Saturday, July 19, 2008

Why so serious .. A Joker in the pack

My only regret about watching Dark Knight on Wednesday was to watch it in one of those old theatres in Melbourne which are now converted into Movie halls. The sound system was okay and the screen was simply not big enough. But enough about the movie hall, this is about the movie.

Dark Knight is one of those movies which justify the price of admission you pay (even though it is in dollars). I was slightly apprehensive before the movie due to all the hype and been in Australia the hype around late Heath Ledger was even more. But must say half an hour into the movie and you realize that its worth all the hype and the Oscar buzz surrounding it. Right from the moment Joker enters the screen he feels the screen with a mad energy. It’s a joker show all the way: - his lopsided gait, the serpentine manner in which he roles his tongue, “Why So Serious” everything sends a shiver down the spine. I sat with anticipation wondering what was Joker onto next.

Every hero needs a villain and a hero is as big as his Nemesis. As far as this movie is concerned Joker is bigger then Batman. In a lot of ways he is the dark side of Batman. The kind of fear joker creates is different from the ones we see in other super hero movies: - he brings out the dark side in you and makes you question your own motives and the ability to choose between good and bad. His weapons are more psychological then physical.

This performance by Heath Ledger is of the same level as Daniel Day-Lewis in last years Oscar winning ‘There will be Blood’. And by no means should the nomination be for ‘Best Supporting Actor’, it must be a ‘Best Actor’ nomination. Batman and everyone else are just incidental to this Joker story

So go and catch the Dark Knight at a cinema near you. As for me I will make up for the regret by catching up the movie in a better cinema hall yet again.

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