Flick Chick: The Dark Knight

It's been a while since I've done a Flick Chick blog, and I assure you there has not been a shortage of movie going by yours truly (a bonafide movie popcorn addict) in the past few months, but there has been a shortage of time and worthwhile movies about which to write. Last night's flick, however, proved worthy. Oh so worthy.
So, OK, superhero DC Comic movies are not everyone's cup of tea, I get that. They tend to not be mine, either. (Trust me, I was subjected to Hell Boy II last weekend. A cup of-- well, I don't know what, but most certainly not mine.) But I have always enjoyed the Batman series. Maybe because I enjoy a darker hero-- one who is flawed, mysterious and private, unencumbered, and whose hair doesn't glisten with Ken doll sheen. Maybe because his alter ego isn't the cliche nerdy reporter/science geek/kid-everyone-picked-on-in-school, but a hottie philanthropist billionaire and that's just... well, sexy.
While never actually owning a comic book, my friends and I still watched the Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney movies with unfettered interest and, of course, wanted to be as beautiful as Catwoman when we grew up. I loved the Batman music, the all-black Batsuit, the supersweet 007-esque toys. I loved my Batman sheets when I was younger (you're thinking 8 years old, right? Nope: college.) And, in the newest movies, I heart Christian Bale.
Batman Begins was probably my favorite Batman movie to date thanks to director Christopher Nolan's ability to give the audience a bit of credit and offer a more mature, meatier, darker, less kampy feel to the film; and, of course, the aforementioned Christian Bale who played a Batman with more depth and less ego was the perfect actor to show us the descent into darkness. I also found the villians more believable in Batman Begins because they were more psychopathic (a la Hannibal Lecter) rather than just over-the-top caricatures of themselves (a la Jim Carey as the Riddler.)
I was looking forward to seeingThe Dark Knight because Bale was still the hero, and because Heath Ledger's casting as the Joker was intriguing; Heath had good looks (a cute Batman villain? Can this happen?) and he seemed young for the role which was so... I dunno, iconic for Jack Nicholson.
So last night we waited with the masses and saw The Dark Knight. I give it an enthusiastic Flick Chick rating of Woohoo! Bale is just as suited for the role this time around, but less tortured than the last film required. I sent Ian this e-card earlier in the day yesterday because I was getting a bit sick of the buzz:

And the answer is yes, yes it is. Heath's Joker delivers a deranged psychopathic criminal that is truly scary. Per one of his lines in the movie, "Gotham deserves a better class of criminal" Heath's performance gives viewers a better class of Batman villain. His makeup hides his leading man looks and his age doesn't really factor in the performance the way I expected. His performance is every bit as good as the buzz... His personification of the dark, twisted, son-of-chaos Joker is a jolting punch in the gut throughout the movie. TDK is not a feel-good flick; it is tense, it is sad, it is the darkest yet of the series, but it stands alone as entertaining through and through thanks to all the shining performers and a rare-for-this-genre quality script. And, ps, I TOTALLY called the Aaron Eckhart twist. I won't spoil it here. But I called it early into the film and my little hunch had me even more enthralled to see if I was right. And I was. And it was awesome.
You do not have to be a fan of the Batman series to like TDK-- which I think holds true with Batman Begins, too. Both films stand great on their own as, get ready to roll your eyes, works of cinematic art. I would recommend seeing Batman Begins before seeing TDK however, because there are references you just won't get otherwise-- and Morgan Freeman's character is not developed in this film at all because the director assumes you know who he is from Batman Begins. TDK really is a great movie in its own light, exposing the dark of humanity and the gritty of a Gotham world where, much like our own, the lines blur between terrorism and heroism. Gone are the "holy cheesy, Batman" lines, gone are the slapstick bad guys in tights. Welcome to the new black.

The only thing I found disappointing was the chemistry between Maggie Gyllenhaal and the movie's leading men. I found her a bit flat in her role, her face bothers me (I'm sorry, Jake, but you got the looks in the family) and the love story/back story seem rushed and totally second-fiddle to everything else-- which would have been fine except that it becomes the precipitating driver for the whole last hour of action. So I guess I would have liked to see her story/character a little more developed so that I cared about her more. I think more of her character (preferably played by someone I like to look at more) would have helped give this film a little more balance from the bleak themes that made it a haunting, bitter cup at times. As for truly fun surprises? Anthony Michael Hall (remember him from The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles?) pops up in the second act as a reporter. (No sign of Molly Ringwald, however.)

Still not convinced that TDK is your cup of tea? There's always WALL-E. That was really good, too, and a bit easier to swallow.