Questions and Answers

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2008)

Question: Is "The Dark Knight" the best "comic book movie" ever made?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Care to qualify that?
Answer: No.
Question: Does this movie live up to the ridiculous hype?
Answer: It surpasses it. However great the moviegoer may expect this to be, it's even better than that.
Question: Is Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker as great as so many claim, or are we all just being sentimental?
Answer: Impossible to say, given my own sentimentality; however, Ledger completely owns the role of the Joker now, without disrespect to Jack Nicholson. This Joker is a force of nature, and not one you want to encounter under any circumstance.
Question: Is this movie a serious contender for the Academy Award for "Best Picture?"
Answer: Absolutely. It is the best movie of the year thus far, and unlikely to be surpassed.
Question: Name one key distinction of "The Dark Knight" versus previous "comic book movies."
Answer: This story is told in the real world. Gotham City is no longer part of some fantasy land, but it's real, and it's right now. So we are forced to confront Gotham's problems ourselves.