The Dark Knight

I finally saw the Dark Knight, even though I am sure die-hard Batman fans would spit in my direction for getting so excited over seeing this movie, as it took me two years to finally see Batman Begins, and even so, only because I needed to know what proceeded the Dark Knight.  

After so many viewings of the Michael Keaton Batman movies, anything new had a lot to live up to. Jack Nicholson, Danny Devito, Michelle Pfeiffer- they all so branded their faces to those characters that I was hesitant to say the least. Then, I had the enormous misfortune of seeing part of Batman Forever with Jim Carey, and the rest of the cast that butchered the legend that I knew to be Batman. Hopefully, this can explain why I didn't rush to the theater to see Batman Begins. My thought process was: No Michael Keaton, no me. Whoops!

I knew going into the movie theater last night that this movie was really over-hyped, and that unless the characters popped out of the movie screens to rub my feet and hold my drink for me, I would probably be disappointed. And I wasn't. But I wasn't running from the theater screaming, "Christopher Nolan is my idol!!!!"  

In short, Maggie Gylenhaal took a crappy part left behind by the not so gifted Katie Holmes and made it movie-worthy. Michael Caine is as dependable as air, and I hope to chat with him about life and love one day, hopefully under the guise of sipping tea as I drool in awe of him. (After Cider House Rules, he gained a super fan for life.) Christian Bale was very much the same. And Heath Ledger. Oh, Heath. I loved him in Lords of Dogtown, Ned Kelly, Brokeback Mountain, Monster's Ball, and A Knight's Tale. He was so personable and charming and charismatic and just seeing his talent ooze off of the screen made me sad all over again. I was sad that if the powers that be choose to make a third Batman, he can't be in it. And I was sad that his family and friends would be experiencing bittersweet emotions as he receives posthumous praise. So, how did I feel after seeing the Dark Knight? Really, really sad.