The One With The Last Night

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The One With Changes

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The One With "The Dark Knight"

Here comes the Dark Knight blog.



We went to see it yesterday after waiting for hell knows how long. We wanted to see it earlier, but everything was booked on the days both of us were of and we didn't want to see it without the other, hence the waiting. Let me say, right now, that it was all around absolutely brilliant.



The performances were almost all incredible. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger played wonderfully against each other and Sir Michael Cain (I love Albert!) was his usual British dry-humored brilliance. I thought Bale's Batman was the best by far after seeing Batman Begins, but now I think he's definitely the best by far. I also know that Ledger's Joker is a phenomenal performance and overshadows Jack Nicholson's so much it puts the latter to shame. Nicholson has always been overrated as far as I was concerned. From what I've seen of him and heard from him in a non-actor capacity, I put together a disgusting personality that can be salvaged only by good acting (not nearly one of the best, just plain good). But in the Dark Knight, seeing Ledger as the Joker, puts Nicholson to shame like nothing ever did before. Sir Michael Cain himself openly said in an interview that Ledger outdid him by far, and frankly, I don't think any arguments can arise against that statement. At first when I heard that he might be nominated for an Oscar I thought it was just another publicity stunt for the sold-out academy because he's dead. I knew what he was capable of as an actor, but I didn't think an Oscar was necessarily earned with such part. now, having seen the film, I realize that I didn't know half of what he was capable of as an actor and that, although I still believe it's in part a publicity stunt, Ledger deserves at least a nomination if not the win. He was brilliant.



Maggie Gillenhaal on the other hand was a dreadful mistake. I thought Katie Holmes was bad, but she was so bad that I wished to have Holmes instead. She simply could not hold her own against the likes of Bale and Ledger. She was like a tiny annoying mouse, nibbling away at the film's quality. I could have screamed with joy when her character was killed off. The reality is that, of all Batgirls as I call them, no one except Michelle Pfeiffer could ever hold her own against the male lead and his onscreen presence. Bale has an unusually strong presence and Gillenhaal was just about the worst choice they could have made, not to mention there was no chemistry between them whatsoever. On the other hand, in response to the rumors that Angelina Jolie might be reprising Pfeiffer's role in the third Batman installment featuring Bale, honey and I agree that we really hope these rumors are false. She is the opposite extreme; she has too much onscreen presence and she is too dark and beautiful. Putting her against Bale will actually diminish him. Hopefully it's just rumors. She needs someone like Brad Pitt to play against successfully; someone with equally strong presence but the opposite of her character that will compliment her; the light to her darkness if you want. Putting her in Batman will not be the best idea…



The film itself was very long (almost 3 hours), but incredibly fast-paced and not the kind during which you'd be checking your watch every two seconds. The soundtrack and directing was brilliant, the storyline was fantastic, very believable, very well put together. I'm so glad it didn't repeat the Spiderman III mistake and packed too much into a single film as well as brought up the downfall and the epiphany of the hero in the same movie. It had just enough material to keep you on the edge of your seat, but not too much as to confuse you. Clearly Ledger's Joker was meant to steal the show and he did. Harvey Dent was properly introduced and developed and the few minutes he spent onscreen as the villain Two-Face were just the right resolution for him and his character. I didn't feel it was rushed; I felt it was proper. The Joker's storyline needs no comment because it was all around perfectly presented.



Honey mentioned it first and although I wasn't quite convinced at first, but now I agree that this film does set up for a third one, and not just because there's expected to be a trilogy made out of it. Bale's Batman needs a resolution, he needs his epiphany moment and that has to be developed in the third film. I wonder which villain they would use and I'm thinking that's where the Jolie rumors come in, but mostly I just want to see the resolution. Of course it will be expected, and of course it will be clichéd, but I still want to see it because, having seen the first two, I know it will be brilliant.

Mood: Impressed
Listening to: TV