I saw it opening knight, I mean night, with my 13 year-old son, Tommy, and amidst the hype, the cost, and the massive throng of movie goers, this flick did NOT disappoint. It did over 155 million in sales the first weekend. In a nutshell, this is one action-packed, ass-kicking, mutha of epic proportions.

There are a lot of things to talk about when it comes to this movie, but I’ll first start with the cinematography, which was visually stunning throughout. The cityscape shots are breathtaking, the vehicle chases are heart stopping, and there are enough electrifying fireworks and explosives to give a pyromaniac an instantaneous happy ending. A lot of revolving cameras were used, circling the action for dramatic effect. And of course the lighting was dark and ominous which is the signature for all the Batman adventures. This was also one of the first films in a long time where I consciously noticed the musical score throughout. Every piece echoed the mood of the moment incredibly well, building upon each scene, keeping your auditory senses tingling – and with the big screen surround sound coming at you from all angles, you really felt as if you were right there in Gotham amidst the chaos and the anarchy.

And chaos and anarchy is what this story seems to thrive on. Gotham City has been overrun by drug dealers and warlords – only succumbing to the fear that the Dark Knight will spring from the shadows and lay upon a beat-down of superhero proportions. And with the same plight that Spiderman also lives with, much of the public views the caped knight as a menace to society, as opposed to a purveyor of justice.

Enter the Joker…

The Joker is evil personified, times a thousand. He doesn’t care about money or physical possessions whatsoever – he gets his jollies f@#king up the delicate balance of the world as we know it, and he admits that only one entity stands in his way. While crashing a meeting of the cities most notorious crime family heads, the scarred and painted faced psycho proposes that there is only one thing they can do to gain control of the city once again, “It’s simple…kill The Batman.”

Of course this leads me to the gripping performance of the deceased Heath Ledger. If you’re wondering about the hype, well, this time you can believe it – Ledger has created one of the most spine-tingling villains in the history of cinema. While he seems lucid and rational with his thoughts and words, his actions and his lust for hate and destruction are that of a madman who simply cannot be allowed to run loose in this world. Ledger’s portrayal of a sociopath with zero redeeming human qualities is so brilliant – so fascinating – that you become mesmerized by his lack of regard for anyone or anything. His character portrayal makes you think that this is a guy who definitely got his lunch money stolen everyday as a kid. Christopher Nolan on Ledger’s performance – ‘It’s stunning, it’s iconic, it’s going to just blow people away.”

Of course the movie is entitled Batman, even though many have said it could be called the Joker. But I feel Christian Bale plays a great billionaire in Bruce Wayne, and a terrific crime-fighting vigilante who throws on a deep and mysterious voice to keep the public fooled. Michael Caine is an excellent Alfred, Morgan Freeman plays Lucius Fox, the inventor of the bat suit and its ancillary fighting gear. Aaron Eckhart is Gotham’s district attorney, Harvey Dent who is lauded as Gotham’s “White Knight. ” And Gary Oldman is a convincing Commissioner Gordon. For the most part I think the casting was right on, except for the part of Rachel Dawes played by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. I know this may seem a bit shallow on my part (and it won’t be the last time, I assure you) but this chick is just not a babe – not at all. You would think if a billionaire and a powerful DA were going to be in love with a woman, she’d be a major-league hottie, oozing with unbridled sexiness. She’s just not and it took a something away for me. But I’m an admitted sexist man-pig, and if you are too, then you’ll agree with me upon seeing this flick.

Last but not least, this film has some gargantuan special effects and electrifying techno-gadgetry. The armored Bat car gives way to the Batpod, a girthy-tired motorcycle that sends our hero screaming through the city streets while hunting down Gotham’s evil oppressors. This machine is so bad-ass that in one scene he does a spin turn against a building wall that had the entire theater yell out “cool!” all at once. There are many wicked fight scenes, which in reality would produce a venerable bloodbath on screen. But unfortunately to keep the film a PG rating there is no blood at all and the Joker takes one hell of a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’. But I kind of just passed that off to his schizophrenic insanity. The guy is so f@#king nuts that even violent pain doesn’t cloud his ruthless visions.

Two and a half hours is a little long, but I really enjoyed this movie from beginning to end. In fact, it’s also the first time since I can remember where the theater’s audience clapped at the end. Now I don’t do “thumbs up” or any of that crappola, but I certainly recommend this flick to those who love wild action and great a truly memorable acting performance. Yeah, The dark Knight rocks.

- Tommy Z.

The Full Screen trailer that’s a must see> http://www.whysoserious.com/happytrails/trailer.htm