The Dark Knight

There's a moment in The Empire Strikes Back where Luke and Leia are on a medical ship at the end of the movie. Lando and Chewbacca are getting ready to go save Han Solo, Luke has a new hand attached, and even through all of the pain and misery that the characters are forced to endure, there's a glimmer of hope and an underlying current of "Maybe things will be alright." But what if that movie hadn't had that moment? What if it had ended with Luke physically and emotionally scarred by Darth Vader on the Millennium Falcon and the heroes just barely making it out with their lives?

That, my friends, is The Dark Knight.

To give you that much isn't spoiling anything. For all of the hype, the few spoilers that made it onto the internet before the film, and all of the promotional material you may have seen (trailers, commercials, etc.), nothing can accurately describe what the audience is asked to endure during this movie. Often "enduring" can be seen as having negative connotations, especially in relation to media, but in the case of The Dark Knight, you'll thank the creative talents behind the film for it. It's not an endurance of slip-shoddy film making; it's an emotional endurance that left more than one person I know (and myself) speechless at the film's conclusion. When those of us gathered managed to find words to describe what we'd just seen it tended to be either "Holy shit," or "Wow."

I don't want to get your hopes up for The Dark Knight, but believe me, there are very few people who could have had higher expectations than I did. I am an unabashed fan of the character of the Joker. As such, I hated Jack Nicholson's hammy, over-the-top portrayal of a character that I felt should have incited true fear into those who came into contact with him. I liked what was done in "Batman: The Animated Series" yet still the Joker was constrained by the limitations of television and what was a decidedly PG treatment. Luckily, the Joker showed up when they began filming The Dark Knight.

Heath Ledger is not in this movie. His performance is so brilliant that the actor completely disappears behind the scars and the crudely applied clown make-up. He is the Joker and as such, he's crazy, intelligent, and evil. When you laugh at him, it's out of nerves not humor, for this guy can take something as simple as a magic trick and send shivers down your spine.

I was a fan of Batman Begins, for despite is somewhat old-school James Bond supervillain ending, it was the first time I'd seen a live-action version of Batman that was accurate to the comics in spirit. After that movie, I was giddy at the prospect of that Batman meeting a faithful version of the Joker, and its sequel did not disappoint.

I could go on and on about this movie, about the genius of the Joker's scheme, about the tragedy involved, about the fantastic cast, compelling story etc. There's so much to like about it that the only complaint I have is one carried over from the first film and that is the poor editing of some of the fight sequences. Even still, it doesn't detract enough from a movie that I can barely talk about without going into great depth of the spoilers. Really, about all I can still say is "Holy shit," or "Wow" without giving too much away. It's that good. Maybe good enough to be my favorite movie. Only time will tell and we'll see how this one ages. As for now, I really don't know where they can go with the story. I can't possibly think of a way for Mr. Nolan and company to top this film. Yet, I'm more than happy to let them try. I'm ready for another excursion into Gotham City. For now, it'll have to be The Dark Knight that takes me there. I'm only too happy to oblige.