Hero Inc.

Note: My ultimate goal was to see this movie in IMAX due to Christopher Nolan filming parts of the movie with an IMAX camera. These images were to be more visually stunning when compared to the normal movies that are translated to the IMAX screen. However, the “great” people at the Mall of GA Regal IMAX did not seem to plan well for the numerous screenings that were scheduled for the IMAX and how this might affect the IMAX blub that could overheat and break. The AJC has a good short story about it. I still got to see it on a regular screen but I will update this post later when I finally get to see the movie as it was intended.

In the simplest of terms, The Dark Knight is perfect. I have seen many movies in my lifetime and I’ve seen many that have been hyped by the media and myself prior to seeing them. All of the hyped movies have never ever lived up to the hype until the Dark Knight. I really don’t want to write this review for the simple fact that I could write “perfect” and walk away knowing that I got it right. I’ll still take some time to point out a few non-spoilerish items.

First, the reviews you have heard do not lie about Heath Ledger. I tried and tried and tried during this movie to find Heath but was only able to find him for all of 2 seconds in a scene where the Joker was wearing no makeup. Other than that I only saw the Joker, a sadistic, chaos happy murderer/thief. Heath’s performance was great for a superhero movie and even better for a general movie. He was lost in the role and brought to life one of the most eccentric characters I have seen since Hannibal Lector or Bill The Butcher (Gangs of New York). He will make you laugh at things you know are not funny and you should not be laughing if you were told the same thing if you were outside of the theatre. As for Oscar nods, I feel he deserves one. Should he win? Well, that is the best performance I have seen all year. I will most certainly make the time this year to look at all nominees and then judge again. I don’t want him to win just because he died early. He should receive it only if he deserves it.

The plot/dialog is even better than I imagined. All of the characters were perfectly captured and given adequate time to be furthered in the story. The film may clock in little over 2 hours and 30 minutes but you would never know it since you are sucked into the story. The action makes you jump and cheer while the characters can make you love/hate the world we have without heroes.

When the film ended, I knew there was nothing after the credits, but I didn’t want to move from my seat. I wanted them to start it over so I could watch it again and again. Heck, I’d go right now if someone offered it to me. I believe when everything is said and done, The Dark Knight will be the number 2 all time box office movie (you just can’t beat the teen sensation of Titantic).

I will state that this movie is NOT for younger viewers. I felt disturbed at times and I know kids would be far worse. Batman Begins might have been ok for kids, but The Dark Knight is just too….well….dark.

On my normal rating skill, The Dark Knight would receive the following rating.

[Rating: 5/5]

However, every now and then you see a movie that breaks the rating system and you must design a new one specifically for the movie. Therefore, The Dark Knight would/should receive the following.

[Rating:20/20]