The Dark Knight Reviewed

Ever since I saw the ending of Batman Begins where we are shown a playing card with a joker on it, I have been highly anticipating this sequel in the Batman franchise.  I am a huge fan of the Batman comics and have always thought that the Joker was one of the best villains.  Now we have a movie that pits the madness of the Joker against the madness of the Batman.  What’s not to get excited about?  (Yes, I know that Tim Burton did the Batman vs. Joker thing back in 1989.  I was excited for it back then too.)

The Dark Knight is probably the best movie based on a comic book that I have ever seen.  There was so much that was good about it that what was bad is inconsequential.  Here are a few of my thoughts on the movie.  Warning!  Minor spoilers ahead!

  • The thing that I love about Batman is that he’s just a regular guy.  He doesn’t have any super powers; just a bunch of money and an affinity for technology.  Plus, he’s an extremely adept detective.  He’s not indestructible or infallible.  He can be broken just like the next guy.  He’s good at avoiding such occurrences though.  I like that.  He’s also got to have some serious mental illnesses to do what he does.  That adds to his mystique in my mind.  He’s not perfect, he’s just trying to do a job.
  • I’m not a Heath Ledger fan.  I have to say though that he did an amazing job as the Joker.  When I first saw him in an early trailer, his performance scared the crap out of me.  It’s mentioned in the movie that some people just want to see the world burn.  Ledger’s Joker was one of those people.  He was extremely disturbing yet very fascinating at the same time.  This is how I want my Joker in the comics.  This Joker made the Joker from The Killing Joke look like an pansy.  I loved it!
  • Aaron Eckhardt was amazing as Harvey Dent.  I’m not familiar with any of his previous roles but he sure nailed this one.  I thought that he was great as the crusading DA trying to clean up Gotham.  I also thought it was completely tragic how the most evil man in Gotham turned one of the best men in Gotham into the evil Two-Face.
  • Speaking of Two-Face, he looked awesome; just exactly as I would expect him to look if I met him on the street.  He looked much more realistic than Tommy Lee Jones did in Batman Forever. This is the best Two-Face to ever be captured on film.
  • I love Christian Bale as Batman.  He is actually one of the few men to wear the suit that can fill it out.  He is also a convincing Bruce Wayne.  In past Batman movies, I have either liked the lead actor as one character or the other but never as both.  Bale does a great job as both Batman and Bruce Wayne.
  • Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon was brilliant casting in Batman Begins and it was brilliant casting in The Dark Knight.  He is good in every role I’ve ever seen him in.  I can’t wait to see how they treat his character in the inevitable third installment.
  • What’s with casting Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes?  Is it just me or does she look like Droopy?  I guess she’s better than stroke victim lookalike Katie Holmes from Batman Begins but I would have cast a different actress.  However, I was pleased to see what they did with the character.

Well, there are a few of my thoughts.  My wife, didn’t like it as much as I did because it was a very dark, very disturbing movie.  I felt that it was a great portrayal of Gotham’s denizens and would like to see the comics follow this direction for a few years.  In fact, I have no doubt that they will.

This is an all-around great movie that you should go see.  Even if you don’t like “comic book movies” you should go see this.  Well, what are you doing?  Go see it!

Jeremiah Zohner

Founder & Executive Producer After developing a love of Star Wars and comic books as a child, Zohner was destined to be a geek. With interests touching on computers, video games, technology, books, TV and movies, and toys and collectibles, he is the epitome of a well-rounded geek. Zohner is one of the founding members of Stolendroids. After stepping away for a time to work on other endeavors, the time was right for him to make his triumphant return to the one project that he truly loves. When he’s not writing articles or podcasting, Zohner can be found spending time with his family, managing projects for a software company, or hanging out in the gym knowing that it won’t do a bit of good.

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