A very Dark Knight indeed

Warning: Minor spoilers ahead. You've been warned.

I realize the belatedness of this posting in relation to the release of the movie itself. My wife and I weren't able to see it for a while, until a friend of ours very kindly offered to babysit for us, and afterwards I didn't feel capable of making any sort of coherent comments. I'm very glad we made the decision not to bring our 7 month old (he loved the latest Indiana Jones), not because the movie would have affected him, but because feeling and seeing our reactions would have.

I'm curious how it affected anyone who may be reading this. I don't think I've had a movie affect me like that since E.T. (I was very young, saw it in the theatre). I'm pretty sure I was shaking after Dark Knight ended, and it took me several hours before I could really process everything I'd just seen.

As if Heath Ledger's death wasn't tragic enough. Having seen the caliber of performance he was capable of giving, I have to wonder if he'll be regarded as the modern James Dean. You have to know that they wanted him back for a sequel, that so many scriptwriters just tore out their hair when they heard of his passing. My wife, even, would very much have looked forward to an introduction of Dr. Harley Quinn to play off of Ledger. It was an inspired performance, and not having him around to repeat it puts the character out of commission for at least two more films. Replacing him too soon won't sit right with the fan base.

I have to agree with a lot of the reviewers that the worst acting was on the part of the title character. Christian Bale makes a decent Bruce, but his Batman needs work. What was worst, I think, was the voice change. It sounded like he was out of breath and congested whenever he was speaking as Batman. I theorized that maybe there was some sort of voice modulator built into the suit, at the throat area so it was hidden, so that no one could use voice recognition technology to discover his identity, but the voice was the one aspect that jarred us out of the experience the most.

Some people expressed the view that the Joker character wasn't "funny" enough, that he didn't have a sense of humor, but I have to disagree. He thought everything was absolutely hilarious, and to those with a similar mindset (or one wide-angled enough to understand it), the humor was there. Dark, yes, and twisted, based on a skewed perception of the world and its relative truths, but still there. Also interesting were the various stories he told about his facial scars. It told the audience to be careful, not to believe anything this guy says. Something which was easy to forget, later on when he was in the hospital with Dent - that speech, like all his previous, was intended to manipulate.

The funniest line in the whole movie, though, was delivered by Freeman, in the scene where the accountant tries to blackmail Bruce Wayne. "Good luck with that." A family member was reminded of a line from Meet the Robinsons - "I just don't think this plan was thought through very well." Fox essentially told the accountant that his arms were way too short to box with God, without giving away a thing.

I'm always impressed with Gary Oldman, and this was no exception. He disappears into every character he portrays. You could look at Gordon's body language and tell that he was a cop. I'm still convinced that he should be first pick, in the event that a movie (or seventeen) based on Steven Brust's Jhereg series ever gets made.

Apparently, some people have expressed the hope that they bring back Two-Face. Again, an inspired performance, albeit one overshadowed by the tragedy surrounding the film. However, to pull such a stunt when the character was obviously killed would kill the credibility of the series as a whole. I understand the desire, especially since the villain they'd obviously intended to bring back (aside from the Scarecrow - a very neat little interlude there, which hinted at so much more) is out of commission, at least for a good while. Aaron Eckhart does a wonderful job in a difficult role, especially one with such a quick psychological turnabout. He makes both the before and after versions of Dent believable, as well as the turning point. The makeup and effects for Two-Face are fantastic in their realism, managing to be dark without being unnecessarily gory.

The family member I mentioned passed on rumors about the next film that include Angelina Jolie as Catwoman, and/or Johnny Depp as Riddler. We're both very excited about the latter possibility. He sees a serious portrayal of the Riddler as a classic serial killer, on the order of the Zodiac. The character doesn't need a question-mark-covered suit or a brass cane - just an elevated intellect and an ego that prompts him to taunt authorities with clues to his every move.

As for the first possibility, I have to admit some extreme hesitance and disagreement. Catwoman as a role seems impossibly difficult to take seriously. I'd be willing to give this crew a chance on it, but my belief in them will be severely strained if Jolie is given the part. I've seen her in a number of films, and quite frankly she seems to be picked for roles based primarily on her figure. I'm all for Catwoman being attractive, but A) I don't find Jolie attractive and B) a woman doesn't need to have a large bustline to inspire attraction. Quite frankly, I think a more slender figure would be perfectly in keeping with a character that draws its name from felines. Aesthetics aside, I imagine serious acrobatics would be easier with less up top, and I think if this team is serious about putting in Catwoman, there's going to be some major acrobatics involved. I'm thinking more along the lines of Mystique from the recent X-Men movies than the string of backflips from Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman. Actually, Rebecca Romijn might not be too bad a choice...