The Dark Knight Review

Hype:  The Dark Knight is probably the movie I have been the most hyped for in a very long time, if not ever.  I remember being very sceptical about the casting of Heath Ledger as the Joker, and now they are talking about him getting an Oscar nomination.  Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face sounded great to me especially after seeing him in Thank You For Smoking.  Then with the rest of the cast coming back, minus Katie Holmes which is probably for the best, how could this movie go wrong?  

I have been completely sucked into the viral campaign for this film.  Never before have I seen a movie that made so many websites and phone numbers to make the fans seem like they are actually part of the movie.  Whether it's been getting phone calls from Harvey Dent, voting in the Gotham election or calling some Gotham hotel to try and receive a package, all aspects have made it feel real.  With everything that has been done for this movie it is hard to not excited for it.

Christian Bale is probably my favorite actor right now and Christopher Nolan is probably one of my favorite directors out.  I can hardly contain my excitement for this movie.

Initial Review:  Blown away, that's how I feel about The Dark Knight.  Everything about this movie is amazing and epic.  The Dark Knight isn't just a comic book movie done right, it's a crime drama done right, almost to perfection.  For those that don't know, you would have to be living in space not to, The Dark Knight is the sequel to Batman Begins.  With Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale gave the Batman franchise a reboot and showed what Batman movies should be like.  With The Dark Knight, they raised the bar and took it to the next level, showing how comic book movies should be made.

The Dark Knight picks up pretty much right where Batman Begins left off.  Gotham is pretty much being controlled by two feuding mobs and one man decides they should join forces.  Who's that man you ask?  Well it just so happens to be the Joker, played to perfection by Heath Ledger.  The thing with the Joker is that he doesn't care about the money and power that would come with bringing the mobs together, he only cares about the death and destruction it would cause.  When you watch the Joker you can just see and feel how truly insane he is.  Heath did an amazing job with the Joker.  He is absolutely crazy and you just can't help but love every minute of it.  In fact a lot of the time I felt like I had a permanent smile while watching him.  You can't help but get completely sucked in.

Trying to stop the Joker is the newly elected district attorney, Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart.  Harvey is determined to bring down the mob, the Joker and all of the corrupt cops in the Gotham police department.  To help aid him, Harvey looks to Lieutenant James Gordon, played by Gary Oldman, and Batman.  Batman is eager to assist Harvey.  He knows that if Harvey can be the focal point of cleaning up Gotham, he, Bruce Wayne, can get back with his life-long love, Rachel Dawes, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal.  The problem with Bruce getting back together with Rachel, is that she is actually dating Harvey.  Batman, Gordon, and Harvey take to the streets and do everything possible to bring down the Joker, even if it means hurting the ones they love.

There is a lot going on in The Dark Knight, but it never feels like it's too much.  All of the different story lines that happen are all very important and a joy to experience.  Everything flows really well and keeps you on the edge of your seat, there is never a dull moment.  It is really hard to find a negative thing to say about this movie.  The characters are incredible and acted extremely well.  The action scenes are mind blowing and not filled with a ton of CGI, most in fact have no CGI at all.  I can't even begin to count the number of times I was like "No Way!!!!!  Did that just happen?".  The story is amazing.  It doesn't even feel like a comic book movie, feels more like a Godfather or GoodFellas-type movie.  

This is one of those films where you can't stop talking about it.  You wanna talk about all the twists and turns.  You wanna talk about the Joker and how terrifying he is.  You wanna talk about all the action and the "How did they do that?" moments.  The Dark Knight is everything I wanted it to be and more.  If you are a fan of movies, you have to see this film.  If you are like me, once is not enough though.  Don't waste your time with the other movies out there, see The Dark Knight immediately and enjoy yourself.  The Dark Knight will be the best time you have had at the movies in a long time.