The Dark Knight (PG-13)

Unless you having been living in seclusion somewhere, you have probably heard all of the hype attached to this movie: Heath Ledger's performance, an epic companion to "Batman Begins", etc. Does it live up to all that hype and all those expectations? The answer is: Ab-so-freakin'-lutely! "The Dark Knight" opens very strongly with a bank robbery sequence and never lets go. Ledger's "Joker" is no cartoon character. This Joker is wildy sadistic and clearly psychotic. The violence is not sugar-coated in this movie. Ledger nails the Joker character in every single way. His delivery of the "WHY..SO....SERIOUS?" line is so chilling and horrifying, as he attempts to explain his background. He has no motives and seems to do the horrific things he does just because he has so much fun doing it. He is a self-proclaimed "Agent of Chaos", who thrives on disorder. One of the best parts of Ledger's performance was a scene in which he is being interrogated by Batman (Christian Bale), while happily turning the screws on Batman's psyche and own emotional issues. "See, to them, you're just a freak like me". The mind-play is reminiscent of the great sequence in "Seven" between Kevin Spacey and Brad Pitt, as one character revels in getting into the head of another. Great stuff. Now, aside from Ledger, there are so many good performances in this movie: Bale returns strong as Batman and Bruce Wayne, Aaron Eckhart as DA Harvey Dent, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Eric Roberts as mobster Sal Maroni. There are many others as the entire cast hits all their marks beautifully. The run-time of over 2 1/2 hours is slightly long, but I can't really pick out any sequence that seemed extraneous or unnecessary. In fact, its pace is so frenetic, it actually leaves you feeling a little agitated as it draws to a close. There are enough plots points and story lines that it felt like an entire season of "24" compressed into 2 1/2 hours. It is all pulled off perfectly. I am officially a huge fan of the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale "Batman". They are not afraid to explore the gritty reality and mental complexity of a man so obsessed with stopping crime that he feels the need to wear a bat suit at night! I'm not sure how they can top these first two films, but it will sure be fun to see them take another shot.

Grade: A

P.S. A quick theatre story: As we waited outside the theater on line, Nancy looked at me and said "Hey, you're not wearing a Batman T-shirt." I responded that I didn't want to go that far down the "geek road" (The fact that I HAVE a Batman T-shirt puts me well on that road already!). Literally, just as we finished this exchange, a theater patron walks by us in full Joker make-up. I turned around and said "Well, at least I would only have had a shot for second place."

Trailer: