Batgirl’s Weblog

Iron Man was able to hold the #1 spot for 2 months; I could honestly say that it was my favorite movie of 2008 and my favorite comic book movie. But I knew it wouldn’t last. After seeing all The Dark Knight previews, there was no doubt that TDK would blow me away. And it lived up to expectations.

Joe, Justine, and I headed to the midnight showing around 10:45. There were already lines for the 12:00, 12:05, and 12:10 showings set up. Even though I was on crutches, we unfortunately didn’t get to cut everyone. We sat in about the 5th or 6th row and settled in for the hour. Everyone was either Joe’s age or our age and not attractive. As I told Justine, the cute nerds must all be in NYC. Once previews started, the crowd got all riled up and booed previews they didn’t like (The Mummy and Swing Vote) and cheered ones they loved (Watchmen). I even flashed my Bat Signal light on the ceiling before the movie started (thanks to my Batman messenger bag). 

As for The Dark Knight, it was AMAZING!!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Or as Joe said after he kept looking over at me, I had a smile on my face the whole time (had I been Jokerized?). There were parts where I was clapping and getting very giggly cause I was excited. It was a perfect mix of suspense, action, and chaos. The movie emphasized what chaos can do to a city and what decisions people would make when faced with death or doing the right thing. The boat scene had me holding my breath. One of the questions from the first movie came into play in this one as well: Is Gotham City worth saving? And does the city need Batman or a more tangible hero (like Harvey Dent, the white knight to Batman’s dark knight)? The movie even made winks to the fans by including Scarecrow at the beginning and showing the complete transformation of Harvey Dent to Two Face. He lived long enough to see himself become the villain. And Jim Gordon is THE MAN (Gary Oldman can do no wrong). The Dark Knight exceeded expectations, and it is a sequel that surpassed its predecessor.

After complaining about the use of Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, I have to say that the casting was perfect in this movie. Heath Ledger was amazing as The Joker. He’s a mix of charisma and chaos, and even though his actions are disturbing, you cheer for him anyway. He is a force to be reckoned with, and he was terrifying. I remember when he was originally cast and people complained a lot. I told myself that I’d reserve judgment until I saw him in the movie. And after seeing the trailers and the actual movie, I can say that no one else could play The Joker as perfectly as he did. As much as I’d love to see The Joker in the 3rd movie, I really hope they don’t recast. I don’t think anyone could do the role justice after Heath’s amazing performance. Oh, and look out for the pencil scene and the nurse scene. I think that those two scenes demonstrated The Joker’s mix of comedy and danger. One of my favorite scenes has to be The Joker and Batman’s interaction in the interrogation room (and then again later on in the building). As The Joker says, Batman completes him. There couldn’t be one without the other, and The Joker points out that they’ll be doing this dance forever since Batman refuses to kill. They have the ultimate hero-villain relationship.

Now the question is, what will happen in the 3rd movie? We know what the relationship between Batman and the city will be (will Gordon be able to keep a secret?). We got to see Two Face in full force (man, that makeup was creepy), but it’s open ended as to whether he’ll be back. I’d hate for him to be like the Spidey villains and only have one huge battle with the hero and then die, never to return again. Unlike Batman Begins, The Dark Knight didn’t establish a definite villain for the next movie. I’d love to see Chris Nolan tackle a villain that hasn’t been used in the movies before (as he did with Ra’s and Scarecrow in BB). I hope that the 3rd movie will be amazing and not a disaster like Spider-Man 3 (since both TDK and Spidey 2 were perfect). I have faith that Nolan, David Goyer, and the cast will work to make sure the 3rd movie lives up to expectations.

GO SEE THE DARK KNIGHT!!!

P.S. There’s a death in the movie that had me going “WHAT???” since it went against canon. But it all worked out, and the person got to move to the position he’s in the comics currently. Thank goodness cause I would have cried since I cried during another of this actor’s character’s death in another movie. And is the girl known only as “Gordon’s Daughter” in the credits, Barbara Gordon (aka the future Batgirl)? She was pretty young and wasn’t even present in Batman Begins. Then again, little James Gordon was a toddler in BB yet has aged to about 7-9 years old in TDK even though it’s only supposed to be a year later in the movie universe. It’d be interesting if Jim and his wife get divorced in the 3rd movie as they do in the comics because Jim gets custody of Babs while his wife takes their son (who he worked so hard to save in TDK). So maybe there will be more Babs in the 3rd movie. Oh well, we’ll see.

Brought to you by the team of awesomeness:

The Clown Prince of Crime:

And the best trailer of the night aka my birthday movie of 2009:

I believe in Batman.

I believe in The Joker.

I believe in Harv…Two Face.

I believe in Jim Gordon.

I believe in Gotham City.

I believe in The Dark Knight…

More to come later. Expect a review in the morning after I’ve gotten to sleep a little. =)

And R.I.P. Heath Ledger. Thanks for giving us a spectacular Joker.