled (the fact that he doesn't have one, at least a traditional one) it becomes clear that this Joker and this story ARE something special.
His goal is to pull all of Gotham City (Batman and "good guys" included) into a moral confrontation. He is the Freudian id gone wild ... and his black hole of anarchy begins sucking everyone -- citizens, cops, district attorneys and, yes, Batman into pure chaos.
I won't spoil it for anyone with the outcome, but Ledger's Joker is a performance for the ages... and after a slow start, this film delivered the goods.
As a comicbook movie: 10 out of 10 (Kevin Smith called it the Godfather II of superhero films. I agree.)
As a drama: 9 out of 10. This film won't win Best Picture, or even be nominated for it, but I do think it will stand up very well against most of the films we see this year.
Ledger's performance: 10+ He's got my vote for Oscar. Short of Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh in "No Country For Old Men," I can't think of a more evil presence in film. In alot of ways Ledger's nuianced psychological performance transcends the pure evil of Bardem's Chigurh.
Definitely go see this film.
That type of hype usually disappoints.
I won't lie, about 1 hour into the film, I was ready to leave the theater at the end of the movie less than fulfilled. It was VERY entertaining to that point, following new twists on traditional action/superhero sequences involving a clever bank heist, the Gotham mob, a jaunt to Hong Kong, and getting re-introduced to the cast of characters in Batman's world -- but it still seemed just like a very well done superhero movie.
The Joker (Heath Ledger) is also introduced, and he owns the screen early on -- but as a whole I was getting nervous that the movie wasn't going to deliver the unique storyline that would transcend other movies in the genre (as all of the reviews promised).
That all changes when the second act starts -- Ledger's Joker goes into overdrive.
Up until this point, he is the pure embodiment of evil, but nothing extraordinary. Once his true motive is unveiled (the fact that he doesn't have one, at least a traditional one) it becomes clear that this Joker and this story ARE something special.
His goal is to pull all of Gotham City (Batman and "good guys" included) into a moral confrontation. He is the Freudian id gone wild ... and his black hole of anarchy begins sucking everyone -- citizens, cops, district attorneys and, yes, Batman into pure chaos.
I won't spoil it for anyone with the outcome, but Ledger's Joker is a performance for the ages... and after a slow start, this film delivered the goods.
As a comicbook movie: 10 out of 10 (Kevin Smith called it the Godfather II of superhero films. I agree.)
As a drama: 9 out of 10. This film won't win Best Picture, or even be nominated for it, but I do think it will stand up very well against most of the films we see this year.
Ledger's performance: 10+ He's got my vote for Oscar. Short of Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh in "No Country For Old Men," I can't think of a more evil presence in film. In alot of ways Ledger's nuianced psychological performance transcends the pure evil of Bardem's Chigurh.
Definitely go see this film.
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