The Dark Knight

I caught The Dark Knight on Saturday.  Growing up, Batman was always my favorite super hero.  I think that it was because he was human, and didn't gain super powers from a spider bite or radiation exposure.  I particularly loved the Tim Burton directed Batman movies. 

 

I am sure that by now most of you have seen the movie, read about it, or heard about it from friends who have seen it.   You have also likely heard about how great Heath Ledgers portrays The Joker.  Well, I am not going to add any fresh insights.  Heath Ledger was was truly amazing as the Joker.  When The Joker was on screen, I felt a little uncomfortable, as he is so menacingly maniacal that you feel uncertain about what he will do next.  He took comic book villains to an entirely new level.  I would list his portrayal as one of the best villains in movies, along with Hannibal Lecter, Max Cady, Nurse Ratched, and Anton Chigurh. 

 

The movie was also quite good.  Director Christopher Nolan has expanded on Burton's darker portrayal of Batman, adding dirt, grime, and ambiguity.  The movie was filmed in Chicago, and gave Gotham a gritty feel that was the polar opposite of Joel Schumacher's Batman movies.  The only time that I found myself thinking about CGI and special effects was when Two-face was on-screen (but not in a bad way).  The Dark Knight should satisfy adult geeks who grew up on Batman.  And there sure were a bunch of us geeks at the movie this weekend.