"The Dark Knight"

Consensus from Rotten Tomatoes: "Dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga."
In my own words? BITCHIN'.

Following 2005's "Batman Begins", "The Dark Knight" finds Batman (Christian Bale) setting out to do what he does best: fight crime. He is once again assisted by Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman), as well as a new character, District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Morgan Freeman reprises his role as Lucius Fox, Michael Caine returns as Alfred, and Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the role of Rachel Dawes. (Who was played ever so woodenly in "Batman Begins" by Mrs. Tom Cruise, aka, Katie Holmes.)

Batman, Gordon, and Dent are successfully rounding up the criminals that continue to plague Gotham City when a new villain emerges from the shadows, known only as The Joker. Cesar Romero, Heath Ledger, and Jack Nicholson have all filled The Joker's shoes, in varying shapes and forms. The makeup alone in this particular interpretation will send chills up your spine, rather than make you think you are simply watching a clown that has gone batshit.
By far, Ledger's version is THE BEST. Nearly EVERYTHING that has been said about Ledger's performance as The Joker is DEAD ON. He played this role to a "T" - dark, sinister, maniacal, and just plain crazy. Various people and sites touted, "He will make you forget Jack Nicholson ever played The Joker," but I don't know that I would necessarily go quite that far. There are similarities between the two actors' portrayals of the character, but they are few and far between. Tim Burton / Joel Schumacher's series of the Batman movies are slightly more campy, more cartoon-ish, even, than Christopher Nolan's. Not only has The Joker become progressively darker and more sinister, the movies as a whole have done the same. Heath Ledger's acting is brilliant, the laugh is perfection (though, sadly, he only gives a few really good, loud, long cackles), and everytime he came on the screen, I was completely drawn in by his performance. Was the performance Oscar worthy? Ehhh. I'm a bit on the fence on that one, but I will say if he does not get an Oscar nod at the VERY LEAST, it will be extremely disappointing.

Speaking of great performances, Aaron Eckhart did an excellent job as Harvey Dent...whom we all know (I'm assuming) eventually becomes Two Face. I did feel his transformation from Dent to Two Face was a bit rushed, and somewhat jammed into the movie, but he did a fine job with the multiple layers of the character. This is another one that I feel deserves "the nod".

As you may remember, Tommy Lee Jones also played the role, in 1995's "Batman Forever". Again with the makeup, we go from cartoon to creepy (please forgive the fuzzy screen shot of Eckhart):

Tommy Lee Jones' Two Face seemed more like a man who was torn between good and evil, and who just happened to have a 1/2 purple face. Half of the costume was outlandish (purple zebra print suit and leopard tie), while the other half was a normal black suit. Speaking from solely a costuming / make up standpoint, you couldn't tell why this man was half and half. "The Dark Knight" not only shows what happens to Harvey that turns him into Two Face, the costume and make up reflect it.

Bale's Bruce Wayne / Batman, for me, fell flat. In "Batman Begins", I found him to be a great fit, even entertaining, as the character, but I felt he was dull in this one. The "Batman voice" (deep, husky, slightly sexy) was good, but some of his lines of dialogue came out mushy and garbled. (Here's a poll for those of you who have seen the movies: who is the best Batman? I, myself, have to say Keaton.)

Maggie Gyllenhaal, as I said, is Rachel Dawes. She was only "eh". However, I don't think that's too much of her fault. She did little more than bounce between her two love interests (Bruce Wayne and Dent) and look pretty doing it. I think she is a fine actress, but I noticed too many similarities between her and Katie Holmes to really enjoy her performance.

Michael Caine, as always, was wonderful. He is great as Alfred, though I ever so slightly favor Michael Gough in the role.

I am a sucker for Gary Oldman, so of course I enjoyed him. Some lines were a bit inaudible, but I believe he's pretty soft spoken anyway. (Speaking of Oldman, if you have not seen "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead", I highly recommend it. However, it is next to impossible to find.)

All in all, this film gets five out of five stars from me. I did have my issues with it (WAYYY too long - runtime 152 minutes - and Bale being a dullard), but they aren't nearly big enough to drop my rating.

*WARNING* , spoilers are ahead. If you have not seen the movie, stop reading...NOW.

• There is a scene in the movie in which The Joker is seen driving a Police car, head hanging out the window. The movie could have ended with that scene, and a fade to black. I felt some of the things which came after just dragged the movie out, and rushed things - specifically, Dent's swift descent into the evil Two Face.
• At one point, Batman shoots The Joker in the face with some of his new Batsuit technology...and there is NO EVIDENCE (other than the close up of the blades "hitting" him) that he was injured, or even hit. It didn't have to be overly gory or anything, but some evidence would have been nice and made more sense.
• While Two Face's look is definitely more creepy than the original, it was simply NOT believable. He is still a man, not half zombie - which is what he ended up looking like. The make up was in no way gory, but the exposed tendons and bone were just not plausible. And what was that about "refusing all pain medications and any skin grafts"?? Come on, now. Anyone who is burned that badly, over that much of his face, would NOT be lucid enough to refuse pain medications and / or skin grafts.
• I must commend the make up artists on The Joker, however. (I know, I'm weird for paying such close attention to things like this in movies.) There was no point in the movie which I noticed, "Hey, he has a lot more / less make up on in this scene than the last one...", or "His make up looks completely different..." Bravo on that. Oh, and the tinted green hair in lieu of the neon green dye jobs was MUCH more effective.
• Batman does eventually 'catch' The Joker, and it was a bit shocking that it seemed so easy and effortless. Like, this guy is always two (if not ten) steps ahead, and seems to be plotting his next move even before he's carried out the first. And then, all of the sudden, you pull a "Gotcha!" move? Eh.
• Action-filled bank robbery as the very first scene in the movie? Awesome. Fabulous choice. Once that scene hit and played out, my first thought was, "This is going to be sooooo COOL..."
• It's a shame Two Face was "killed off" - although we don't know that for sure - at the end of the movie. I'm somehow inclined to think he is not really dead, and will make a return in the next (?) movie.
• It's also a shame The Joker "got away" - because it leads you to believe he will be back. We know this is not the case, which makes it that much more heartbreaking. I'm almost convinced the directors / producers were going to use Ledger in the next (?) one, but obviously that won't happen. Very sad.
• Anthony Michael Hall TOTALLY appears in the movie for like 2.5 seconds, as a television reporter set to interview someone (form within the Wayne Enterprise) who is going to "reveal the true identity of the Batman".