Dark Knight

I went to see Dark Knight (along with Kung Fu Panda and a portion of Hancock) at the Vali-Hi drive-in at Lake Elmo this weekend. It was fitting, as it was also where I saw Batman Begins years ago. It was a near perfect movie for the superhero genre- truly a masterpiece. The story contained the perfect balance of action, plot, and philosophy that makes all our great superhero stories great. Depressing? Yes. One could argue the Joker "won" with the movie ending in mayhem for Gotham and our hero on the run. However, it could be argued that we are at the place in our society where that story "feels right"- certainty more so than a squeaky clean superhero who saves the day from a clear-cut bad guy with clear-cut immoral plots and plans.

At first I was skeptical at the hype, especially for Heath Leger's performance. I thought surly the Oscar buzz was only a posthumous nod of respect. Not so. He truly transformed himself and the roll of the Joker. There is somewhat of a highbrow attitude that poo-poos superhero/action/blockbuster movies; however, Ledger not only created the ultimate villain, he created the best character and delivered the best performance from an actor that I have seen in a very long time. (James compared it to De Niro in Taxi Driver.) I am saddened that I will not be able to see more of this artist, especially in this roll. (Will they retire this villain or find another? And if so, who? Johnny Depp? Daniel Day-Lewis? Could they touch his brilliance?)

Also, ALSO, who knew he was that good until the Joker? Yes we saw potential in Brokeback Mountain, but lets not forget this:



It's amazing to be able to see an actor grow as an artist (himself, the instrument, as well as the rolls the industry allows him to play). Truly, truly amazing.