The Dark Knight

I really enjoyed Chris Nolan's 'Batman Begins' so it was with some excitement that The Demon and I headed off to the IMAX cinema at the Glasgow Science Centre last night to catch his sequel 'The Dark Knight', which, just so we're clear, will definitely be getting a 10/10 at the end of this post.

Trust me, you can believe the hype.

The Appetisers

Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman reprise their roles as 'Alfred' the butler and 'Lucius Fox', but in reality they just walk around being Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. This is no bad thing as I'm sure Michael Caine would struggle with anything other than a chirpy cockney accent, and if Morgan Freeman told me the Earth was flat, I'd believe him.

The Side Salad

Maggie Gyllenhaal takes over the role of 'Rachael Dawes' from Katie Cruise, nee Holmes, who I presume is off being one half of 'KC and the Sunshine Man'. She (Gyllenhaal) plays the part convincingly enough, but the problem I had with her is that, in all honesty, she's a bit of a minger. Every time she's on screen with Christian Bale I kept thinking "There's no way he's shagging you, luv. Not unless you get him drunk".
Aaron Eckhart's 'Harvey Dent', on the other hand, is integral to the plot of the film, and it's a damn fine job he does too. This is surely going to land him many more roles.

The Main Course

Anyway, enough of all this preamble, it's time to ask:

The Heath Ledger Question?

Is his portrayal of The Joker worthy of an Oscar?

No. Niet. Nein. Non.

Of course it isn't. It was never going to be. He comes across as a menacing, deranged, crazy psychopath alright, but after all the hype he's a bit of a one trick pony, a bit one dimensional.
Having said that, he is impressive, but to be honest all four main actors do a tremendous job here. It's a real team effort. Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Heath Ledger, and of course Christian Bale.

He's now the definitive Batman, and has surely done enough to make the character his own. He's also now definitely Hollywood A-list, and deservedly so. Some of his previous films have been excellent, some not so, but his performance in them has never been in question.
You only have to look at 'American Psycho' (2000), the excellent 'The Machinist' (2004), and 'Harsh Times' (2005) to see three films that are entirely carried on his shoulders alone.
Trust me, hunt these films out.

As for 'The Dark Knight' itself, well without giving the story away, it is absolutely outstanding, and ticks all my boxes. It has all the adrenaline junkie action you could want, but don't think you can simply take your brain out of gear and let it carry you along on a raft of CGI nonsense, oh no, there's far more to it than that. There's some serious gravitas here. This is a rare summer blockbuster that's as heavy on quality of writing as it is quantity of action. It's an extremely well thought out thriller, and delivers on so many levels. I'm struggling to think of the last time I enjoyed a film as much as this one.

Comparing 'Batman Begins' to 'The Dark Knight' is like comparing 'The Hobbit' to 'The Lord Of The Rings'. Chris Nolan surpasses his original by two or three light years, and it's he who should be getting the Oscar nomination. He's proved that with the right team and effort, you can actually take an action film seriously.

One more for the trilogy box set please!

10/10

PS - I want a Batmobile so much it hurts.

"...and the Oscar goes to..."

As I'm sure most of you will be aware, the next instalment of the Batman franchise is released soon. I really enjoyed director Chris Nolan's previous effort 'Batman Begins', so it's with some expectation that I'm looking forward to 'The Dark Knight'.
The only problem I have is with the actor who plays the Joker, Heath Ledger.
Now I'm sure that he was a very nice man, and I'm sure that he'll probably have done a decent job of playing the twisted and evil Joker, but it's time for a wee reality check:

"It's the best performance of a villain I have seen. My feeling is that he will get a nomination, I would be very surprised if he didn't get the Oscar - he has my vote anyway," - Sir Michael Caine

"I haven't seen a villain like this, or a bad guy like this, since Dennis Hopper played Frank Booth in Blue Velvet - this out-scares Hannibal Lecter." - Gary Oldman

"I needed a phenomenal actor, but he also had to be someone unafraid of taking on such an iconic role. Heath created something entirely original. It's stunning, it's captivating. It's going to blow people away." - Chris Nolan (Director)

Now I'm not for a second suggesting that Heath Ledger's performance ISN'T everything above, but now that everyone has come out and built it up, it bloody better be!
The best I can say is that he's been pretty good, if not outstanding, in everything I've seen him in, which isn't much to be honest. In fact, I think I've only seen him in '10 Things I Hate About You' and 'A Knights Tale'. Cynically, I'm sure he wouldn't be receiving such universal acclaim if he were still with us.

As anyone who has read this blog in the past will know, I'm a HUGE fan of the cinema and tend to see films as soon as they are released, so with that in mind, should I be wrong and find that his performance does indeed 'blow me away', I'll happily watch and review 'Brokeback Mountain' and pose in a homo-erotic photograph which I'll post on here, but I'm sure my ass is safe.

PS - Just for the record, the best joker, by a huge margin, was Cesar Romero in the original Batman TV series.

This week I'm listening to 'Geraldine' by Glasvegas, and liking it because I can sing along correctly.