Dark Knight Shines

(maybe some very minor spoilers)

I went to see The Dark Knight last night with friends. There was some trepidation that it might not live up to the hype, but being aware of that, we tried not to let our expectations run away with us.

The opening image, flying in over the city during the day was slightly jarring from what I was expecting. It didn't say Dark or Gothic to me. That passed quickly as we got into the goings on of a bank caper involving a gang wearing clown masks.

Heath Ledger does indeed give an absolutely compelling performance as The Joker. Some of the best moments being without dialogue. Just a look up from under that dirty hair, or clapping his hands in a cell. The scene involving the 'body bag' is still in and doesn't feel awkward. I'm glad they left it in. Heath left us while at the top of his game.

There is some gruesome violence that happens just as the camera blinks away to another angle. I think there may have been some re-editing to get a lower certificate. Although the trick involving the disappearing pencil was very nicely done.

The voice changer on the Batman's voice sounded a little harsh. There were a few too many lines where I couldn't make out what he was saying.

The fight scenes were much better than in Batman Begins. The fights scene there were like those in some of the Bourne movies where all you could see was a flurry of undifferentiated blurs. There was very little of those really fast cuts, you could actually see more of the action this time.

I had some credulity problems with some crowd reactions on the ferries. Too passive and resigned. I understand that there was a plot point being hit with this set-up, but I guess I'm thinking like the Joker on this. It jarred with me about as much as it did with him.

Gyllenhaal owns her character. Unlike the first film, Rachel doesn't feel under utilised.

Harvey Dent has a great story arc. Very satisfying. Strong performance especially towards the end.

This is a jam-packed film. At least three times I found myself thinking that the film was over, that we were heading into the denouement only to kick of again.