Aug 11 2008
The Dark Knight
I finally got to see The Dark Knight tonight. And, it was as incredible as everyone is saying. And, yes, Heath Ledger fully deserves a posthumous Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the Joker.
But, before I get into talking about the movie, can I just say:
Ahem.
Okay, back to the movie.
Christian Bale is once again excellent as the tortured vigilante. His love for Rachel Dawes endures, and he’s hoping that she will still make good on her promise to be waiting when Gotham no longer needs Batman. In new DA Harvey Dent, he sees a white knight that will save Gotham and give Batman his awaited reason to retire.
But he doesn’t count on the Joker. He’s unlike the rest of Gotham’s criminals - not motivated by money or power, he simply wants to create chaos. There is no way to make him stop, and he’s out to get everyone who’s trying to fix Gotham.
Heath Ledger is truly brilliant. He makes Jack Nicholson’s Joker look like a pussycat. I expected his performance. What I didn’t expect was Aaron Eckhart’s amazing Harvey “Two-Face” Dent. His performance was the biggest surprise of the film.
It is obvious from the way the film ends that Bale will be donning the bat-suit at least one more time - and that couldn’t make me happier.
Indeed. But will The Joker and Two Face be in the next one?
Bill - I don’t know how they’d do that - anyone they found to play the Joker would be mediocre compared to Ledger. And since Two-Face appears to die at the end of the film…
Jen - Actually, I agree about Gillenhal - and usually I really like her. I think part of it is the character - it’s just not very well-written.