Well, while I was back east visiting my family I had the pleasure of seeing The Dark Knight... twice. (Unfortunately neither time at IMAX - sold out for days!) Both myself and the various family members who accompanied me were stunned after walking out of the theater. It has been a long time since I've seen a summer blockbuster that was so unbelievably good.
Obviously, as everyone has no doubt already heard, Heath Ledger was the piece de resistance of the film. At some points I was nearly moved to tears just by the sheer talent exhibited in his performance (and yes, I'm an over-dramatic person generally, so take that with a grain of salt). Given the character, and Jack Nicholson's prior performance, I thought Nolan etc. really made a great transition to a sick, depraved, intelligent Joker worthy of the more serious Batman films of today, as compared with the more cheesy Batman films of yore (though don't get me wrong, they still sneak in some great puns etc.). I feel the need to comment more on this because it was just SO phenomenal, but I'll let you all make up your own minds. And perhaps I'll post more later, depending on my mood.
Other bright spots of the film - cinematography, particularly shooting angles from skyscrapers. I actually felt afraid of heights while watching the film. In fact, the whole thing was incredibly well done. I also enjoyed the themes - particularly the exploration of depravity in every human being when put in a desperate situation. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't yet seen it, but it's a really loaded superhero film. Dark, gorgeous, open to interpretation... glorious. See this movie!
Some weak spots - Maggie Gyllenhaal was disappointing and I wish there was a bit more Caine in there, but overall, fantastic film. I'll be going at least once more, to an IMAX. (And I don't usually make it to the theater, so that's saying something.)
