The Darkest Knight

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2008)

Watch out what you wish for, it might come true.
I wanted another Batman that was as deadly serious as "Batman Begins". I wanted a Joker like the one from Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" & Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke". I wanted Harvey Dent.
"The Dark Knight" grants these wishes almost too well. It is a very troubling movie where our hero fights the good fight only to see the fight get bigger and murkier in every round. This is mythical stuff --Nordic myth!
This film --this work of cinematic art-- set a real bad buzz in my head as I walked out of the theatre utterly silent and somewhat uncomprehending. I was depressed and still am 24 hours later (though it is wearing off).
TDK gets better & better the more you think about it.
The performances are universally top notch, but, of course, the performance that everybody is talking about is Heath Ledger's The Joker.
Whatever you've heard & whatever you've read cannot prepare you for what you experience. If Javier Bardem can win an Oscar for his bad guy turn then Ledger's Oscar is a sure lock. It is elementary. The Joker's misanthropy is beyond --maybe, way beyond-- that of Hannibal Lecter, Alex Defarge, John Doe & Keyser Sose. Of course, he will probably not get even nominated. The tragedy of his death lies (in part) in this incendiary work.
Thank You Chris & Johnathan Nolan & David Goyer and the rest of your top notch crew for the nerve to take the Batman to this very dark place.
It is tough movie to watch --experience. It is almost to much of a very bad thing. BUT WOW! You (plural) have created a masterpiece!