A Look Into the Knight

Last night I broke a long tradition of failing to see films about which I am particularly excited and caught The Dark Knight at Cinerama. We tried to see the movie in IMAX at the Pacific Science Center but evening showings were sold out into next week. Devastating.

The Dark Knight was fantastic, featuring some quality action and special effects but truly succeeding by evoking fear and despair. The film portrayed a particularly dark and gruesome Gotham, in which no one is safe or impervious to corruption. The protagonists seemed tired and pessimistic, winning small victories at times but never able to overcome the sea of evil. I am trying to avoid discussing the plot—I suggest you see the film to understand.

Heath Ledger portrayed the Joker brilliantly. He never slipped out of character or hardly exposed the least bit of humanity. His dementia was so complete and convincing that I could not help but feel fear. And he was a clever Joker, unbelievably adept at manipulating all those around him.

I do suggest you see The Dark Knight in a theatre in order to appreciate fully the film. If you require a further dose of Batman, as I do, I would recommend Batman: Gotham Knight. The studio produced, and released directly to DVD, a set of six short stories about Batman by different acclaimed writers and animators. These vignettes are very much in the style of the Animatrix, though perhaps a bit less varied in animation style.

Will this new trend of actually seeing films continue? Will I see Hellboy 2 or Wall-E in the theatre? I'll let you know.