Thursday, July 31, 2008

'Dark Knight' hype is justified...

I saw Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' this past Sunday and was very impressed. Everything the pundits and critics have been saying about this flick was true: it is almost the perfect superhero movie for our morally ambiguous times, where the fine line between doing good and doing evil can often be blurred.

And yes, the late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is mesmerizing and unforgettable. He blows Jack Nicholson's previous incarnation out of the water. And Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent character in this one makes Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face (from the 1995 version of Batman Forever) look pathetically childish.

Longtime fans of Batman have told me that director Nolan has reinvigorated the franchise and returned it to its basic roots, putting to shame previous efforts in many ways. For those who haven't seen Nolan's first Batman Begins from 2005, it could be worth a look before seeing this one. But still, The Dark Knight is a self-contained masterpiece that will be talked about for years, I'm sure. Go see it.

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