Calaidescope World

So let's cut to the chase. Yes, I saw The Dark Knight twice. And knowing me, I'm going to see it one or two more times. The film is nothing short of brilliant. And I'm not saying that because I'm a bat-fan. I walked in with VERY high expectations. I had read early reviews that pointed to director Christopher Nolan's version of an Arkham Asylum - The Killing Joke - The Dark Knight Returns crossover (all of which are my favorite Batman graphic novels). And it certainly did not disappoint. In fact, The Dark Knight was so much better than I expected. It's dark (duh). It's heavy. It gave my nephew Tristan nightmares.

And all the hype surrounding Heath Ledger's stellar performance as The Joker is not hype. No one is saying he was good because he's dead. He really was good! I found it truly Oscar-worthy (if anything, Ledger will at least win "Best Villain" at the MTV Movie Awards). I can still hear his maniacal laughter in my head. It was like he got the best of Mark Hamill's animated Joker and combined it with Hannibal Lecter. Wicked! He owned that movie. As fantastic as Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Aaran Eckhart were, The Dark Knight was Ledger's. Now I've been a fan of Bale's since Empire of the Sun, but if I had to determine who would get top billing, I'd have listed Heath Ledger first, Christian Bale second. Bale did well. He's perfectly cast and his acting was flawless (but can someone please tell me why he kept talking like Kiko Matsing?). In fact, everyone was perfect. But Ledger? Creepy. Haunting. Enduring.

I like how we got to see more screentime for Bale as Bruce Wayne. And when he's brooding...Christian Bale broods so well ;) I like how Alfred has a "history". Maggie Gyllenhaal wasn't bad. In fact, I'm glad she took over Katie Holmes' role (not as a cute, but definitely a more convincing actress). I thought that the character of Harvey Dent was better established and played out here (much better origin story), and that Eckhart played it slightly better than Tommy Lee Jones. Despite the limited screen time, I felt that Freeman's and Oldman's characters had grown and really opened up. The action scenes were a bit lacking, but I like how Nolan played out Batman's humanity. Hans Zimmer's score was great, especially the relatively quiet scenes where The Joker does his monologues. Gars, Miggy, Lilit and I like that shot with The Joker riding the police car with his head out the window - it says so much about his "philosophy" with the so little. I could go on and on and on about how much I *LOVE* this movie. It's not perfect, but it knocked Iron Man out of the park. The Joker is the villain to beat. The Dark Knight is definitely a must-see. Just think twice about taking the kids.

It's been a while since I've read my Batman graphic novels (I'm probably the only geek who needs to "review" to get my bat-facts straight), but was that Kingpin on the ferry? Definitely an agent of Ra's Al Guhl, but which one? Can anyone guess who the upcoming villians may be? I'm guessing The Joker will be running things from Arkham in Part Three (unseen. Unheard. Or maybe they'll get a stand-in to hide in the shadows and Mark Hamill to do the voice). I still want to know exactly how The Scarecrow got out. Or did I simply forget what happened in Batman Begins? And was it me, or were the deaths truly shocking and the love story utterly tragic?