Dark Knight, Light of Day

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2008)

There was a LOT of hype about this movie, which I tried to quell. My husband and I watched our owned copy of "Batman Begins" again last night. The excitement set in, and even though we were going to wait one more weekend (in hopes that crowds would be a little smaller), we could not wait to get to the theater this morning. Yep...this morning. We prefer to watch movies with other courteous moviegoers, no children (unless it's a child's movie), and no one kicking the backs of our reclining seats at our favorite theater in Houston.
I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. The previews felt like an eternity to sit through when normally, I don't mind them.
Let me say that this movie, unlike the first, has completely unexpected surprises, so much so, that I looked like the typical moviegoer from a teen movie where the teens are watching a scary movie and react in very melodramatic and campy ways. Although, my reactions were very sincere. Don't get me wrong--the first movie was fantastic and had many surprises. But this one...let's just say I LOVE it when a sequel outdoes the first because it is SO RARE!
A couple of times, I had to close my eyes. And several times during the movie, I was LITERALLY on the edge of my seat, leaning over the chair in front me with my hands over my mouth. (Luckily, no one was in the row in front of us--it was GREAT!) I realize that Heath Ledger is receiving so much posthumous praise, and it's not enough to be honest. As I'm sitting here writing this, almost 12 hours after seeing the movie, his performance is still disturbing. Yes, I wrote disturbing. My husband and I always discuss movies once we're back in our car leaving the theater. He and I talked about it for several minutes, and then, without warning, I told him I felt stupid because I started to cry. I've always loved Heath Ledger as a performer, and even more so, respected and empathized with his feelings about fame and attention. I haven't seen "Brokeback Mountain" yet, either, even though up until this point, everyone has said it's his finest performance.
I basically told my husband that I felt stupid; after all, I never knew Heath Ledger other than characters he played on the screen. But I felt a tremendously overwhelming heaviness of bittersweet. The world really did lose one of the best ever to appear on film. He was brilliant as The Joker.
And even though many probably want to see the film because of his passing, I and my husband wanted to see the film in spite of his passing. The other performances in the film are also brilliant. Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal...ALL OUTSTANDING.
The storyline is fantastic, action is great, and as I left the theater, I knew this movie would be one I would want to return to the theater to see again.
I haven't felt this way about a movie in a LONG time. I know how the first round of "Batman" movies were made, and they had their place. Quite honestly, there was nothing in those movies that drew me in, kept me loyal, "hooked me". "Batman Begins", and now even more so with "The Dark Knight" has my loyalty for years and years to come.
Chris Nolan shines, too, even from behind the camera.
ENJOY! -s-