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By Walter Hoffman, Customer Service Representative
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ...". "Here's looking at you, kid!" "Top of the world, ma." These are three of the great lines in motion picture history. Now, a fourth one can be added-"Gotham deserves a better class of criminal-and I'm going to give it to them." It's delivered by the late Heath Ledger as the notorious Joker in this summer's blockbuster, Warner Brothers' "The Dark Knight." Having surpassed the $400 million mark in box office receipts, the film is poised to take a run at the all-time box office champ "Titanic" as the biggest grossing film of all time. But, does the film merit all the hype it has received. To this writer, it is simply the best film I've seen all year!
Brilliantly directed by Christopher Nolan, this is a film that depicts a battle between good & evil. Christian Bale reprises his role as billionaire Bruce Wayne from Nolan's earlier "Batman Begins." His foil is the villainous Joker. Ledger's portrayal is the closest an actor has cone to capturing the essence of evil on the screen since Anthony Hopkins' performance as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs." A posthumous Oscar nomination is almost a certainty here!
Nolan also gets outstanding performances from veteran actors Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman (each reprising his role from " Batman Begins") as well as Aaron Eckhart as Gotham's new district attorney, Harvey Dent. The Dent character is also significant here as it will be the basis for the next film in the series.
"The Dark Knight" is that rarity-a film that far surpasses its predecessor. And for one actor in particular, a performance of a lifetime is given in what tragically is the last time we will ever see him on screen. This is 2008's first "must-see" film and I heartily recommend it!
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