It was decided that The Dark Knight was so good that not only did it deserve its own strip, it deserved a week of them. The idea was Beer’s, based on a Slashdot link. We just condensed it to twelve days, because ten to twelve years is quite a bit of time. The Google Earth idea was also his, as I have never heard of it, but had quite the time fucking around with it before and after doing the screen shot for the comic. By the way, “villainous lairs” didn’t turn up anything.

There is a massive sort-of-review of the Dark Knight following here, with a somewhat important announcement at the end of the post. So if you didn’t give a rats ass about the latest Batman movie (you weirdo), then just scroll on down until you get to the Youtube video, and then read everything after that.

For the rest of us…

I’m not sure how to review The Dark Knight for you, beyond what I said on Friday, where I commented simply that it was perfect. And it is. I’m not sure if it broke the weekend box office record, but it came close. Its considered the best movie of all time on IMDb now (which, to be fair, is kind of much this quickly… though I do love the fact that this phenomena has elicited its own FAQ entry), and will earn a shitload of Oscar nominations. Not a bad weekend, all in all.

If you know me, and some of you do, I am the Batman guy. Yeah, I love comics in general and keep an eye on most things involved with that medium, but Batman is my boy. When he is up, I am up, and when he is down, I am down. And right now, dude is up, way up. My old website, 10:47 Productions, was named for the most obscure piece of Batman trivia (his parents were killed at 10:47 PM, and he set the clock to that time to enter the cave in the comic).

So with all that said, when I tell you that this is the best Batman movie ever, you can trust me.

But is that enough, really? Alright, lets call it the best comic book movie ever, as well. Yeah, there have been some great, great movies based on comics… and I will now openly defy you to find a better one. This is all, of course, the subject of opinion. But you know… you know!

In the grander scope, I think it certainly finds its way into the top fifty movies of all time, even now, and should get a look for Best Picture in 2008. Its already in my top ten, maybe my top five… top three? We’ll give it time.

The movie starred Christian Bale, who was spot on as usual, but this was Heath Ledger’s movie. I’d been reading for weeks about how fantastic he was in his portrayal as the Joker, and kept asking myself, “How good could he have possibly been?” He is the definitive Joker now, don’t even try to mention another name, which is all the more tragic with his passing.

Ledger’s balance and breadth in the role needs repeat viewings to appreciate. And that is the magic of it, because his Joker is impossible to read. From the every changing origin stories, the humour, the sadism, the fits of sanity and insanity, Ledger elevated himself, the film, and any other actor in a scene with him to massive heights. Heath Ledger’s Joker is a transcendent role, one we’ll remember in twenty years, in thirty years, for the rest of our lives.

Everyone else was pretty good, too. Bale amped up Batman physically, emotionally and intellectually (in the detective aspects especially, which I felt were kind of lacking in Batman Begins), showed us the characters strengths, and flaws. Michael Caine was his usual self, tempering the film and adding perfect light touches when needed. Gary Oldman continued to give me great fits of glee as I obsolutely love the character of Jim Gordon from the comic, and so enjoy seeing him get the proper treatment on film. And Maggie Gyllenhaal certainly improved over Katie Holmes, but so could most brands of mops. (If the mops had great racks)

Lost in the shuffle of Ledger’s mastery, and fantastic roles by others, was Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent. I figured that Dent would be more of a bit part, with some opening at the end for Two Face and a third film. No. Dent was a key figure in the mythos of Batman in the comic, and things were no different in the movie. In fact, I think Harvey Dent in this movie might be the best take ever on the character… his own demons, struggles, the faith of not only an entire city, but the faith of the Batman who looks to have Dent take his mantle as the city’s savior. Eckhart really nailed this role, steering us from the shining, smiling District Attorney, to showing a few cracks in that white armor, to finally breaking altogether.

A great job by him, and by the cast all around… which of course, points to great casting, and is a testament to the vision of the film’s creators. My question now is, with this movie, Batman Begins, Memento and the Prestige under his belt, is Christopher Nolan the best director in Hollywood right now? How fucking good is this guy? When something like Insomnia is your shitty movie, you know you’ve got some talent, I’ll tell you that much. This movie was not only acted great, it looked great, it was paced well, shot well, scored well, edited well… it was perfect.

The Dark Knight was perfect, and I’m not sure how we’re going to top it in the third film. I’m not even going to worry about that right now. If you just screwed Jessica Alba (or random hot guy, I suppose), I doubt you’d be thinking ahead to how well the next time would be. We’re just going to bask in the afterglow for now.

It didn’t hurt that the movie opened with one of the coolest trailers I have seen since, well, the Dark Knight one. Watchmen looks legit, kids. I’ve read the comic a few times, and I recognise some of these sequences right from the page. I think we’re in good hands.

I had a few other things to touch on, but since the post went so long, we’ll skip to the main one:

A Donation page is finally up! And hopefully the forms actually work, because they’re kind of old!

Let me tell you how this works. You donate money, I get to eat. Its simple, really. There’s a little meter at the top of the page, and if that somehow tops out before the end of July (which I don’t see happening, but you never know!), something cool will happen. Something cooler than me eating for another two weeks, something like a free pinup for all, I suppose.

Donations not only keep the site going, but keep me alive, so I really appreciate anything you guys can do. When you donate five bucks, you’ll get to download the monthly incentive. This month its Pep, next month, who knows?

If you’re an old reader, you’ll remember I did a few incentives sans clothing (they were naked, not me), and that may still happen. We’ll see how this one does, first.

Anyway, your support is massively appreciated here, and even a few hundred bucks a month can go a long, long way right now. So if you are so inclined, ladies and gentlemen… donate, and support Aikida. And me.

And that is all, for now. See you back here Wednesday for more of the Bat-Regimen!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 2:02 am and is filed under comics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.