Batman-the Dark Knight [2008]

I’ve seen the latest version of Batman-the Dark Knight six times now and each time keeps getting better and more enjoyable for me. From the beginning where this film picks up virtually where the last left us-through an obvious explanation of how DA Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face as well as the explanation of the title itself-the Dark Knight this movie leaves wanting more despite that it gives us so much in the two plus hours that it runs!

Aaron Eckhart plays a convincing role as the DA who wants to put away Gotham’s bad guys and later as the physically and more so emotionally scarred man who has lost what was most important to him-his beloved Rachel Dawes. Batman-Christian Bale-returns as the ever stoic and technically savvy crime-fighter. He manages to find and put away the “Scarecrow” who was the main scourge in the last movie. He also is literally hours away from putting the mob out of business when a stealthy accountant is able to transfer the money out of town and get away himself to a secure and posh hide-a-way in Hong Kong! But in a scenario that presents quite a bit of problems from a physics stand point, at least in my opinion-from shooting C4 across from one high-rise to another at what must be 1500+ feet in high winds from ¼ mile or more away and hitting a target less than 10 square feet in diameter let alone sky diving into the correct floor of the building! But putting those questions aside and viewing the film as a fast paced action film makes it much more enjoyable!

Bruce Wayne appears to be nearly out of a job when high energy DA Harvey Dent is able to arrest a majority of the city’s mob criminals and put them behind bars! But just as it appears we might see some benefit to Batman’s work with the police in steps the Joker and everything goes haywire! “Introduce a little Anarchy!” says the Joker-played by Heath Ledger-and everything goes Ka-Blooey! I wasn’t fond of Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker the first time I say the movie, but his interpretation of the character has grown on me and I find that he had a great deal of insight in to a crazed mind who wants to harm everyone and anyone and plays by no rules what-so-ever. His vocal techniques remind me of when I was in undergrad school studying music. The hard pronunciations and annunciation of the consonants make Ledger sound so much more interesting and scary simultaneously. This movie is worth seeing multiply times if simply for Ledger’s performance and I would not be surprised if he wins an Oscar for his work.

Michael Caine and Gary Oldman also play very good supporting roles as Alfred and the soon to be Commissioner Gordon. But do not be surprised that Eckhart, Bale and Ledger are the main stars of this film. They carry each scene they are in and when they’re in a scene together it’s like a shouting match between them to see whose force of will is stronger and who will come out on top.

This is a film to see over and over, and with its recent release to DVD you can enjoy it multiple times this holiday season.

Batman-dark knight on imdb.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/

The Dark Knight [2008]
http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/dvdsite/

Wednesday, December 17, 2008