This past weekend, I trekked up to Addison to join my buds HP Sauce (of Randomosity and the Girl fame) and BLN for dinner (drinks) and a movie at Studio Movie Grill. It is beginning to be a regular thing for HP Sauce and I and now that BLN has joined us, our little circle of hilarity is complete. We had a blast. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a bit. Good buds that you can be yourself with - there's just nothing better.
So we decided to watch the Dark Knight and due to the hype we kept reading, we decided to pre-order our tickets. Good thing - the theater was packed!
So the hype, we all heard about how great this film was going to be way back in February and began to hear rumors of Oscar nods to Heath Ledger for his role as the Joker shortly after his passing. The cynic in me dreaded watching this film for fear of finding out that the hype was just that - hype.
Two and a half hours later, when the credits rolled up, all I could do was sit there in amazement for a moment. For once, the cynic in me had nothing to chortle about. The film lived up to ever bit of the hype. I was astounded, astonished, amazed - basically unable to think of enough alliterative words to decribe my state.
The Batman: I've always had a thing for Christian Bale, or maybe just Chirstian Bale's abs. No, definitely the whole package. He's a great actor, chooses interesting roles that are well suited to him and is gorgeous. As the Batman, he is nothing to scoff at and in this film, he delivered as usual, however, he was overshadowed by -
The Joker: We all knew Heath Ledger was a wonderful actor with a bright and promising future, but I never saw him come alive in a role the way he did as the Joker. Every head shake, every quirk and mannerism, every well-timed, nuanced and crafted phrase was another peek into the psyche of a bigger-than-life, but strangely, very realistic villain and madman. At the end of the film, I was left wanting more. I wanted to know more about what drove him to that place in life and whether any of his strange testimonies of heartbreak leading to a carved up face were real or all lies. I am sure there are plenty of Batman fans out there who know the story of the Joker from his birth to death, but I am just a casual Batfan, so bear with me if I am ill-informed. This review is about this movie specifically, not about the whole Batman story/franchise.
Best Scene in the film: The Joker's exodus from the hospital. Hilarious in very small ways and some really big ways.
All together, the acting was incredible, the music score phenominal and the pacing was surprisingly good for a 2 1/2 hour movie with not one, but two villianous plot lines and more connected scenes that I can even remember.
This is a keeper and the best film I have seen thus far this year. 4.75 winks out of 5.
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