The Dark Knight

I have now seen The Dark Knight. Does it live up to it's rave reviews?

Well, here are some comments from yours truly:

Heath Ledger/The Joker
Incredible, as amazing as you've heard. Possibly the scariest character to appear in film for, well, years. Easily knocks Jack Nicholson's potrayal for six; more Hannibal Lector than the Joker of previous film and tv outings. It is possible to believe that Ledger's intense performance could result in the tragedy that followed. If Ledger doesn't receive an Oscar for this, then there really is no justice in the film awards. I never liked the Joker in the comics*, there was something that just never clicked with me, but I've now seen the potential of the character, and the sheer terror that he can be. Truly the greatest foe for the Batman.

*he was pretty cool in Frank Miller's graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, where he was also a chaos bringing terrorist, and Alan Moore's The Killing Joke. I'm pretty sure that the writers, director and Ledger himself based the Joker on these comic appearances. If you haven't read these, you really should, and I think I'll dig out my copy of The Killing Joke for my wife.

Aaron Eckhart/Harvey Dent/Two Face
The problem with working alongside Heath Ledger in this, is that Aaron Eckhart's performance will no doubt be forgotten or go unnoticed. However, this is another truly great performance (Best Supporting Actor? Dare we hope?). Compare this to Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever (actually, don't - I'm not sure I could watch those films again now) and you'll see the difference betwen campy overacting and bringing a character to fully realised life.

Christian Bale/The Batman
Bale still makes the best Batman yet, but unfortunately when on screen with the other two main characters, he suffers as a result. That's not to say that Bale delivers a bad performance, far from it - he really seems to be someone torn between doing what is right and what is necessary, and you can see that Batman is completely overwhelmed by a situation he cannot control or even fully understand.

Hmm, can I think of anything bad to say about this film? Well, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were underused, and could have done with more screen time, but that would have meant either a longer film or cutting out something else, and there's really nothing that could have been cut out.

Before I saw this, I really believed there was no way it could live up to the hype, but it does, in every way possible. Full marks, and yes, it will knock Iron Man off the top spot in my Top 20 Films of 2008.

But where can the franchise go from here? They can't have the Joker again, but what other bad guys could they use? The Penguin? Possibly. The Riddler? Maybe, but he's like a poor man's Joker. Catwoman? Not after the Halle Berry film. Deadshot could be a possible choice, a hitman with a deathwish and who is so good he will only use trick shots. I would go for the Ventriloquist, an unassuming man with a dummy called Scarface who is in charge of the criminal. It's never clear in the comics I've read whether the ventriloquist is mad or the dummy actually is alive. It's an intersting premise that could make it on the big screen.

Well, I'll be updating my Top 20 later on, after I've watched 10,000 BC. I somehow doubt it will knock The Dark Knight off the top...

And Monday: The X-Files: I Want To Believe