The Dark Knight

Leah and I went to see The Dark Knight last night. I know...yes, we saw it the day it opened...but at least we didn't go to the 12:00, 3:00, or 6:00 AM showings Friday morning.

Anyway, I was curious to see if Heath Ledger's performance actually lived up to the hype surrounding the movie. His performance from the previews looked amazing, and I wanted to see if the previews showed it all, or if the rest of his performance was really that good.

I was not disappointed.

He is even better than the previews lead you to believe. His take on the Joker was simultaneously hysterical, creepy, endearing, and psychotic. I'm not sure how those can all fit together in one character, but he made it happen. He is also one of the smartest villains ever, which is clear from the opening bank heist. He truly is a sick, demented....genius. The movie may be titled after Batman, but this was the Joker's show.

Aside from Ledger's performance (which is worth the price of admission itself), the movie itself was basically a post-modern take on heroes and villains. Batman represents the old modern viewpoint, with all his rules he lives by, and the Joker, who plans and plans, but in the end, has no real point to his madness other than to create chaos.

He's psychotic, but his explanation of things is highly logical. For example, he explains the difference between him issuing the public an ultimatum of killing one ordinary person, or he will blow up a hospital. This creates a moral dilemma. How different would it be, he asks, if the person were a gang-banger or some soldiers where we expect their deaths? His manipulation of the public is highly intellectual, but ultimately, he just wants to create dis-order. For the Joker, the means is the end.

Speaking of ends, this one continues the post-modern theme right through with how Batman handles things at the end...although I actually enjoyed the ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, despite the violence. Actually, there is a very minimal amount of blood. I can understand why it's rated PG-13, although my kids would probably have to older than 13 for me to feel ok with them seeing it. There are some great themes, though. It's more of an exploration of the evil inherent (or not) in humanity, the need for heroes (or not), and the danger of evil without purpose. They explore these issues fairly well.

I would highly recommend it, and I will probably see it again.