The Goddam Dark Knight

So I took myself to the movies this afternoon. I saw The Dark Knight, the second of the newly revamped Batman series, and it was FRIKKING AWESOME. I really missed going to the movies. Seriously, this is the first time in this calendar year that I've gone. But while hanging out at the Newsarama boards, the praise for this movie was just off the charts, so I couldn't not see it. I figured there was no way possible that this movie could match the hype, but god damn if it wasn't fantastic.

It's pretty dark. It's way dark. It isn't some little kid's movie, man. If all you know about Batman is from the old Adam West tv show, this movie will hit you like a ton of bricks. Batman is a motherfucking asskicking hardass. And the Joker? Holy shit. Heath Ledger's Joker makes Jack Nicholson's look like the fucking Easter Bunny. He's psychotic and downright scary. I can't think of a time in all the various forms and interpretations I've seen of the Joker where he was that scary, and let me tell you, it suits him. He isn't messing around.

It isn't just a big dumb punch-up. The atmosphere is heavy, there are moral ambiguities and shades of gray to burn, and a whole lot of people get killed. There were situations in the story where I had no idea how they were going to be resolved, and when I can't predict what's coming next in a superhero flick, it's got some heft to it. As much as I really enjoyed the Spider-Man movies, there weren't a lot of surprises. The Dark Knight really kept me on the edge. For all the times I've seen cities jeopardized by crazy madmen, this time it genuinely felt like the end of the world right there in Gotham City.

And I am fucking impressed.