Let me start off by saying: WOW! This movie completely surpassed my expectations! And they were high to begin with!
Growing up, I remember the first modern Batman movie with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. That was my first ever PG-13 movie (thanks mom and dad!) to see in the theater, and I was blown away with how good it was back then. Keaton seemed to fit the role of Batman so well, and who could imagine a better Joker than Nicholson portrayed? Well, let's leave the comparisons there, in the past, for The Dark Knight reinvents - and improves - these characters I remember so well.
Christian Bale continues his role as our hero of the night, and his performance here is at least as good as in Batman Begins. Bale has a fresh, realistic portrayal of Bruce Wayne / Batman. We see that Bruce does struggle with being Batman, and that he believes Batman should have "no limits." Bruce quickly discovers that there are limits to what he can do, and we watch painfully as he struggles with this conflict. Yes, I am being intentionally vague here - I do not want to spoil any bit of the plot!
Heath Ledger is brilliant as the Joker. As I watched him walk about crazily in the mayhem he created, it was hard to imagine that anyone else could portray this villain. He really transforms himself into the character - and when you add on the makeup and special effects, he is unrecognizable. I enjoyed every second of seeing him on screen. In fact, it would seem that most of the movie goers who were around me seemed to enjoy his performance! I could go on and talk in depth on this character, and everything that I liked, but I do not want to spoil it for those who may not have seen this movie.
Another thing that Dark Knight continues with so well are the gadgets. These are much more believable than what was around back when Keaton donned the black suit. For instance, there's the cape with memory stiffness so Batman can glide. Also, the design of the Batmobile and Bat Bike are believable. Then there is the use of popular technology for surveillance that makes this seem all the more plausible.
Growing up, I remember the first modern Batman movie with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. That was my first ever PG-13 movie (thanks mom and dad!) to see in the theater, and I was blown away with how good it was back then. Keaton seemed to fit the role of Batman so well, and who could imagine a better Joker than Nicholson portrayed? Well, let's leave the comparisons there, in the past, for The Dark Knight reinvents - and improves - these characters I remember so well.
Christian Bale continues his role as our hero of the night, and his performance here is at least as good as in Batman Begins. Bale has a fresh, realistic portrayal of Bruce Wayne / Batman. We see that Bruce does struggle with being Batman, and that he believes Batman should have "no limits." Bruce quickly discovers that there are limits to what he can do, and we watch painfully as he struggles with this conflict. Yes, I am being intentionally vague here - I do not want to spoil any bit of the plot!
Heath Ledger is brilliant as the Joker. As I watched him walk about crazily in the mayhem he created, it was hard to imagine that anyone else could portray this villain. He really transforms himself into the character - and when you add on the makeup and special effects, he is unrecognizable. I enjoyed every second of seeing him on screen. In fact, it would seem that most of the movie goers who were around me seemed to enjoy his performance! I could go on and talk in depth on this character, and everything that I liked, but I do not want to spoil it for those who may not have seen this movie.
Another thing that Dark Knight continues with so well are the gadgets. These are much more believable than what was around back when Keaton donned the black suit. For instance, there's the cape with memory stiffness so Batman can glide. Also, the design of the Batmobile and Bat Bike are believable. Then there is the use of popular technology for surveillance that makes this seem all the more plausible.
So, here we have great characters, excellent plot, and an immense amount of action. What does this equal? One of the best summer blockbuster movies to come along in quite some time! Also, this would have to be one of the best (maybe the best) Batman movie to date!
Anyone who has not seen this movie yet, I highly recommend seeing it in the theater. If it is still showing at your local IMAX, then be sure to see it, for you will be amazed at how much IMAX content there is!
