As you might guess from the title, I saw The Dark Knight. I managed to stay remarkably spoiler-free beforehand, so there were some twists I was NOT expecting. Great movie, but I’ll keep the real details for after the jump (to help keep others unspoiled)…
Where to begin? This is a seriously great cast. Heath Ledger deserves all of the praises he got for this role, as he was able to mix the insane mirth of the Joker with the fact that he would have to be smart enough to have survived in the world long enough to get to where he is. I LOVED that they kept the bit from the comics about him never telling the same story about his ‘origin’ (more of a jab at the telling and re-telling that comics do).
Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent really made me believe (as Bruce Wayne did) that he was a genuinely good person, who was thrown headfirst into madness by the Joker’s schemes. His cavalier attitude towards an attempt on his life in open court start things right for him, making this rival for Rachel’s affections likable from the beginning. Made a very good Two-Face as well.
Bale was solid as Batman/Bruce Wayne, though really, this movie moved around the villains and the secondary characters (including Gordon). I still feel the voice he puts on for Batman is silly, but beyond that, I’m still buying in.
Gary Oldman as Commisioner Gordon was a scene stealer. The showdown at the end with Two-Face (holding a gun to various members of Jim’s family) just about brought a tear to my eye. That could just be the Daddy-ness talking, though.
Michael Caine returns as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox both play their parts well, I just love these two on screen. Their roles are small, but seem very important, which to me shows they know how to get the point across with little dialogue. Lucius Fox ‘out-foxing’ the guy who wants to spill Wayne’s secret is hilarious, and it’s mostly done with Freeman’s face and eyes.
Rachel Dawes was much better here, in no small part thanks to Maggie Gyllenhaal. Unlike Katie Holmes, I really felt like she could hold her own on screen with someone like Michael Caine or even Aaron Eckhart. Great hip sway, too. Nice. Where was I?
Right, movie. What didn’t I like? The cell phone sonar thing was lame. Scarecrow was absolutely wasted in this. There’s a great bit in the comics between him and the Joker, really hoped it was in this. Oh well.
I’d probably have to see it again to pick out some more stuff, but I enjoyed it immensely. Go see it now if you haven’t already (most of you have, judging by the box office so far).
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