Today the movie The Dark Knight opened in theaters, to massive success. The sequel to Batman Begins took in a record-smashing $18.5 million on its first night, surpassing the previous midnight champion, Star Wars Episode III (which sold $16.9 million opening night). I saw just returned from seeing the movie, and I have to say that I was very impressed. The Joker (above), played by the late Heath Ledger, was very impressive. He was definitely very scary, and indeed seemed to be extremely unstable. I need to re-watch Jack Nicholson’s Joker performance to really decide whether Ledger is the best Joker, but it certainly seems at the moment like he succeeded in being more frightening, less stable, and just a better Joker overall. Caution: Spoilers follow.
Two-Face was possibly even more interesting, if only because we are treated to his origin story as well as his demise, in a glaring twist on the original canon of Batman, Two-Face dies after dramatically killing 6 people, instead of providing a full-on nemesis for Batman. I particularly enjoyed watching his obsession with his “lucky coin” develop, from the first time we see it as simply an heirloom from his father through its evolution into deciding whether men and women live or die. Also I didn’t see the connection between Dent being Gotham’s “White Knight” and Batman being Gotham’s “Dark Knight” until the very, very end when Commissioner Gordon said it, but when I realized it it was a very very awesome moment indeed.
Obviously, the two movies to compare The Dark Knight to are Batman Begins (the predecessor of this film), and Iron Man (the most recent quality superhero movie to hit theaters). Compared to Batman Begins, this movie was just as good, if not better. One thing I didn’t like about Begins was the quality of the effects used. They seemed plasticky and not-quite-real-enough at best, something Knight gets around easily. The effects of the new movie are toned down a lot from the first one, but what is there is top-notch.
Compared to Iron Man, the movie was better in some ways, and lesser in others. Both films were highly anticipated, and both were amazing. The difference is in the style with which they each amaze. Iron Man was awesome. Most of the scenes make you go “wow”. The non-stop action, the amazing visual effects, everything was what I would describe as awesome. It felt like a much more glorious film. Everything shined, and sped along, and exploded and was flashy and loud and awesome. The Dark Knight was different, in that it wasn’t necessarily awesome at all times, and it certainly wasn’t glorious. I think that Knight was much deeper than Iron Man, in that it actually provoked other emotions besides awe. The Dark Knight had me on the edge of my seat for practically the whole movie. There were moments (particularly when Rachel dies) when I felt for the people on-screen, and there were times when I hated them, and I was supposed to hate them. Characters were able to actually scare me. About half-way through I started shivering with fear and anticipation, and I hardly stopped until the credits finished rolling. I can’t say the same thing about Iron Man.
I don’t watch many “real” movies, that is to say the sort that win Oscars, but I think that The Dark Knight is definitely going to be a winner this year. Two thumbs up.