(Heh, if Harry Potter can get his own movie thread, then Batman deserves one, too.)
I went to see The Dark Knight this evening. Don't want to spoil the movie for anyone, so my comments are very general.
It's an extraordinary movie. I had no idea director Chris Nolan was going to be this ambitious with the sequel, and I'm not talking about bigger stunt sequences or fancier special effects; I now understand why some have compared The Dark Knight to Michael Mann's Heat -- TDK really does have the quality of an epic crime drama, not "just" a comic book movie. I'm not saying Christian Bale and Heath Ledger are the equal of Pacino and DeNiro, but they are certainly just as riveting to watch. And yes, Ledger's performance as the Joker may well make anyone who takes up the role after him look like a pretender.
This sequel is even darker, more intense and more brutal than Batman Begins. And I think it's better. So is The Dark Knight the best Batman movie yet? Or go one step further: does this now rank as the greatest costumed hero movie of them all? I'm sure this is being debated by both comic book and movie geeks everywhere. Me, I would not argue too much with those who feel it's the best. At the moment, I would say The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Sin City, V For Vendetta and X2: X-Men United are the five best comic book/graphic novel-to-film adaptations I've ever seen.
But the Watchmen movie may alter my list. Yes, one of the previews was for Watchmen, which is coming out next summer. Holy crap, did that get me excited! I've been a long-time fan of Watchmen. So for me to see a trailer for it at last made this a special night, in addition to the "main event." For those who don't know, it's directed by Zach Snyder, the guy who made 300. While I didn't particularly care for that film, from what I've gathered Snyder is a huge fan of Watchmen himself. I've seen the casting choices for the movie and I have no objections. I was very encouraged by what I saw in the trailer: the Watchmen characters looked spot-on. I've got a big smiley face marked down for July 2009.
Er, back to The Dark Knight. Yes, it gets two big thumbs up from me. While Ledger may be the single most compelling reason to see the film, his performance is just one of the treasures in The Dark Knight that make it special.
So, what did you think of the movie?