Thursday night I finally saw the newest installment of the Batman movie series, Dark Knight.  It is Heath Ledger’s final movie role before his tragic death.  I must say as a fan of the comic books and comic strip, this was a great movie.  I must admit that I was a skeptic.  I was skeptic that Ledgers role as the Joker wasn’t going to be the same quality as Jack Nicholson in 1989.  I was skeptic that the storyline wasn’t going to live up to the sequel quality that Batman deserves.  I was skeptic that this would be another failed attempt to keep the young Hollywood types engrossed in a movie that should have been released 20 years ago.  I was wrong!  I am happy that I was wrong.

I must say the storyline of this movie was great.  According to Batman legend, this was to be the 1st encounter between Batman and the Joker.  This is where the dramatic battle between good and evil starts.  Dark Knight was in true comic book form.  It gave a realistic picture of our cape crusader fighting evil crime lords.  The greatness of the movie is the special effects didn’t over power the movie.  The special effects were very realistic.  It wasn’t a leap into some futuristic world.  They were very believable.

The main actors, Christian Bale/Batman and Heath Ledger, did a great job with their character development.  Batman has historically had the best actors to play the part.  They’ve never had actors that were bigger than the role.  That’s a credit to the writers, actors, and even the directors.  Christian Bale had his bright moments in the spotlight.  The one thing that bothered me throughout the movie is the voice.  Batman’s voice seem to be distorted like some fake super hero.  I began to wonder if they couldn’t develop some kind of special effect to make his voice sound deeper and smoother.  It seemed a bit to raspy for my taste.  By the end of the movie I was completely worn down.

The part of the Joker was played by Heath Ledger.  I must say it was his finest moment on the big screen.  I no longer view him as the guy from 10 Things I Hate About You or that other cowboy/mountain range movie, which will remain nameless on IDW. haha  The fact is, I’ve always viewed Jack Nicholson as the best Joker.  I stand corrected.  Move over Jack, there’s a new kid in town.  Heath Ledger.  I expected Heath to overplay the role and attempt to take it in a new or different direction.  To his credit, he did the exact opposite.  He blended the Jack Joker with the Heath Joker and it was genius.  There were times where I could see him emulating things that the Joker did 20 years ago in the previous Batman.  He also did a lot of new things that the made the character come to life.  Between the two, I’ll have to wait another 10 years before I can truly say which one was the best.  Great job Heath, you went out on top.

Now for all the comic strip fans, the return of Two-Face was great.  In the previous movies we’ve never knew how Two-Face was created.  Tommy Jones played a great role, but the history was never told.  As a true comic fan, I realized 20 minutes into the film who he was.  You have to play close attention to detail, but it’s all there.  Aaron Eckhart finest moments didn’t come until the last 30 minutes of the movie.  That was when he became the long term villain named Two-Face.  Once again, the writers took their time to give you clues and keep you tuned into the movie and story.

I could go on and on.  I could break down every single actor/actress in the movie but I won’t.  I’ll leave some of that for you to see at the theater.  I will say this.  The weakest character in the film was the love interest, Maggie Gyllenhaal/Rachel Dawes.  I didn’t think she did her role justice.  I think every super hero deserves a woman of beauty.  I think every villain craves a woman of beauty.  I don’t think they cast the best woman for the job.  It would’ve been great to see Beyonce’ in that role.  Can you imagine Batman, the Dark Knight, being in a interracial relationship?  Can you imagine Two-Face seeking revenge over the IR love of a black woman?  That would have been the greatest movie twist of the year!  Oh well, just my opinion.

I recommend this movie to all who love action hero movies and everything they have to offer.  I’m sure I will see this movie again, at full price.  This is a definite DVD must.

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