I had to sit through “The Love Guru” in order to do it, but I had the opportunity earlier this week to catch a sneak preview of “The Dark Knight” (at the local IMAX no less) for the express purpose of telling everyone in Harrisburg, Pa., who bothers to read newspapers any more whether or not I liked the movie.

By the time you’re reading this, my “official” review of The Dark Knight should be up and about somewhere around here (sorry, you’ll have to search for it on your lonesome). Space, as always, was short and I didn’t have much room to say everything I wanted to about the film. So I thought I’d take a few moments and list some of my thoughts on the movie that I didn’t get to quite express fully during my day job.

And no, I’m not about to reveal all the choice bits and big surprises here, but obviously if you prefer going into the movie knowing as little about it as possible, you shouldn’t click on the link below to read more.

– There was a sizable audience for the sneak preview I attended, though surprisingly not packed. There were still more than a few empty seats.

– Most folks in attendance, however, seemed eager for the film. A few were wearing t-shirts with Ledger’s face (in Joker regalia) or other Batman-related clothing. No one attempted cosplay thankfully, although apparently the theater is handing out prizes to folks who do dress up on opening night.

– In fact, judging by the response of my co-workers, the anticipation for this film is HUGE. For at least one person, that anticipation is due largely to the fact that Christian Bale is someone they wouldn’t kick out of bed for wearing golf shoes. For others, no doubt there’s a perhaps a ghoulish curiosity to see Heath Ledger’s final performance that may have killed him!

For a lot of people though, I think it’s simply that they really liked the first film. A lot. It generated enough goodwill for average moviegoers to see the story continued.

– I’d lay down good money that not a single person at work who told me how psyched they were for the film will ever set foot into a comic shop to buy a Batman comic. Or even pick up a trade at their local Borders or Barnes and Noble. The cinema is where Joe and Jane Doe go to get their superhero fix. They would never be caught dead reading a comic. As far as we’ve come, there’s still an unwanted stigma.

– We were handed little press kits as we walked in that had a fake Gotham City newspaper with stories about the aftermath from the last Batman movie. As freebie tie-ins go, it was clever.

– While I could live my entire life without ever feeling the need to see a movie adaptation of Watchmen, I must say the trailer looked impressive. Or at least suggested the movie could be capable of not completely sucking. If anything, the movie appears faithful to the nth degree, with scenes that seem directly lifted out of Dave Gibbons’ panels. That’s not terribly surprising considering it’s made by the same guy that did 300, but being too slavish to the source material is something that could easily work against the film

– But never mind all of that. You, of course, you want to know how good a job Heath Ledger does. Well, yes, the rumors are true, it’s an excellent performance. To be fair, it’s the most showy role in the whole film, but Ledger plays it smart and safely out of camp territory. With his shuffle-step walk, facial tics and deliberate enunciations, he’s more horror-movie villain than supervillain. I think it’s safe to say his rendition of the character will quickly become the definitive one. Sorry, Jack.

– He’ s so good in fact, that he pretty much overshadows everyone else in the movie, including the title character. Considering this is a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman, all of them doing fantastic work, that’s impressive, to say the least. Of course, they’re all playing close to the vest, none more so than Christian Bale, whose really the only actor who hasn’t yet looked absolutely ridiculous in a batsuit (though he comes close here at times).

– At the risk of repeating myself I really do want to point out just how much of an “actor’s movie” this is. Even folks like Eric Roberts and Anthony Michael Hall get some choice moments in the sun. William Fichtner has a bit in the beginning as a shotgun-wielding bank manager and his appearance made me grin from ear to ear.

– Yay also for Maggie Gyllenhaal, even though her character is (SPOILER ALERT) a total WiR.

– In case you hadn’t sussed it out, I liked the movie very much, though I think I liked WALL-E a bit more. Still, it’s a thoughtful, tense, thrilling film that tries to take seriously the idea of what it means to decide you are the only one who can save the city/country/mankind, and how that can backfire in completely unintended ways, despite your best intentions.

– As a result, there are a lot of post-9/11 overtones that will either grate on or delight you depending upon where you stand and your tolerance for these sorts of metaphors. The Joker is repeatedly referred to as a terrorist, despite, as opposed to most real-life terrorists, he doesn’t have any real political agenda beyond wrecking havoc. He is an unstoppable force of evil, similar in many ways to the Scorpio Killer character in “Dirty Harry.” So Batman is forced to questionable methods to catch the crook, including warrentless surveillance! I suppose the difference between Harry and Bruce Wayne is that the latter feels guilty about his actions. Well, that and the whole Magnum .44 thing.

– The one big problem I had with Batman Begins, and that I have with this movie, is that in attempting to blend what is a semi-realistic crime noir with a fantasy-based superhero movie is that I find my credulity is stretched during the big set pieces. I find myself wondering things like: who pays for all the collateral damage that Batman creates in attempting to capture his enemies? Do Gotham City insurance agents have a rough time of it? How can there not be any innocent bystanders in all that carnage. Why does anyone still live in a city where hospitals and police stations get blown up on a regular basis? Stuff like that.

– If you do go to see the movie, definitely try to catch one of the IMAX versions, if such an option is even possible in your hometown. Many of the big set-pieces were filmed with the IMAX camera, and it’s thrilling to see them projected at such a gigantic size, though certain aerial sweeps of the city had me wishing I had brought my Dramamine.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under DC Comics, Movies, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.