The Dark Knight. Well, you knew this was coming. Believe it or not, this is not my favorite Batman movie. That honor belongs with Batman Returns, because of Catwoman. That is the ONLY reason this is not my favorite Batman movie.

When I heard Heath Ledger was set to play the Joker, I thought Nolan was off his rocker. It's one thing to be creative with your casting, but COME ON, Heath was WAY too young to play The Joker. Furthermore, I didn't much care for the Joker as a character. He bored me. Then Brokeback Mountain came out, and I thought maybe there's more to this Ledger character than I thought. (Yes, btw, I knew Heath was playing the Joker before Brokeback Mountain came out). When I saw the first poster, a year before The Dark Knight was set to premiere, I got goosebumps and drool formulated. It was the poster that had "Why so serious" written in blood with a very blurry, and very creepy Joker character behind it.

That was when my anticipation began. Heath Ledger was going to be amazing, Christian Bale was back (Cowboy from Newsies!!!...must save that for another post), and my beloved, Gary Oldman was involved. And BATMAN, my all time favorite superhero. This movie was designed with Molly Adrianson in mind, I tell you.

So I had that going on in my head when I read that Heath Ledger had passed away. I do believe I took that news much harder than I should have, and still do. Heath was the most exciting, most promising young talent in hollywood. The next DeNiro, the next Brando...and then some. Heath had the potential to change things, you know? He meant something to me in a historical way. I didn't know him personally, didn't really care to, but there was some minor hero worship going on in me. I didn't just like him, I RESPECTED him, and that's not something I do for actors. They're amusing and entertaining, but for the most part, I don't respect them. Heath earned my respect with Brokeback and The Joker.


Anyway, back to the movie...I saw the midnight show and it was one of the greatest nights of my life, because I have a really boring life. Ledger was electric, the photography was stun.ning., the emotional rollercoaster regarding Liutenant Gordan, that truck doing a 180 vertical spin...HOLY COW! I just felt saturated with genius entertainment and was loving every second of it. Also, I cannot end this post without talking about Aaron Eckhart, just because I suspect he's the most under-rated cast member. He's charming and handsome in his way, but his voice is so powerful, when he flipped on a dime and yelled, I felt it. I actually felt bad, like I was the one who pissed him off, his voice just tore through me. I don't feel like I can write a review about this movie without mentioning that, because it's one of the top 3 reasons I love this movie.