The Dark Knight

I don't normally go to see a movie more than once in the theaters, even if I rarely have to pay for watching theatrical releases, there's usually just no appeal for seeing the same movie more than once in such a short period of time. For many movies, I'm usually ready to give them another spin around the time they hit video. So, if I see a movie more than once in the theater, it's usually because either someone else I know still hasn't seen it and wants to, or because it was just an amazing movie. My second viewing of The Dark Knight stemmed from both.

It's been a long time since I reviewed Batman Begins. I liked it, it was, in my opinion, the best Batman movie to date, but there were plenty of things that I didn't like about it, but it was done well, and was a blockbuster release, and had a lot of things going for it. My biggest problem with that movie was Christian Bale. I love Christian Bale's work, and he makes a fantastic Bruce Wayne, but as soon as he dons the cowel and starts growling like a death metal signer, I just hated it.

Such is the issue I have with him in the new film. Apart from the gutteral growl he uses as his Batman voice, there's something very unnatural about the way his mouth moves, which you can see in much of his work, but it becomes all the more pronounced when only his mouth is outlined by as mask.

In addition, there are things that happen in this film that just make me want to groan, and in a lesser film, I would probably have been more apt to consider them as the film's failing, but in this case, they can be overlooked. I refer to certain clichès and extreme coincidence that are somehow more acceptable in this film than in any other.

The primary reason for this movie's success is the absolutely flawless performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. It was perfect in a way I can't remember seeing in a very long time. Every line, every mannerism, every movement, everything was executed perfectly. It's truly sad that we'll never have the opportunity to see it again, but I don't know that it could have been possible to match or even exceed this role anyway, so that maybe it's better that it can't happen.

There are so many other things that I could say about this film, but really, it's just best that you go see it, if you haven't already. It is truly the best Batman movie ever made, and one the the best films ever made in general.