Movie Review - The Dark Knight

At long last, my review of The Dark Knight. :]

I saw this movie at a 3:15am showing at my regular theater. I had been planning on seeing it at the midnite show since the previous week, but found out a couple of days before it was playing that it was going to be at midnite AND at 3:15, so that allowed me to see the midnite show of Mamma Mia (excellent, by the way - review ... eventually :]) and then the 3:15 of The Dark Knight.

First let me say that I woke up "late" from my alarm and didn't make it to the theater until about 11:20. After parking in West Jesus (East Jesus was full already) by the time I made it inside, and got to where there were only 5 people in front of me, the signs up on the wall were flashing all of the different midnite shows that were going on for The Dark Knight and there were a total of 10 theater rooms showing this movie. And EIGHT out of the 10 were flashing "sold out" (I remembered the midnite show for The Incredible Hulk being pretty packed, but that one didn't even hold a candle to this movie as far as attendance was concerned. There were people EVERYWHERE.) That's why I was glad they were showing a 3:15 because I really am not much for huge crowds and Mamma Mia only had about 5 people in the theater (but more on that with the Mamma Mia review.)

Anyway, I had exited the previously mentioned movie and was on my way to get primo seating choices for The Dark Knight when I passed the manager in the hallway. He obviously knew I hadn't just come out of TDK theater because the movie wasn't over yet and I asked him if he thought there would be a lot of people for the 3:15 showing. (I mean what idiot would go to a theater at 3 in the morning, right? :] ) He told me they had sold 60 seats already and that there would probably be several people that would want to see it again after having seen the midnite show. Well, that "several" people ended up being more like 200 people. It was pretty packed! And the really nice thing was they were actually checking ticket stubs at the door to ensure that people were not just piggybacking off a previous showing to try to get in free.

So, walking into the theater, it was quiet except for the chattering people in the crowd. There was no background music and even though it was nearing the 30 minutes before the movie starts mark, there was no First Look behind the scenes program. (They do not typically do that for the late night movie showings.) When the previews finally started, a few were ho-hum and then they got to Pineapple Express (which will be having a late night showing this Tuesday, by the way) it seemed like the entire theater applauded and whooped, so I get the feeling THAT show will be packed, too. And then the opening credits started for The Dark Knight and LOTS of people started cheering. Then all got quiet and from that point on, it was like a roller coaster ride.

From the very first scene until the very last scene, everything was either in your face action or interesting storyline or just flat out great acting. And I will be the first to admit that I was wrong in thinking that people were just giving Heath Ledger the Oscar nod because he had died. He REALLY was THAT good in this movie. A very chilling performance and you weren't quite sure just how far he would take his cruelness and a couple of scenes I really wanted to have the rewind button handy because a few of the previous scenes didn't make much sense til the end and then it was just...explosive.

Again, I hate to give anything away and not knowing who knows what about what in this movie, I'd rather not say anything at all except to say that so far it is the most "must see" movie I have seen so far this year. (I mean, It made number 1 on imdb.com's website of the top 250 movies OF ALL TIME!)

Okay, I will say a little bit...It was sad when she said ... to .... and then he said .... back and then he .... and then she .... and then they both ... (Is that enough?) :]

I was questioned by someone at my work as to which movie I liked better? The Dark Knight or Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk. Because I gave all three of them the "must see" comment. It's very difficult to put them in order because even though they are all comic book movies, I liked different elements in each of them. Iron Man had the best eye candy for me. (I'm sorry, but Christian Bale just doesn't do much for me...but Robert Downey, Jr. was looking YUMMY in Iron Man). But Iron Man compared to The Incredible Hulk, I already mentioned that there were a couple of dull moments for me in Iron Man that I didn't experience with Hulk. However, Hulk had a few cheesy CGI moments that, while really cool and really well done, The Dark Knight, you really didn't notice much CGI at all. You were so caught up in the moment that it almost seemed like you were RIGHT THERE with him. In fact, there were a couple of top of the building scenes that made me a little uneasy as the director is putting you in the person's place who is falling. (I'm not fond of heights and REALLY not fond of falling...especially the upclose scenes.)

So as a comic book movie, it rocked! As a "normal" movie, it rocked! As an action movie, it rocked! As a drama, it rocked! And as a creepy suspense crime thriller, it rocked! As a musical or a comedy drama, not so much. But that's okay. You can't watch just comedy-dramas the rest of your life. There are a few scenes that might be a little too morbid for the very young but otherwise, excellent for all ages.

One that definitely needs to be seen on the big screen...and more than once. :]

Let me know what you thought of it and we can discuss. Do you think it deserves the #1 spot of all time on imdb? Was it really THAT great of a movie? Or was there some kind of conspiracy theory at play as a publicity stunt?

I thought it was a great movie but you have to be in the mood for it. You have to take it for what it is. A dark, suspense thriller, action crime drama with a tiny bit of romance and a very tiny bit of comedy along the way. When I buy it on dvd, I will definitely see it a few more times (before letting my friends borrow it) but if I'm in the mood for a happy, uplifting musical, I'm obviously gonna pass this one by.

Bottom line: It's the most talked about movie and the highest rated ever, so you'd be a fool not to see it to at the bare minimum find out what you've been missing, but also you would kick yourself for missing the chance to have the full theater experience.

Vixy :]