[MLos1]

The Dark Knight- A Triumph
written by: Mike Losquadro

(I'm a freelance writer for a movie review website, check this out and enjoy becaise I know a lot of us JOE fans are batman fans as well.)

Comments welcome...

Superheroes everywhere this summer, right? We had Iron Man kicking ass, The Incredible Hulk getting pissed and bashing stuff, even Hellboy is back to raise hell again. But, The Dark Knight trumps them all. This is an amazingly sophisticated, dark thrilling ride thawill totally satisfy Bat-Geeks and all others.

I loved how when I first read early reviews, that screenwriter David S. Goyer actually said he: "...can't believe his name was attached to a script this good." Goyer gets story credit while it's a screenplay by Chris and Jon Nolan. And he was right. The script is "THIS GOOD." And screenwriters usually balk about their drafts and contributions being all fucked up by studios and fat-headed producers, however, not in this case.

We all knew this movie was going to be the one to watch out and wait for, with Ledger's not-so-typical casting as The Joker, and shitty untimely demise adding fuel to all sorts of Dark Knight related fires. The reveal of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, and Katie Holmes dropping out because she just had to make the flick Mad Money, instead of tending to her role of Bat's semi- love interest, (I just think Tom Cruise didn't want her to be in a cooler movie than he's been in in like ten years, so he threatened to send the kid on a magic kool aid drinking ride to meet Emog or whomever those Sci-guys pray to.) Plus, all the other vets returning from the first film, and a kick ass viral marketing campaingn solidified this film as a the must of all musts before a trailer even hit.

Why so serious? How about a better question? Why so good? It's the script people, plain and simple. It's the words on the page that completely fit together without a gap. It's just that simple, it's an awesome piece of fiction put to screen with perfection. The unavoidable cliches that superhero flicks always have actually work here, because it's written that way. The changes to the Bat Suit, and the addition of the Bat Pod work, because they are written that way. Nothing is left loose and unexplained, like: "Okay now we just have a Batpod, because we need a cool new vehicle and set piece." This script totally takes everything into account and seemlessly ties together Batman's adventure as The Dark Knight. Hell, even the requests that Christain Bale made after the first movie wrapped, when talking about how he'd like to move better, and feel more agile and expressive in the Batsuit to sway his neck more, and turn his head easier actually became dialogue in the film. Example...

Line: "Lucius, I need to see while I'm driving in reverse."



It's all necessary. It's not just some trite. Like Batsuit nipples and overblown cod-pieces in fight scenes that use more blacklight paint than a stoner's girlfriend doing up her masterpiece on a dorm room wall.

Direction, Editing, Producing- all A+. It's that easy to review. When you compare this flick to blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it makes it look like the script and the performances in the Indy world were all conceived in the romper room. By veteran filmmakers and writers and actors no-less, sans Shia Lebeouf of course. But, Spielberg should take some notes here, and Spiels has been doing this waaaay longer than NOlan and the boys, although credit is due him for discovering Bale, when he did Empire Of The Sun.

Now let's talk The Joker, because that's what all the not-even-close-to -giving-a-shit about Batman people will want to see the flick for.



Ledger is ruthless as The Joker, he's left of unknown origin, and completely and utterly maniacal in every possible way. He's a villain, not a cartoon, or you're funny old Joker. And most importantly he serves as the perfect antithesis for all Batman stands for as a symbol in Gotham City. He's a psychopathic entity that lives for one reason, and that is to wreak havoc for the sake of wreaking havoc. And Ledger played it perfectly. There's beauty in his sociopathic simplicity, licking his lips like a rabid dog at times, all contorted and hunched over at other times like a monster, but other instances straight-up in your face as a man not to be fucked with. He's no Cesaer Romero or Jack Nicholson here. Basically, he's evil incarnate. 1 step down from Satan himself.

As for the other characters, they grow a bit, Bale as Wayne has some cool "rich guy" moments, but as Batman he's still all grovelly voiced and ass kicking but more seasoned. Gary Oldman plays a significantly larger part in this installment and it grows throughout, as does Morgan Freeman. The Flick is almost 3 hours long, so there's plenty of time for everyone to play. Michael Caine, as Alfred, is the perfect wise old seer yet again. And Maggie Gyllenhaal is a refreshing burst of tough femininity in an otherwise "boys" movie. But for me, the suprise was Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, he's great. And what makes it work for him is that when he finally does snap into his villain's psycho-mode, we don't just end the film and wait for a sequal to see how nuts he can be, we get at least 45 mins worth of him as full blown "Two-Face" before the flick ends.



It's hard to top a film like this in every aspect. Iron Man is the second best film of the summer, now that TDK has arrived. Where Iron Man gave us thrills and spills and laughs that put it on everyone's fave list. The Dark Knight gives us solid bonebreaking ass kicking, a perfectly psychotic villain, and a supporting cast being guided by a script that's miraculously good and handled with such care it's just plain crazy.

P.S- Maybe the team in charge of Superman over at Warner Bros. will wake up after this, and give the world a Superman movie that is AT LEAST, on par with The Dark Knigiht and Batman Begins.

Funfacts-Cillian Murphy returns for a nice cameo as The Scarecrow once again. Anthony Michael Hall plays a reporter much like that of Robert Wuhl's in the original Tim Burton directed Batman. Eric Roberts replaces Tom Wilkinson at the top of the Mob food chain, while sidekick of TV's "The Tick" Nestor Carbonell, also known as "Bat-Manuel" plays it serious here, as the Mayor of Gotham City.

I switched this from general discussion to here because i was getting flak from the posters over there. So i put it here more appropriately.

Enjoy the read

[Shogi]

Great review man! I didn't even notice that was Bat-Manuel in the Mayor's seat

[hectorxd]

I told my friends who I watched it with about it being bat manuel and they didnt know what I was talking about. I thought it was great though.

[zartan1]

great review of the best movie I've seen all summer.