"Best Comic Book Based Movie Ever"

Rating: 9/10 (17 July 2008)

The most anticipated movie of the year finally hits screens this Friday, both in 2-D and IMAX formats. Christian Bale returns as the mysterious and ultra rich Bruce Wayne/Batman. Violence has plagued the streets in Gotham City (which looks a lot like Chicago) and Batman teams up with Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to weed out the crime, in which a new villain arrives, played by the late Heath Ledger, the Joker, unleashing unspeakable horror and crime to the citizens of Gotham City. It becomes the Joker's mission to beat Batman at his own game, therefore making his revenge very personal as he playfully quips, "Criminals used to believe in things like honor, respect. What doesn't kill you makes you stranger". I'm totally recommending The Dark Knight to be seen on the biggest screen possible, perhaps at an IMAX screen nearest you. Watching Christopher Nolan's near masterpiece gave me a whole new level of movie-going experience and this fascinating director has definitely set the bar even higher for comic book based movies, which he had already done with his earlier film, Batman Begins. This is the first Hollywood film that used IMAX digital cameras that was partially shot in this new and improved format. I certainly experienced vertigo in certain scenes as the camera hovered above city skyscrapers such as the ones that took place in Hong Kong as Batman stood still on the corner of a building looking down.
The Dark Knight delivers in all areas. But let me for a talk for a second about the action scenes. They are definitely incredible! The death-defying stunt work looks pretty authentic and any computer generated imagery was covert and difficult to pin-point. Take for example as Batman's heavy armored vehicle loses all power and it reactivates itself into some sort of over-sized motorcycle; Batman races at breakneck speeds through tunnels and buildings then in and around a 18' wheeler, flipping it violently upside down with Bat-wires. An incredible feat that only last seconds but one where I had to catch my breath. Much has been talked about Ledger's eerie portrayal of the Joker. Ledger loses himself in this role like Marlon Brando did in The Godfather and Anthony Hopkins does in The Silence of the Lambs. It's sorrowfully chilling and definitely that good. He'll for sure be nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar as should the film for Best Picture. At over 2 1/2 hours long, this is definitely one of the longest comic book based movies, but Nolan and his editor, Lee Smith, move things along just fine. There is some fine music by two maestros, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, both Academy Award winners; they don't inundate us with heavy piercing sound through the actions scene but instead let those scenes entertain us for themselves. The cinematography and set designs are dark and moody but appropriate for this type of film. With it's technical accomplishments, very fine performances (including Morgan Freeman as technical wizard Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as butler Alfred Pennyworth) most especially by Ledger, The Dark Knight is not only one of the best films of the year (which also works splendidly as a crime thriller) but will go down in history as the best comic book based movie ever.