And “it” would happen to be The Dark Knight. It broke all the records. It brought in, what, $155.3 million dollars in it’s first weekend? How many of those people will be purchasing return tickets? I’m thinking quite a few of them.
The story: A few months have passed since the situation of Batman Begins with many of the mob running scared. Wayne Manor is in the process of being rebuilt so Bruce Wayne and his butler, Alfred have moved into a penthouse. (the lower level fills in as the Batcave)
Our first sight is of a group of bank robbers sporting clown masks. They are stealing cash which belongs to the Mob. Then things get dicey; the men in the masks start killing each other. Turns out the guy in charge of this robbery, The Joker, has informed them that the fewer people standing at the end, the more money they will share. Following a shootout, one masked man is left standing. This turns out to be The Joker himself.
The other characters include: Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Harvey “Two-Face” Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
Lucius Fox is now in-the-know that Bruce Wayne is The Batman and continues to assist as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and the gadget man for Batman.
Rachel Dawes is now romantically involved with the new District Attorney of Gotham Harvey Dent and helps him crack down on the crime lords of the city.
Jim Gordon has created his own police task force after a severe infiltration and subsequent arrest of tainted police officers.
Bruce Wayne/Batman is ready to put aside his cape and mask and let Harvey take over as the heroic face of Gotham. (He also isn’t happy that Rachel is dating Dent)
But all of that isn’t what’s important about this movie right? It’s all about Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. Ledger eats up the screen. Everything about the character is addicting. He’s a ruthless killer, but the audience can’t get enough of him. And he is more than a match for The Batman.
The Joker believes that everyone can turn evil. He doesn’t believe in innocence. He tells Harvey Dent that he is an agent of chaos. And for two and a half hours, we are privy to the manifestation of this belief as Joker carries out a series of murders and explosions.
While his main target is The Batman, The Joker sets his sights on Gotham’s White Knight hero, Harvey Dent. He believes he can transform the pure, righteous attorney into a villain just like him.
What happens when your life is brought to the brink of horrible choice? What if you had to choose who lives and who dies? What would you do? Who would you save?
The Dark Knight is the greatest superhero movie ever filmed. I hope the third film exceeds this one. But I have no idea how it could.
