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Multi-talented Christopher Nolan
returns for yet another amazing look into Batman’s world; The Dark Knight is possibly the greatest depiction of Batman
that we have ever seen in film or even television. The hype that surrounded the film started early; in fact it never seemed to stop.
I was preparing myself to be a little let down because a movie with this much buzz and hype couldn’t nearly be
as good as everyone says. Well, I was wrong, it was better! I thought they made a fatal mistake when they announced
Heath Ledger was taking on the role of the super-psychotic/super-villain Joker. I wouldn’t say that
I hated Heath; I just couldn’t see him as Batman’s greatest arch-enemy, and I haven’t been a fan of many
of his previous film choices. All doubts of his talent were erased in the opening robbery sequence and
in each and every scene he was in from there on out. In fact, all performances upped the ante since 2005’s
Batman Begins.
The story includes three major characters that get their own opportunity to shine, and shine they do. I’ve
already mentioned the stellar performance made by the late Heath Ledger that may never be topped in another Batman film or
even any comic-book film from now on. In fact, I have pity for any actor who tries to top Heath’s
version of the Joker; those who try will most likely fall short of his performance. Unfortunately the talks
surrounding Heath’s untimely death and incredible role have made many people overlook the other great performances such
as Aaron Eckhart’s take on Harvey Dent and the coin-flipping villain Two-Face. In the film we see
the rise and fall of Harvey Dent like we’ve never seen before, drastically changing the way we look at this character
forever, and the final results are spectacular. Aaron wasn’t the only new face in the movie; Maggie
Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, a woman who is torn between her childhood friend Bruce Wayne and Harvey
Dent. Many critics claimed that the choice to have Maggie replace Katie after she declined to return was
an upgrade to the film, but I don’t agree. Sure, Maggie’s acting may seem a bit more polished
than Katie’s, but the chemistry between her character and Bale’s didn’t seem as strong. And
let’s face it; Maggie’s overall appearance wasn’t quite as easy on the eyes as Katie’s in Batman Begins.
Finally, there’s Christian Bale, back again as billionaire Bruce Wayne and the dark knight himself.
Christian has shown us all that he can’t be stopped, becoming one of today’s most sought after leading
men in Hollywood in only a matter of years, and he shows us exactly why in his performance. It’s stunning to see this film in Blu-Ray, definitely
high-definition at it’s finest. And for those of you who didn’t get a chance to see this film
in IMAX, you’ll finally get the opportunity to see each IMAX scene incorporated into the Blu-Ray release with a smooth
transition between widescreen and the full IMAX shot, which allows us to see the true vision of Christopher Nolan’s
dream. It may sound odd that it goes between the two modes, but it’s hardly noticeable… I
only wish the entire film was shot in IMAX so we can see more of this beautiful film. The running time is one-hundred and fifty-two minutes,
which may seem long, but no time is wasted as each scene plays an important part in this incredible story that the Nolan brothers
created. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan are some of today’s best storytellers in film, writing modern
classics such as Memento and The Prestige… and now a film that has set the bar for each and every comic-book film to
come. I just hope this doesn’t drive them away from bringing us a third installment in the Bat-series.
The Dark Knight may be a hard act to follow, but with a lot of hard work, the right characters and a great storyline
that only they could bring us… the third one could be just as great as The Dark Knight… it could even be better.
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