391: The Dark Knight Review.
Christopher Nolan revives the last two Batman (and first two, really) with this brilliant fusion of a comic book tale with his thrilling drama. He has created perhaps the greatest action film I have seen since 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day. You can tell it's a Nolan film just from the first twenty minutes of the movie. It begins with no title credits (first time I've seen that in awhile), flashbacks, and important introspection. Every character means something. This is shown later when you see just a random kid who believes in Batman play more of a role rather than just being there.
I must have watched the trailers and clips about ten times each, so I knew a lot of the dialogue in the film, but that did not stop the movie from surprising me. Cillian Murphy is perfectly cast as Dr. Jonathon Crane. I mean, if you look at the comic books and the animated series, you would probably come up with a man like him. Those glasses really help, haha. As Bruce Wayne, Christian Bale is kind of creepy, determined, funny, but above all, rattled and lost. He is searching for his call. I suppose he finds his. Bale's character is one that Nolan wants you to believe in, not just by what he says or does, but by what he doesn't say or can't do until he is Batman. Bale as Batman is MEAN. I didn't expect this, but it worked really well. Keaton, Kilmer, or Clooney portray Batman as a wimp compared to his performance. Bale also changes he voice, as he is supposed to, when he is Batman. I don't remember the other actors doing that nearly as well in the other films. This makes Batman even more interesting and cool than he already.
The story of this film is something I can't explain in great depth, because the first time you watch it, you aren't tuned in to the smallest details, but Nolan always makes the smaller details in a film mean something. That is why it is a film that deserves repeated viewings, not just for astonishing action sequences or one-liners, but because of the thing as a whole. This is not just a Batman movie; it is much more than any of us could have hoped. The greatest superhero movie of all time, hands down.
Next time I see it, I want to highlight some other things, but being 10 a.m. and driving all the way into the center of Lancaster, I was pretty tired. And when the movie was over at 12:30, I was really tired and just wanted to make it home. Well, I don't need to say much else. Just go see it. It's better than anything this year.
10/10