The Dark Knight: One Helluva Movie

You must experience this movie. You cannot just see it. The Dark Knight will grip, disturb, and stun you. It will leave your heart racing and your blood pumping. Director Christopher Nolan has created a cinematic masterpiece fit for the ages—a feat of craftsmanship and execution that makes prequel Batman Begins look like, well, the beginning. The Dark Knight has already soared to number one on the all-time biggest opening weekend list at $155.3 million; have you seen it yet?

The Dark Knight seizes you and never lets go. You don’t see this movie with your eyes for it lives in your mind. With a life-defining performance from Heath Ledger that rivals Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector, the film is more a psychological thriller than an action adventure. The Joker’s demonic smiles and maniacal cackles corkscrew into your head as you grit your teeth and tighten your grip. The disturbing unpredictability of a man devoid of all reason, motivation, and humanity keeps you glued to the screen, cringing in anticipation for another shock that you won’t see coming.

The plot, crafted around this evil incarnate, will consume you. The battle between good and evil has never been so dark, so real. Sanity and order hang by a thread, pummeled by the pervasive onslaught of a man that just wants to watch the world burn. He culminates through a horrifying grin: “madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push.” Heath Ledger does not play The Joker, he is The Joker. Christian Bale does not play Batman, he is Batman. Even Aaron Eckhart does not play district attorney Harvey Dent, he is Harvey Dent. These actors are not characters in a movie; they are men in a villainous city. And they will make you believe.

Though born from comic books, The Dark Knight lives in our world. Cold, contorted reality. This is not a superhero movie; it is a hero movie. Batman is a man, vulnerable and haunted. You are not watching some invincible, campy character parade around a thug-overrun city; you are witnessing the struggle of one man wrestling with his inner demons as he battles the outer. Nolan’s Dark Knight is not so much a caped crusader as a symbol for mankind; a hope for decency in an indecent time; a hero we deserve, not need.

There is no wasted element in this masterful story. Beginning, middle, and end, you are captivated. Each character, every action, each and every word has purpose and intent larger than what’s happening on the screen. These heroes are not fighting for the people of Gotham; they are fighting for you. You cannot but be thrown into the tumult of duality as you relinquish watching a film for experiencing one. Their battle is your battle. This is not just a movie; it is a film of life’s struggles.

The Dark Knight will not merely entertain you, it will provoke you. It will engulf you and perturb you. Surround and thrill you. Amaze and shock you. This is a movie to break records with a cast to make history.

The Dark Knight. Experience it.

~ by Cody Lee on July 22, 2008.