Batman: The Dark Knight

For the past few years in Hollywood there has been an unfortunate trend when it comes to the blockbuster film releases, actually movies in general: the trailers have the best scenes from the movie, therefore the celluloid falls very short. If you can squeeze the best elements of a film into a 60 second trailer you are in trouble my friend. Word of mouth travels fast and furious. The first time I saw the trailer for "Batman: The Dark Knight," I had the same apprehension - can it really live up to the incredible hype and media crunch? Christian Bale (American Psycho, The Machinist) is back (thankfully) as the caped crusader. I dare to say, in my opinion he is the best actor to wear the cape thus far. Michael Caine (my second favorite actor) also returns as Alfred, Batman aka Bruce Wayne's faithful servant, friend and confidant. Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman have also returned reprising their roles from the previous Batman release. Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) joins the cast as a do-good politician who come hell or high water is going to clean up Gotham City of all the mob activity and dirty/grimy criminal underbelly. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes finds herself torn between Bruce Wayne (former ex-boyfriend - she knows his dark secret) and Dent, the new flame. So far, truly a great ensemble cast. Last but not least is the man who had the daunting task of filling (sort of) Jack Nicholson's role as The Joker from the first Batman film, Heath Ledger. Right from the get go I wasn't so sure about the casting of Mr. Ledger. After all, I knew what everyone else knew - he starred in "Brokeback Mountain." Which is about as far from Batman as you can get on the genre meter. However after seeing that first little glimpse of a movie trailer I knew instinctively this was not going to be the 'usual' comic book adaptation thrown onto the big screen. Ledger looked menacing from the start. This was going to a deeply dark movie experience. That is something I was not wrong about.

Anyone who grew up with the Batman TV series knew of its campy ness. It was fun back in the day, but that was a long time ago. Storytelling and special effects have taken films into places we never dreamed of just ten years ago. The first film installment of Batman directed by cinematic master Tim Burton added darkness to the film that hasn't been reproduced since. Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman was totally believable as the bruiting tortured superhero. Jack Nicholson was the perfect nemesis as The Joker. It's in the eyebrows I tell ya. Jack made the movie fun as well as disturbing. The true magic of an actor is to make the audience forget they are watching a 'performance.' As the audience you have to truly believe the character you're watching. Few actors have been able to pull this off: Brando in the "Godfather," Anthony Hopkins, (The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal,) and now Heath Ledger. His twisted portrayal of The Joker unbelievably almost makes Nicholson himself look like a cartoon of the role he played. Where Nicholson was too light with the one liners, Ledger raised the bar on 'crazy' in this role. It is very sad and unfortunate that his life ended much too short. He didn't get to see and enjoy his final role and its effects on the millions of movie goers who walked out of the theater with amazement on their faces and awe in their eyes. God speed Heath, you left one heck of a legacy with "Batman: The Dark Knight." Of course there are the whispers about his own state of mind while playing the role and the toll it took on his psyche. That is all debatable now. He did mention himself in interviews that he was totally immersed in the role and it took on a life of its own. Method acting, sometimes a wonder concept, sometimes a curse. There has already been Oscar buzz in regards to his portrayal of The Joker for Best Supporting Actor. After seeing his performance he's got my vote. You won't be able to take your eyes on him while he's on screen. And when he's not present you can't help but wonder where he is, what he's doing, what he's planning. There has already been talk about who will reprise this role for future releases, Johnny Depp being one of the names kicked around. Time will only tell.

In "Batman: The Dark Knight," we find our hero once again on the edge of good and evil in regards to public perception. Is he really the hero we've all been waiting for? Can he really save Gotham City from itself? He does in this film to a degree with a little help from his friends. Oldman (Commissioner Gordon) is once again in Batman's corner; Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) is the gadget wizard with whom Batman may or may not have a real fighting chance. As I mentioned briefly Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) is the new hot shot District Attorney whose main aim is to rid Gotham of the mob and its hold on the city. Eric Roberts is convincing as one of the main mob guys who's out to end Batman's illustrious interfering with business. But there is more here than meets the eye. After all, criminals are everywhere and take on various familiar forms and disguises. Ledger is truly a despicable, evil dude that doesn't tell jokes and certainly isn't playing around when it comes to ridding the world of Batman or anyone else who gets in his way. There is a lot of gunfire and explosions in this installment, mostly due to the Joker. There really is no insight on this bad guy accept his own recollections of his father ("Want to know how I got these scars?") or his wife - there's no telling which story is the truth, possibly neither. There is that smirk under his demented clown make-up that is ever present and haunting.

On of the true surprises of the film, and no I'm not going to play spoiler is Dent's own metamorphisis after certain events in the film. The revenge factor is constantly present in the second half of the film. Director Christopher Nolan did an excellent job in pulling performances from his actors. The look and feel of the film itself is quite a marvel. Nolan and cast can boast the their little film that could broke the box office record of the single biggest opening in movie history - it is estimated it will gross over $300 Million in its first 11 days of release. After that the sky is the limit. Not only is it playing in 'regular' theaters but it's also running in the Imax form. That will be my stop next week. To see his phenomenon on an Imax screen will undoubtedly be an experience I along with countless others will soon not forget. If you're going to see only one movie this summer season "Batman: The Dark Knight," is the only to plunk your hard earned money down on. It is well worth every penny.