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- Review count1
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- First reviewJuly 23, 2008
- Last reviewJuly 23, 2008
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- Average rating5
Deluge's Reviews
Overall rating
5
/
5
Swan Song
PostedJuly 23, 2008
Deluge
from Tampa FL
A dash of Depp, a modicum of Malkovich, and a whole lotta Ledger, simmer slowly and you've got the Joker the way he was intended. If you're sick of reading and hearing about how great Heath Ledger was in The Dark Knight, fasten your seat belt because you are about to hear more. There will be no debate about whether Nicholson was better. He wasn't. Gone are the days of the laughing Caesar Romero of a Joker. This is a twisted, scary, psychotic killer of a Joker. I may even have nightmares about him. Had Heath Ledger lived he may never have been able to play another part. This was the performance of a lifetime. A change in the way we see Batman is afoot as well. The Dark Knight becomes just that, an outlaw of a hero, misunderstood and reviled. The transition is handled skillfully in this film continuing where Batman Begins ended and subtlety morphing into the hero Gotham City deserves but doesn't need. The old guys, Freeman and Caine, these guys should make a movie together, oh wait, they have, are terrific reprising their roles but the love interest, Rachel, has changed. I was never a fan of Katie Holmes but Maggie Gyllenhaal, although a better actress is a bit too homely and unconvincing in this role. On the other hand Aaron Eckhart, who up until now has failed to impress me, is outstanding as Harvey Dent the District Attorney. The Dark Knight has its share of Bat Gadgets (including a mondo bizarro motorcycle) and action but the real departure is in the darkness and character development. The film teeters on the edge of being true film noir. It is definitely not for children no matter how many toy tie-ins Walmart may have for sale. The pulp fiction - graphic novel nature of these stories makes for a new genre of film entertainment for adults and I welcome it. At two and a half hours The Dark Knight is long but wouldn't seem so but for the several possible endings before the real, and proper one. If this franchise continues in this direction I can see Christian Bale really making Batman his character. It's both too bad and yet somehow comforting to know we won't be seeing Ledger's Joker again.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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