Alright, so "Dark Knight" just may be the best thing to happen to the motion picture industry since, well, sound. To say that it is the best comic book film adaptation ever is a bit of an understatement. It has been breaking records left and right since it opened last friday. For example: It broke the record for biggest opening weekend in box office history with a staggering $158.4 million. This officially kicks "Spiderman 3" off of the pedestal for biggest opening (thank christ for that). The real buzz about this film is Heath Ledger's performance as everyone's favorite clown super-villain. Now, i have to confess that when i first heard that Ledger was signed as The Joker, i was a bit disappointed. I really didn't think he could do the role justice and i think the wounds were still fresh from "Brokeback Mountain." But I was simply blown away by his performance. Ledger truly transforms into his role. Not one second are we looking at Heath Ledger, we get nothing but
the joker from start to finish. It made me realize just how complex The Joker's character is. He is nothing but pure evil incarnate. Just evil for evil's sake.
Ledger really embodies the darker side of the joker that can be found in Alan Moore's graphic novel, "The Killing Joke." He's the kind of super-villain that has no agenda, no plan, and no real reason for doing what he does. the only thing that motivates him is the fact that he finds what he does to be funny. And that is what is truly terrifying about him.
The writing in this film is also quite hard to ignore. I loved how they didn't give The Joker any one "real" backstory. He just appears out of nowhere. And I noticed something the second time i saw this film (yes that's right i've seen it more than once and it hasn't even been out a full week yet.) When HTe Joker is telling each of the three stories about, "how I got these scars," he is looking way up in the corner of his eyes. He is so clearly making it up as he goes along. This was the nail in the coffin for me that made me truly love Ledger's performance. This Has "oscar winning performance" written all over it. And not for "best supporting actor" either. Ledger truly steals the film with his performance. The Joker is the star of this picture.
Another thing that is very hard to ignore about this picture is Aaron Eckhart's performance as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Somewhere, Tommy Lee Jones is blushing. We really get the duality of Dent with Eckhart's performance. He is the true fallen hero, and not just some campy, flamboyantly dressed weirdo. I also want to meet whoever the hell made his prothetic for the Two-Face scenes. Gross! And at the same time: Totally Awesome!
Dark Knight has truly redeemed the batman legacy in film. I think it is safe to say that we have finally made up for the cinematic CRIMES that Joel Shumacher committed in the late 90s. So If you haven't seen this film yet, please go see it. Twice. and bring all of your friends. Because it's going to be a while before we see a good movie around here again. Savour the moment.
