Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Everything burns. And after this weekend, the makers of The Dark Knight are going to have ridiculously large piles of money to burn... for fun... while eating money... and wearing hats made out of money.

Batman mania is upon us. After waiting in a line that stretched around the building and spending more than enough quality time with the costumed persons waiting in line next to me, I experienced the latest offering in the Batman saga: The Dark Knight.

I can't remember the last time the blockbuster movie of the year actually turned out to be something other than a cinematic turd, but in this case The Dark Knight is amazingly good. It was worth the wait, worth the $70 it costs to go to the movies these days, and worth having to spend an hour in line with cosplay fanboys (and frighteningly ugly cosplay fangirls.)

This time around, our hero is fighting the twisted and sadistic Joker, played by the recently exhumed and re-animated corpse of Heath Ledger. The Joker is one messed up dude. Really messed up. More than two cups of prescription drugs messed up. He represents anarchy and chaos in the movie, and is basically a vicious dog unleashed on society. Heath Ledger plays the part phenomenally well, and the Joker really steals the show. It's disturbing to find yourself laughing along with the Joker even as he rams pencils though people's eyes and cuts them up. He's easily the best played character in years, and Heath Ledger will win the best supporting actor, hands down.

The Dark Knight's story revolves around a theme of order vs. chaos, with the Joker introducing anarchy in an attempt to twist Gotham's paradigm of fairness, Harvey Dent, into the maniacal Two-Face. Because Batman is bound by the rules of an orderly society, he is unable to defeat the Joker. Ultimately, he must decide if he is willing to break those rules to preserve justice.

This movie takes a slow burn. It really takes it's time getting to the point, with several interacting sub-plots. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it, but once it got into full gear, it was all good to go. Be warned however that it clocks in just over two-and-a-half hours, so you have to be prepared for some storyline in between your kung-fu fixes. Oh, and go to the bathroom first.

Overall, The Dark Knight is a gritty piece of film noir that would make a great crime drama even if Batman wasn't in it at all. I think that's what really makes the movie a sucess. It's good on its own, without relying on the Batman franchise as a crutch, gimmick or fallback. Go see it... a few times.

SCORING: I give The Dark Knight 4 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.