THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

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"A Must See For EVERYONE... The Dark Knight will simply ASTOUND you!"

For weeks I have been arguing that this movie will make 125 to 135 million dollars its opening weekend and that it would be the highest grossing movie of the year with about 370 million dollars. Well, I've change my mind. Believe it or not, it seems I have underestimated it.

I went to see this movie on opening night (midnight showing) and the line went ALL the way around the building. They showed the movie on ELEVEN screens. How they did this, I have no idea. It was to be originally shown on only five screens. But they did... and EVERY showing was SOLD OUT. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Not even the opening of Spiderman 3 could top this. I now see the Dark Knight making at least 140 million but most likely breaking Spiderman 3's record of 151 million by about 10 million. 160 million is NOT out of reach for the weekend and 450 million total domestic gross is very likely.

Anyway, now that I have ranted on about how much money I think this movie is gonna make. Let me talk a little bit about it. There are very few comic book movies that actually tell great stories. This is one of them, though I do have one problem with it. The story revolves on Batman and how he wants to pass the mantle of "protector of the city" to Harvey Dent who is dubbed "The White Knight". Dent wants to destroy the mob and does everything he can to do so. The mayor and commissioner of the city warn Dent that going against the mob will bring them down on him... and they're right. If the movie was trying to send a message of "doing the right thing", they didn't. They probably supported everyone who has been afraid to step forward as witnesses of crime all around the country instead. For every good deed that Dent does, he is punished ten fold by the mob and the Joker, who they hire to take out Dent and Batman. Now I fear that everyone who sees this movie may be reluctant to step forward when they witness a crime even more so. Its scary to rat out a criminal knowing that there would be retaliation in the future.

Other than this one little glitch, I think the story is absolutely sound. It is compelling and very interesting. It has everything anyone would want. There is a love triangle, a threat to the city (the Joker) that Batman has to stop, and we even see how Lieutenant Gordon become Commissioner of Gotham. It is very well told and greatly paced. I never felt there was a boring part in the movie.

Now what people want to know. Is Heath Ledger's performance as good as people say it is? The answer to that is NO. IT IS BETTER. You simply get lost in the character with him. Never once do you think your watching Heath Ledger on screen. You think your watching THE JOKER. His portrayal of this character is 100 times better than Jack Nicholson's portrayal in the 1989 Tim Burton version... and I liked Jack's portrayal too. But this... this was amazing. Ledger plays him perfect. He's psychotic, maniacal, and absolutely brutal. The buzz of an Oscar nomination is well deserved. I hope he gets the nomination and WINS the damn thing.

Christopher Nolan did a great job directing the movie. It is well paced. There is plenty of action. And the sory is well told. Now there are rumors going around that he may not sign up for a third installment to this franchise. THAT would be ashame. Although, the franchise will live on, I don't think a new director will have the same vision Nolan does. He brought Batman from the Gothic fantasy world Tim Burton envisioned and the riduculous neonlighting that Joel Schumacher introduced to us into the REAL world. Using REAL buildings and real settings. You actually think there IS a city in the world called Gotham City. Losing Nolan would hurt the franchise. Let's hope it doesn't happen. He made this movie REAL.

There is no doubt this movie is "a must see". It will amaze and astound you. You will leave the theater wanting to see it again. Maybe not right away as lines in theaters will be quite long, but eventually. So in short... GO SEE IT. Its a 5 Star movie for me.