the DARK knight

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Just let me say that I haven’t walked out of a theater feeling that good, since the last installment of Lord of the Rings. The Dark Knight, emphasis on the dark, is easily the best movie of the year. I would be very surprised to see anything come along that could beat it out for best picture. Now you might be thinking to yourself, “Wow, Nathan, that is quite a bold statement.” But then again, you must be one of the few people left that haven’t seen it yet.

First of all, let me say that Heath Ledger was incredible. He put Jack Nicholson to shame. So creepy. One of the best villians I’ve ever seen. I am amazed at how sad I get thinking about the fact that this was his final role. The Joker, through Ledger’s terrifyingly awesome performance, stole the show. Which is saying a lot, because he was surrounded by an array of fantastic performances by some of the best actors/actresses that are making films. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Eric Roberts. Ridiculous. And they were all incredible. Oscar-worthy performances all around. I am so glad that somebody finally decided to take these superhero stories seriously. I hope that people have learned what can happen when you take an a timeless story and then get the best of the best to retell it. My hat goes off to you Christopher Nolan.

He has really raised the bar when it comes to superhero movies. One of the main reasons that both of these movies have been so successful is that he tells such a compelling story. Very seldom any more can a movie keep my attention like that for almost 3 hours. And then the other reason for his success, is because he has surrounded himself with the best that are out there. His film crew is awesome. It is just visually stunning. Gotham city is just as dark and damp and awesome of a place as I imaged it as a kid. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard…need I say more? They put together a perfect score to match this hauntingly beautiful film.

My wife always tells me that I need to be more careful about building up hype about movies before I see them, and that I am just setting myself up to be disappointed. Which unfortunately, more often than not, that is what happens. And if there were ever a time for that to happen. This should have been it. I had been waiting to see it ever since I walked out of the theater from seeing Batman Begins back in the summer of 2005. It sure was worth the wait though. I honestly cannot recommend this movie enough.

Hanz Zimer and James Newton Howard – Why So Serious? (removed 2/13/09)

Did I mention I also like movies?