One Dark Knight

Victor and Tiny and I headed to see The Dark Knight last night at midnight. It was absolutely worth the hype. It was sold out for 5 showings at our theater. We couldn't all sit together and we were relatively early.

Excepting Liam Neeson, all the big names were back and then some. Christian Bale returned, Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain, and Gary Oldman. They gave the movie another boost by replacing Katie Homes with Maggie Gyllenhal, who was a much more believable feisty ADA. In addition, Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking) entered as Harvey Dent, the Gotham DA. He was phenomenal, an exceptional choice for the role.

As many people probably went to see Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, i doubt anyone left disappointed. He was totally unrecognizable and an absolutely deliciously demonic adversary. He took the film to another level of scariness, tragedy, pain, and hatred that the character was meant to embody. It was astounding. There's nothing that induces fear and hatred of a character like a truly believable villain. Ledger will go down in film history for this.

In addition to a superb cast, that also drew a tremendous number of character actors, the story was exceptional. It indeed picked up where the other had left off and covered a lot of the essential story of Batman. It didn't neglect the lore and storyline in favor of action, and yet was one of the most action-packed movies i've ever seen. It covered the topic of vigilante copy-cats, the rise of Commissioner Gordon and the friendship of Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne. It addressed the limits of Batman's power and justice within the bounds of the criminal justice system. It broke other boundaries, as Batman traveled to Hong Kong in the film.

As an action film, it does not disappoint, even for a moment. The gadgets are more intense and sexier than the first film. The action sequences are mind-blowing. You could tell how surprised people were in the packed theater. As a person with a real concept for "this isn't real," and never being surprised or scared by movies, i jumped a number of times in shock and surprise last night, a rare delight. Do not take your mother to see this. It was intense, dark, scary, and gut-wrenching. i give it five stars, and that goes to only maybe 3 movies i've seen the past 5 years.

Go see it.

No scene after the credits.

Super tempting preview: Christian Bale, next summer, Terminator