Went and saw it Sunday night. Heres a review. I'll put the whole thing in spoiler tags, because spoilers WILL be prevailent.
[hide]So I was extremely psyched about this movie going in to see it. I had a friend who had already seen it and he got me pumped. Was it good? Did it live up to the hype? Oh yes my friends. Yes it did.
So lets start with Batman. Christian Bale, as Batman, really doesnt do a lot for me. Sure he has the moves, but the voice just doesnt work. It sounds like he needs a Ricola. What really draws me to Christian Bale, what makes me think he'd be able to do this role until the day he dies, is his Bruce Wayne. I LOOOOVE his Bruce Wayne. He is stellar as the man behind the mask. He brings so much emotion to the role. I also love how he plays the dumb playboy, jumping his lamborgini to save Gordon, then pretending he had gotten runover, even asking to go to a hospital after the Joker had threatened all the hospitals. Honestly it was a beautiful performance. Of course there really isnt a lot much more that I can say about CB/BW that wasnt said about him in the first movie. He just brings it as good as Batman Begins.
So lets move on to Harvey Dent. Most of the movie (a little more than half) sees Harvey Dent as a normal guy. I love how he already has the coin before being burned. And he uses it. But there is a twist. Both sides are heads, and as he says, he makes his own luck. It is a sharp contrast to the Two-Face he becomes later in the story, but it WORKS. Aaron Eckhart was chosen as Harvey Dent for a reason. He reminds me a lot of what Sam Raimi did to Doc Ock and Sandman. He took a normal thug and transformed him into an emotional character. Yes I knew about Harvey Dent's past before seeing the movie, but Aaron brings so much depth to the character. He is so hurt and in so much pain, and the Joker is really the one to lead him down the violent path. His transformation from Dent to Two-Face is sad and tragic and sorrowful. I can never imagine what it is like to listen to your fiance die. To tell her it will be alright, but to know you have no control over it. In all honesty, if something like that happened to me, I would probably be just like him.
And speaking of his fiance, lets talk about Rachel Dawes/Maggie Gillenhall (I might have spelled that right.) While I didnt really like her that much, I think she plays the role of Rachel just about how she should have. She didnt do to bad when she was onscreen, and her death was crucial to the story. All in all a fine job.
Now, after all this, we get to the one man who makes this movie. Heath Ledger as the Joker... I honestly have no words for this man's performance. Really the only thing I can say about Heath Ledger's Joker is that they GOT him. Finally someone and hollywood GOT the Joker. It was SPOT on. Everything about his performance, from the "Magic Trick" at the very beginning, to the last fight with Batman, is just spot on joker. EVERYTHING about him, from the way he walks, the way he smiles, the way his eyes shift around, even his Andy Dick-ish voice, was PERFECT. This man gave his LIFE for this role, and it shows so well. I actually cried at the end. I cried my eyes out that something so sad could happen to such a brillian actor. His performance ran the gamut of emotions, from funny (walking out of Gotham General in a nurses outfit, pushes a detonator and causes a number of explosions to go off. He looks down at the detonator, back up at the building, back down at the detonator, pushes it a few more times, shakes it, and the whole building erupts in a fireball. I havent laughed so hard during a serious movie ever) to sadistic and horrifying (the tapes he leaves for the police had me gasping for air). There is nothing missing from his performance. I find myself licking my lips. And it creeps me out because of the way the Joker keeps doing it. He is, as he says it himself, an "Agent of Anarchy" and dear god is it true. It really comes home when Batman is interrogating him in the police room, and the Joker tells him that he has Harvey and Rachel. Batman is beating the crap out of him and threatening him and Joker just laughs. And he says "You have NOTHING to threaten me with!" in that disturbing voice. And you know he's right. There will always be a stalemate between Batman and the Joker, because Batman can't kill, and the Joker can't live without Batman.
And rounding out the cast are some very good grade A talent, from Gary Oldman as Commissioner Jim Gordon, to an awesome cameo from "Tiny" Tom Lister, Jr. as an inmate with a soul. It was a great brilliant ride.
All in all I will say, though some of the performances were lacking (Maggie), it in no way detracts from the movie at all, and Heath Ledger just brings everyone else's performances up.
So what do I say about this movie? It was good. No it wasnt. It wasnt great. It wasnt awesome. It wasnt even Brilliant. It was, simply, perfect. Perfect in every way.
Thank you Heath Ledger. Thank you for doing what you do best.
Damnit I'm getting all misty eyed again.[/hide]
