"The Dark Knight" in a Nutshell...

Here's my take on "The Dark Knight," (and even if you don't like movies, see this one anyway)-I don't spoil anything that happens in the movie in what I wrote>>Read on::

If you haven't yet, I suggest you see "The Dark Knight." Heath Ledger's performance will give your unborn children nightmares, and thinking about that statement, I'm not sure any other film of the past 10 or 20 years could conjure up a similar thought. If you like seeing shit blow up, this is your movie. If you like seeing suspensful, edge-of-your-seat action, suspense and anticipation projected onto a huge movie screen with great actors, this is your movie. If you like seeing the most thought-provoking, adrenaline-pumping story go by in what seems like a flash of 2 and a half hours this is your movie. If you like seeing Morgan Freeman being, Morgan Freeman, this is your movie.

I'd like to compare this to other superhero/comic book movies of the past but it really can't be done, and wouldn't serve justice to this great film. The only negative thoughts this film conjured up after walking out of it, was that you are likely to never again see another film be so completely hyped up for nearly a year and talked about, that actually lives up to all of it's hype. Amazingly, this movie lived up to the hype and possibly surpassed it. The saddest part about it is we'll never get to see what kind of films Heath Ledger would make after this one. Though the film may not have made as much of a ridiculous amount of money had he not died, his performance still speaks for itself. A recent comparison might be Javier Bardem's performance in "No Country for Old Men" on crack.

This is such a great film that's easily outdone every other film with a similar audience this summer: Iron Man, Hellboy 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Meth.In the past 30 or so years since the first "Superman" movie, "The Dark Knight" has raised the bar for every superhero film before it, including X-Men, Spiderman, and the original Batman from 1989, and raised the bar for every film to come after it.

The director, Christopher Nolan, made another great film almost 10 years ago on his road to "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." It was called "Memento," and it was equally thought-provoking, probably even more than his Batman films, but it's interesting to look back on how he came to this point. His ability to draw out a story with great twists and turns that the smartest of audiences couldn't predict are what keeps his films exciting. With the biggest of blockbuster films like "The Dark Knight," he's still managed to surprise an audience that would typically have the film figured out. His film between the two Batmans, "The Prestige" is also worth a look, and probably stands beside "Batman Begins" though both are just slight indications of the fullest potential he reaches on "The Dark Knight."

Even Aaron Eckhart, who I thought was a pretty one-dimensional actor before this, gave a great performance. In looking at all the performances of the film, Ledger, Eckhart, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman, you realize they can be so great because the story they are telling is equally great, which makes their transformations into their characters seamless.If one film could transform the comic book genre into some sort of Academy Award inducing, mega-blockbuster hybrid hit machine, "The Dark Knight" is it. If this is not the film to break barriers like those, I'm convinced it can never be done. Well, unless they come out with some comic book about the industrialization of America in the 20th century that actually sells enough to garner a movie adaptation. That would happen at about the same time as hell freezing over and Morgan Freeman starring in a Willie Nelson biopic titled "On the Road Again." So, yeah, if "The Dark Knight" doesn't take home some serious Oscars outside of the usual visual effects/sound editing categories, it'll never happen; not to say that's a bad thing.

Bottom line is, if you're still reading this, get your ass up out of your chair and see this movie!!!

6/5 Stars Or
6 crazy smiley faces out of 5 Or
6 crazy card symbols out of 5 ♠♣♥♠♣♥

"Why...so...serious???"